The Dutch government is allocating €123 million to take existing partnerships between vocational education and business a step further. The aim is to train young people to have the right skills for the regional labor market, keep employees in the regional business community permanently employable through retraining and further training, and stimulate the innovative power of SMEs. The millions come from the National Growth Fund and are part of the Green and Digital Jobs Action Plan. With this, the cabinet wants to address the personnel shortage in technology and ICT so that the Netherlands can continue to commit to the energy and digital transition fully.
Vocational education is an essential prerequisite for the growth and competitiveness of the Dutch economy. A better connection between vocational education and business is necessary so that people can continue to develop throughout their lives, innovations in business are stimulated, and the productivity level of SMEs is increased.
This State contribution of € 123 million ensures that public-private partnerships in 15 consortia can be further scaled up through targeted investments so that more students, workers, and job seekers are trained for a job in technology or ICT. A condition for allocating the national contribution was that the consortia also receive co-financing for their plans from regional partners, such as government, business, or education.
Digital Industry Boost
With the contribution from the National Growth Fund, existing public-private partnerships can be expanded. This increases learning effectiveness in the Northern Netherlands, for example, by having learners and workers work together on innovations in the project ‘Green Transition Northern Netherlands’. In Brabant, the ‘Digital Industry Boost’ consortium is working to boost digitization. There, the existing cooperation between manufacturing SMEs and education is being expanded.
The Digital Industry Boost (DIB) consortium is a collaboration of Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Mikrocentrum, Summa College, Brainport Industries, collaboration partners of the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EdiH) South, and Province of North Brabant. In total, the project involves a budget of 7 million euros. Ella Hueting, director of Fontys Engineering: “There is a huge shortage of technicians in the Netherlands and the Brainport region. Fewer and fewer young people are choosing a technical profile, which is why it is necessary to retrain people for technical professions. This is only possible if we join hands.”
Bert-Jan Woertman, director of Mikrocentrum, adds: “Together, we face the challenge of achieving economic growth with fewer people. Digitalization and automation are to a large extent a solution to this dilemma. It is therefore essential to invest fully in Lifelong Development, where we continue to grow continuously and adapt to new technologies to promote productivity.”
Faster and more flexible
The various education partners are developing a continuous learning line from secondary education through secondary school and college to master’s degrees. By offering both public and private training options, the cooperation partners are experimenting to respond faster, more flexible, and demand-oriented to the business community’s needs. At Fontys Hogeschool ICT, they see and know the need for innovation of professional practice through digitalization. “Our research and education have intertwined us for years and are eager to boost talent development and digital transformation together,” said Frens Vonken, Fontys ICT director.
Knowledge ecosystem
The goal of the Digital Industry Boost is that in four years, a knowledge ecosystem will have been created in which cooperation between education and business is commonplace. Within that system, professionals can develop their knowledge flexibly and in response to demand because educational institutions cooperate across their borders. John Blankendaal, director of Brainport Industries, and Saartje Janssen, director of Summa Techniek, emphasize that “labor capacity, productivity, and quality are crucial to maintaining the competitive position and innovative strength of the Brainport region. It is crucial to increase productivity with comparatively less labor. In addition, attracting and better-developing talent for the high-tech supply network is an important lifeline. We can contribute by merging all initiatives into one ecosystem.”
See the total overview of the 15 consortia receiving contributions.
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