Norddjurs businesses warn school closures could hurt recruitment
Thursday 15th October 2026 on 20:30 in
Denmark
Businesses in Norddjurs Municipality say proposed school closures could make it harder to recruit staff and keep companies in the area, DR reports. The municipality is considering closing several local schools, and a handful of businesses are among about 150 people and organisations that have submitted comments ahead of a consultation deadline.
Jesper Thomsen, co-owner of the Kusk and Thomsen masonry company in Ørsted, said the business may eventually have to consider moving out of the municipality if Rougsøskolen, the town’s school, closes. The company employs between 25 and 30 people.
Thomsen said the company wants skilled tradespeople to live nearby. Many employees come to its office and warehouse in the morning to load their vans. If they live farther away, the company would have to deliver materials to construction sites, he said, making it harder to operate from the area.
L-tek, a steel manufacturing company in Nørager with 90 employees, has also submitted a consultation response. Managing director Lars Lund Nielsen said recruitment could become more difficult if Langhøjskolen in Vivild, about five minutes away, closes. Around two-thirds of the company’s employees live within 12 to 15 kilometres, he said, adding that their proximity provides valuable flexibility.
Mayor Kasper Bjerregaard said the companies’ concerns were being taken seriously, but argued that the municipality must address problems in its schools. Too many children are not thriving, have excessive absences or fail to complete their final primary-school exams, he said.
The municipality is considering having fewer, larger schools so that more pupils can attend the same school from grades 0 to 9. Some pupils struggle when they have to change schools after grade 6, Bjerregaard said. He added that the municipality wants to spend more on teaching, including two-teacher arrangements, rather than maintaining school buildings.
Politicians will review the consultation responses before deciding the schools’ future.