Deadline Date: May 27, 2026
The Nordic Talent Attraction and Retention Call for Proposals supports initiatives aimed at improving access to skilled talent for Nordic companies working in critical technology sectors.
The programme focuses on improving access to talent and skilled labour for Nordic companies developing solutions in selected critical technologies, enhancing talent attraction and retention strategies, supporting skills development and training programmes, promoting exchange and mentoring schemes, strengthening industry–academia collaboration, enabling mobility of highly skilled workers, and advancing promotion and branding activities to position the Nordic region as a competitive destination for global talent.
This initiative is part of Nordic Innovation’s investment in enabling and transformative technologies during the 2025–2027 period. It seeks to support projects that help companies attract and retain highly skilled professionals in order to strengthen innovation capacity and support the growth of competitive Nordic businesses in global markets.
The programme highlights three key technology areas aligned with the EU’s list of critical technologies: quantum technologies with applications across sectors such as healthcare, finance, energy, logistics, defence, and manufacturing; space technologies; and artificial intelligence, which plays an increasing role in innovation, business operations, and everyday life.
Funding support includes grants of up to NOK 2,000,000 per project over 18 months, with a total project budget of approximately NOK 4 million including required co-funding. At least 50% co-funding is required, which may include in-kind contributions. Each organisation may receive up to EUR 300,000 in state aid over three years, and funding is distributed across Nordic countries with specific state aid conditions.
The initiative will support two projects focused on developing and testing solutions for attracting and retaining global talent in the Nordic region. These projects may involve collaboration between industry, academia, public sector organisations, clusters, and other innovation actors, and may include activities such as talent attraction strategies, retention programmes, training and education initiatives, mobility schemes for skilled workers, and collaborative innovation models.
Eligible applicants include cluster and ecosystem organisations, innovation organisations, training providers, higher education institutions, research institutes, companies, employer and employee organisations, business regions, and public sector actors. Consortia must include strong industry engagement and relevance for Nordic companies, and must involve at least three partners from three different Nordic countries. While non-Nordic partners may participate, only Nordic partners are eligible for funding.
Proposals must demonstrate involvement of end users, a clearly defined objective, activities aligned with that objective, and a structured implementation timeline.
For more information, visit Nordic Innovation.
