‘Lifelong development’ is one of the three key priorities of the brand-new Human Capital Agenda drawn up jointly by the province of Gelderland, the Green Metropolitan Region and The Economic Board. Renate Bouwman, civic entrepreneur for the Labour Market at The Economic Board, explains why further training, reskilling and retraining are extremely important, particularly at this time.
“We are facing transitions in the fields of energy, digitalisation and circularity,” Bouwman begins. “If you want to achieve your goals in these areas – whether as a country or as a region – you need people with the right skills. Otherwise, you cannot innovate, no matter how good your plans may be. At the same time, employers in almost every sector are crying out for good staff. There are far more job vacancies than there are people available. Shortages are arising because more people are leaving the workforce than are joining it. We see this across all sorts of companies, but particularly in the sectors where we, as a region, want to distinguish ourselves: energy, healthcare, high-tech and food.”
Skills
The shortage is so great that it cannot be addressed through education alone, says Bouwman. “The solution must largely come from the workforce. In this region, that amounts to more than 350,000 people. Further training, reskilling and retraining of this group is now crucial.”
On top of that, the labour market is changing. Jobs are disappearing, but new ones are emerging in their place. “For that reason, we need to focus more on skills and less on qualifications alone.” Digital literacy is one such skill. “It’s required in almost every profession and is only becoming more important. We need to train people in this area to ensure they can continue to do their jobs properly.”
“In addition, around 15,000 new jobs will be created by 2030 as a result of the energy transition, something we as a region must anticipate,” she continues. “Those people, too, must largely come from the workforce.”
Projects
The time of talking and planning is over, action is needed now, Bouwman believes. "We organise projects and publicise them. We also provide funding. This must come not only from the province, but also from the national government, Europe, the business community and knowledge institutions. Triple helix, in other words."
Lifeport learns by
More and more projects are emerging. Bouwman mentions 'Lifeport learns by', an initiative of the province, the Gak foundation and The Economic Board. "That is aimed at encouraging 'Life-long development' among SME employers. There will be a theatre show to show employers how to get started with it. They can also attend training sessions with VR glasses. In these, they will learn how to start a conversation with an employee about this. There will be a toolbox, including conversation cards, and a magazine. We find that it is a difficult subject to make discussable, both for employers and employees. It is also still given too little priority on both sides."
Plug in and play
Another project is called 'Plug in and play'. Bouwman: "This involves training and retraining people for the energy sector. The energy hub Connectr plays a central role in this. It tries to retrain students, jobseekers and workers for the energy transition. For instance, there is a project with status holders. Connectr also organises internships for young people to get acquainted with the sector and retraining courses for service technicians to maintain charging stations, for instance. That is exactly what we mean by 'Lifelong development'."
