The job market should be screaming for these women

Meet Lill Hennschen, Program Manager for Tech & Career at ReDI School. She is fascinated by paradoxes – in technology, in society and in a labour market hungry for innovation that still overlooks highly skilled international talent.

What do you do at ReDI?

I lead our programme team across Copenhagen and Aarhus, working with our tech and career programmes. A big part of our work is bringing our learners closer to Danish companies.

Many of the women who enter our classrooms are already highly educated and have years of professional experience from countries such as India, Pakistan or Iran. But they may never have set foot inside a Danish company.

Everything we do is about shortening the road to a job that matches qualifications. It means adding new tech skills to an existing profession. A doctor or lawyer may not be able to transfer her qualifications directly to the Danish labour market – but with new skills, opportunities can open up in areas such as life science or cybersecurity.

What drives you?

I love paradoxes. I am curious about the dilemmas that come with change rather than paralysed by them.

AI is a good example. There are obvious challenges, but also incredible possibilities in regards to communication. I have a slight hearing loss myself, and AI can help me follow meetings better. Recently, I saw two people on a date communicating through their phones, using AI to translate their conversation in real time. Technology can create barriers, but it can also remove them.

And there is another paradox I see every day at ReDI: Everyone talks about the need for innovation and different perspectives. Then you meet these incredibly skilled, educated women with experience from completely different countries and markets. The job market should be screaming for them. But it isn’t.

What have your colleagues taught you?

To slow down.

I tend to see a solution and immediately run with it. Working with my colleagues has taught me that there are other ways of doing things – not just my way. I think I have learned patience.

And after four years and around eight semesters at ReDI, I have probably met close to 2,000 women. The amount of talent I have encountered still awes me.

Your biggest aha moment?

There is one picture I still carry in my head.

One of my first learners, when I worked for ReDI in Malmö, had fought hard to find a job. She took our course, worked with a great coach from Microsoft and eventually landed a cybersecurity job at Atea.

Then she sent me a group photo from work. There were maybe 30 people in it. She was the only woman. And there she was – standing out, but smiling and confident.

What stayed with me even more was what she told me afterwards. Before, she had been working for years in a job she was overqualified for. Now she felt that her son and daughter could look up to her. She felt like a role model.

I still check in with her. She is doing well.

Why ReDI?

Because it brings together people who might otherwise never meet.

We live in an increasingly polarised world, often inside our own little bubbles and echo chambers. At ReDI, I meet learners, volunteers and company partners with backgrounds, experiences and opinions very different from my own. I think that matters.

And ultimately, ReDI is a win, win, win: for the women, for companies and for society. A job is not only a job. It can mean becoming part of society, feeling less isolated and being able to use the skills and experience you already have.

Lill in short

Lill Hennschen, 37
From: Germany
Education: MA in Media and Communication
At ReDI since: 2024 in Copenhagen, previously ReDI Malmö
Role: Program Manager