“The Q2 top 10 tells a clear story about what enterprises are struggling with right now – delivering software reliably, connecting complex IT landscapes, and turning AI investment into real outcomes.”
Every quarter, we analyze what organizations are buying and what the market is applying to – across all markets and sectors we operate in. The result is a ground-level picture of where the consultant market is actually moving, not where it is expected to move.
Three distinct challenges are driving demand this quarter. Read more in our Market Insights report.
AI skills in Northern Europe are no longer just for engineers – and the market is moving faster than most organizations can keep up with.
AI appeared at #5 in our Q2 2026 top 10 skills – and it is climbing. Behind that single ranking sits an entire ecosystem of fast-moving skill categories being bought and applied for across Northern Europe.
AI assignments in 2022
AI assignments in 2026 so far
AI jobs as a share of Ework Group’s total assignments have gone from 3.54% in 2022 to 11.61% in 2026 – and 2026 is not even finished yet. With data only through 18 August, AI already represents nearly 1 in 8 of all jobs this year. That is a market that has fundamentally changed in four years, not gradually shifted.
After a dip in 2022 and a slow recovery in 2023, AI jobs jumped by 43% in a single year. 2025 held that momentum, and 2026 has already surpassed every previous full year in both raw volume and percentage share, with four and a half months still remaining. The jump is not ahead of the market – it is tracking it in real time.
Source: Ework Group Q2 2026 data · Eurostat, Use of AI in Enterprises (Dec 2025) · Deloitte, State of AI in the Nordics 2026
The Nordics lead Europe in AI adoption – and feel the talent gap first.
Danish enterprises using AI in 2025 – highest in the EU
Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are the top three countries in the EU for enterprise AI adoption, confirmed by Eurostat’s December 2025 data. Denmark saw the largest single-year increase – a 14.45 percentage point jump in 2025 alone. Being the furthest along in adoption means the talent shortage is felt earlier and more intensely here than elsewhere in Europe.
Nordic organizations infrastructure-ready vs talent-ready
Deloitte’s State of AI in the Nordics 2026 captures the defining challenge in one data point: 55% infrastructure-ready, 14% talent-ready. The cloud, the compute, and the budget are in place. The professionals who can govern, deploy, and operate AI in production are not. That 41-point gap is structural.
Organizations where 40%+ of staff have approved AI tools – up from 37%
Denmark, Finland, and Sweden lead AI adoption across wholesale and retail trade, with more than 33% of enterprises in all three countries using at least one AI technology in 2025. AI skill demand is distributed across logistics, retail, manufacturing, and public sector – not concentrated in a single vertical.
Cite data privacy and security as a key AI concern
84% of Nordic organizations cite data privacy and security as a key AI concern, and 67% invest in security and compliance as a strategic priority. Combined with full enforcement of EU AI Act high-risk obligations from August 2026, this creates sustained demand for AI governance skills.
Sources: Eurostat, Use of AI in Enterprises (Dec 2025) · Deloitte, State of AI in the Nordics 2026 · EU AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 · Eurostat, Wholesale and retail enterprises using AI (2025)
Eight skills gaining ground and eight losing standalone value. Pick one to read the full signal.
Some that commanded a premium two years ago are losing ground fast – and knowing the difference matters as much as knowing what is rising.
Feel strategically prepared for AI – down from 61%
With Norway at 56%, Denmark at 48%, and Finland at 46% individual GenAI adoption, the general awareness gap is closed across the Nordics. The harder question now is how to apply AI correctly, govern it responsibly, and capture real value from it.
Report extensive redesign of work – despite 35% expecting major gains
Denmark’s 14.45 percentage point jump in enterprise AI adoption in 2025 was the largest in the EU. Skills still considered specialist in lower-adoption markets are already baseline expectations in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
Nordic companies reporting meaningful ROI from AI
The region has run the experiments. What the market is now buying is the capability to turn them into production systems with measurable business outcomes. Advisory and pilot-stage skills without a delivery track record are losing the most ground.
Expect major job automation – vs 65% globally
The region is explicitly prioritizing augmentation over replacement – a governance-first culture that shapes which skills the market values. The Nordics reward careful, responsible, measurable AI deployment.
Important distinction: most of these skills are not disappearing entirely – they are losing standalone commercial value. The underlying knowledge often remains useful as a foundation; it is the rate uplift and the dedicated job title that are going away.
Sources: BCG, March 2026 · Deloitte, State of AI in the Nordics 2026 · Eurostat, Individual GenAI adoption (Dec 2025) · Eurostat, Use of AI in Enterprises (Dec 2025)
The commoditization of early-stage AI skills – strategy, awareness, piloting – has already happened in the Nordics, while it is still in progress elsewhere.
Denmark 42%, Finland 37.8%, Sweden 35% – the top three EU countries, against an EU average of 20%. Denmark recorded the largest single-year increase: 14.45 percentage points.
Norway leads individual GenAI adoption in Europe at 56.3%, Denmark at 48.4%, Finland at 46.3%.
55% infrastructure-ready, 14% talent-ready. Strategic preparedness dropped from 61% to 43%. 67% prioritize security and compliance investment.
Full enforcement of high-risk AI system obligations began 2 August 2026.
35% of Swedish enterprises use AI; nearly 75% lack the internal expertise to manage and scale it effectively.
The AI talent story in Northern Europe is not about hype – it is about execution.
The region has the ambition and the infrastructure. What it needs now is the specialist human capability to turn investment into outcomes – and that gap is where the most significant demand signals are coming from.
We will continue tracking these trends through the rest of 2026. If you want to talk through what this means for your situation, our AI team is available.