Nordic defence hiring surge strains skilled labour pool

The Nordic defence sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand for skilled labour.

Driven by higher defence spending, companies across the region are scaling up production and innovation to strengthen Nordic and European strategic autonomy.

Patrick Lyon Veirum, a consultant at Compass HRG, which has offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the UK, says the increase in hiring demand is clear.

- We are definitely seeing a sharp rise in activity. Many companies are signalling a substantial need for new employees, he says.

Huge expansion

According to data from the pan-European industry association ASD, employment in the European defence industry reached 633,000 in 2024, an 8.6 percent year-on-year increase.

Several European and Nordic defence companies are reporting sustained recruitment growth.

Thales, the partly state-owned French defence prime, has recruited at least 8,000 people annually for the past five years to support expansion across its three business segments, according to the company. 

It plans to recruit more than 9,000 employees worldwide in 2026, following the hiring of 8,800 staff in 2025.

At the DDAC defence exhibition in Copenhagen in February, the Anglo-Italian contractor Leonardo said it expects to hire no fewer than 17,000 people over the next three years.

Saab, the Nordic region’s only defence prime, increased its global headcount by 53.8 percent between 2021 and 2025. The company declined to comment.

In the Nordics, opportunities are strongest for specialists in cyber security, advanced engineering, digital technologies and logistics, with sustained demand across Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

However, structural constraints are emerging.

Limited

With multiple companies competing for the same skill sets, recruitment has become a strategic constraint.

In addition, certain defence roles are limited by security clearance and compliance requirements. For the F-35 programme in Denmark, foreign employees must be eligible for security clearance in line with Danish national standards.

- This will inevitably affect recruitment processes for the wider industry, explains Veirum.

He adds that, beyond established primes and tier-one suppliers, demand is increasingly driven by start-ups and dual-use technology companies seeking to enter the defence market.

- The surge is not confined to traditional defence contractors. Companies active in cyber, drones, robotics and critical infrastructure protection are also expanding their workforces, he says.

As defence and security spending rises, the sector is set to compete more directly with other industries for scarce technical talent.

He argues that workforce availability will be a primary constraint on the sector’s ability to scale at the required pace.

- There are only so many people with the required skill sets, and there are limited adjacent sectors to recruit from, says Veirum.