ICT is like a knitting needle, weaving its way through all sorts of important challenges. That is the view of Astrid Hoge, Director of the IT and Media Design Academy at HAN University of Applied Sciences. At the same time, there is a shortage of people in the sector. Hoge explains how important it is to increase the number of ICT professionals, what role HAN aims to play in this, and what she expects from the region.
ICT professionals are desperately needed, but there are major shortages, as Hoge is well aware. That is why the Human Capital Agenda ICT (HCA ICT) was established – a national agreement with the central aim of having one million ICT professionals by 2030. “I think it’s a good programme, and a very important one. For years now, there has been a significant gap between the number of vacancies in ICT and the number of available people. This applies not only to ICT companies, but also to ICT roles in other sectors, such as the semiconductor industry, the healthcare sector or the energy sector. After all, ICT is everywhere. It’s like a knitting needle weaving its way through all sorts of technologies and challenges. As the ICT sector, we’re not solving the energy transition ourselves, but we can, for example, help energy companies organise things more intelligently, such as when tackling the challenge of grid congestion.”
People can work on their professional development in various ways at HAN. Hoge: “The most obvious options are our bachelor’s degree programmes. We also offer these programmes on a part-time basis. Personal development is important at every stage of your life. At HAN, there’s always a way to suit your needs – we believe that’s important. For example, people are also making a conscious choice to retrain in ICT. Around 55 people have done so in recent years. There are some wonderful examples, such as a caterer who became an IT professional during the COVID-19 pandemic. After retraining, people can find work again in various places across the region. As part of LLO (lifelong learning, ed.), we also organise masterclasses, such as ‘AI in practice’, which will be offered in November.”
Good interaction
The human capital challenge is also evident at HAN itself, she points out. “Here at HAN, but also at national level, the number of higher professional education students is falling. That’s a shame, given the contribution higher professional education institutions make to the development of businesses in the region. This is only possible if there is good interaction between the businesses and us. We therefore really see the region as our campus.”
She gives an example of how HAN collaborates with businesses. “Our Embedded Systems Engineering students focus on the IT side of engineering. They are currently helping to design and develop robots that assist Alliander’s engineers in underground transformer rooms. The robots improve safety and ensure the availability of materials. As a result, technicians can also go down there on their own more often, rather than having to go in pairs. This isn’t a cost-cutting measure, but a response to the challenge of the shortage of technicians. They also need less specialist knowledge because the robot takes care of that. In this way, with the help of technology, our students are helping to solve labour market issues.”
More women
To achieve the target of one million ICT professionals, the sector must make better use of women’s potential, Hoge agrees. “At HAN, we take part in the national Girls’ Day every year, with the aim of getting girls in secondary education excited about ICT, but also about engineering, where many similar challenges exist. Apart from women, people from migrant backgrounds are also under-represented. We’re also seeking to collaborate with the ROCs on this. In addition, some of our lecturers give coding lessons at primary schools in their spare time. I would very much welcome it if, as a country, we were to really commit to this, in order to get more people excited about ICT. You have to plant the seed early.”
Finally, she appeals to the region. “I hope that more IT companies will take up the HCA ICT agenda, so that we can solve issues together. They know the region’s needs best. Funding is available through that agenda, but for that to happen, public-private partnerships need to be better organised.” She also points out that it is important for the region to work together on retraining and further training. “If we consolidate that demand effectively, companies won’t have to do it themselves any longer; we can simply fulfil that role. If we unite and tackle the human capital challenge in ICT and engineering together, we can achieve a great deal.”
