Attracting highly qualified labor is key, as Esbjerg will probably be at the center of green development even more than now in the future. The expansion of offshore wind in the North Sea and already planned PtX plants mean that a large number of subcontractors need engineers and other specialized professional groups.
Companies are already looking for the labor that is difficult to attract to Esbjerg.
David Dupont-Mouritzen is project director at CIP HØST, which is working towards a large-scale PtX plant that will produce green ammonia for agriculture and shipping in Esbjerg. He is also a former museum director for the city's Fisheries and Maritime Museum.
How Esbjerg becomes more attractive to young, well-educated immigrants is something that the trained cultural geographer has thought about. He has lived in Hjerting for six years with his family and has been vice-chairman of Business Esbjerg.
- This is Esbjerg's challenge, and it is not a new phenomenon. The municipality has already started a marketing effort, and work is being done on it, says David Dupont-Mouritzen, who even today lives partly in Esbjerg and Farum with his family, as his work also takes place in Copenhagen.
"Denmark's largest village"
He sees Esbjerg's strengths above all.
- Esbjerg is incomparable. I can call the city 'Denmark's largest village', and that is meant positively. If I flew my Copenhagen friends to Esbjerg blindfolded, I am sure they would be thrilled. Here is everything that should be in a suburb with a good selection of shops, cafes, and whatever else you need, says David Dupont-Mouritzen and elaborates:
- Here there is no commuting time, and there are ample opportunities for both sports, associations and cultural life. So there are unique opportunities with a short distance to local politicians. I really like Esbjerg and the opportunity here to influence social development.
The city center of Esbjerg with a newly renovated pedestrian street was completed in 2020.
- Something has really happened in Esbjerg in the last 7-8 years, now the city center needs to be breathed into life, says David Dupont-Mouritzen.
While the city's setting is both beautiful and new, the pedestrian street, for example, cannot be compared to the number of people and life, if you look at cities like Vejle, Aarhus or Copenhagen.
- Esbjerg cannot compete with Copenhagen in cafes and restaurants. But there are lots of little gems here, such as free live music every Tuesday at Esbjerg Bryghus, he emphasizes.
Young people in the city center can make the difference
Esbjerg has educational institutions and cheap student housing, but they are not located in the city center. David Dupont-Mouritzen sees this as one of the reasons why the city has difficulty attracting workers and also students.
- It is not a new housing estate in Guldager that is needed to attract workers. We need to bring some new, different people into the city. Esbjerg Gymnasium could be moved into the city together with the youth housing, suggests David Dupont-Mouritzen.
He is also not afraid to ask a constructive question.
- Why should Campus Esbjerg, for example, be located so far away from Esbjerg? It should be as close to the city as possible. There is a need for a densification of the city center that educational institutions and young people can provide, he says.
And such an idea can be practically done if you are willing to invest in it.
- Many will say that it cannot be done. It is clear that it has its price – but it has an even greater price not to, says David Dupont-Mouritzen, who himself has an apartment in Esbjerg's city center.
He also specifically mentions two suggestions for locations. Access road 3, which previously housed SKAT, where the land is owned by the Port of Esbjerg. The other is an already controversial location on Dokken in Esbjerg near Norsea, Total and the Court in Esbjerg.
- The buildings have not been used for years. Another option would be to locate youth housing or educational institutions in the area where the Bjarne Pedersen Group wants to build housing, suggests David Dupont-Mouritzen about the location on Dokken.
He also has the explanation for why it will make a difference.
- If you have the courage to make that reshuffle, you would move a lot in one go. The drive, money and skills are already here in Esbjerg, but the critical mass is not here. We would get that with young people. People attract people, notes David Dupont-Mouritzen.
Development and relocation are a necessity
If development is not initiated that can attract immigrants, there will be consequences.
- We must have fulfilled the potential that exists. If we do not create that influx, it will mean stagnation or, in the worst case, relocation. It would ultimately mean a loss of welfare if the population here gets older and older, he explains about an older population that simply pays less in taxes.
Regardless of how it turns out, David Dupont-Mouritzen is sure of one thing.
- I think we will see a lot of commuters in the future, for example from Vejen, he says.
But there is another way to attract families with children.
- The green transition offers a lot of traditional male jobs such as engineers. Men commute, but you don't get a mother that far every day, says David Dupont-Mouritzen and continues:
- For example, it would not be possible for my wife to work in Esbjerg, as I do.
If jobs cannot be created for women, then there are other things that will compensate.
- The green transition may not help create more jobs for women. But the good schools with well-being, together with the fact that Esbjerg is the Danish champion in integrating immigrants. That can make a difference, says David Dupont-Mouritzen.
He also already has a slogan ready to help with the attraction.
- More communication needs to be done: Come and have some fantastic years with the green transition. At the same time, you may also have to face the fact that people are not going to raise their pension here, concludes David Dupont-Mouritzen.
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