The Labour Match Platform (AMP) is the first employer initiative within the energy transition which applies skills matching on a large scale. The AMP increases the influx of talent for the energy transition by looking at skills instead of diplomas and guides them to a job. In doing so, it fits seamlessly with GroenvermogenNL's Make Hydrogen Work concept, aimed at accelerating labour market development around hydrogen. During the annual Make Hydrogen Work, Njord Pattiasina gave a workshop on the AMP: "Let's leave the talking and just start."
The Labour Market Match Platform is more than a digital platform. It acts as a digital job coach for people who want to take the step into engineering. They receive tailor-made guidance towards a job in energy transition. The initiative comes from Alliander in cooperation with Enexis, KPN, Stedin, TenneT, Van Gelder and Van Voskuilen. The ambition: to match 10,000 technicians within five years. Pattiasina: "Our starting point is to find the perfect match through insight into skills. The Labour Match Platform puts the candidate at the centre and looks at what fits his or her skills." To this end, the AMP combines technology with people: an advanced platform and job coaches together ensure careful guidance of candidates.
Njord Pattiasina
From baker to meter changer
At the annual Make Hydrogen Work event, Pattiasina explained how skills matching can help people really get started in the energy transition, without sticking to diploma requirements. The AMP creates a transparent 'skills map' showing overlap between different jobs. The example between the profession of baker and meter changer is surprising. But when Pattiasina explains that there is a lot of overlap in competence, it becomes logical. Pattiasina: "What we see is that people do want to make the switch to a technical profession, the so-called lateral entrants, but the route to it is complex. There are many questions that arise: do I need training, do I need a network, do I need to invest? The Labour Match Platform is the starting point to make that transition though. It offers jobseekers targeted support. At the same time, it opens the doors to a new group of candidates for employers. The AMP is also there for technicians who may not see the next professional challenge. Above all, we need to retain them, because we desperately need all these professionals."
See how the Labour Market Platform works
Regional approach
The Labour Match Platform is being rolled out regionally, as a suitable match within one's own region is essential for sustainable career paths and preventing mobility mismatches. "We are now working in 'Lifeport Region Arnhem-Nijmegen, also in the regions of Utrecht, Rotterdam and Groningen. The aim is to be active nationwide, but with a regional approach," Pattiasina explains. That is exactly what GroenvermogenNL 's human capital programme also stands for: a regional approach with national coordination. GroenvermogenNL's human capital agenda works regionally because the energy transition - and especially the development of hydrogen - requires customisation per region, depending on the infrastructure, companies and educational institutions present. By strengthening regional ecosystems, training and career paths can better match local demand for hydrogen engineers. Through Make Hydrogen Work, among others, GroenvermogenNL encourages cooperation between governments, knowledge institutions and companies to provide targeted training and sustainable placement.
Scientific foundation
The Labour Match Platform is also working on a scientific foundation for the effectiveness of skills-based matching. "Does our skills-based approach result in people distanced from the market finding work faster? Are vacancies indeed filled faster?" asks Pattiasina. To this end, two PhD students at Erasmus and Tilburg University have started researching the skills interventions, in a programme together with the Werkgeversvereniging Energie, Nuts en Afvalbedrijven (WENB) and Opleidings- en Ontwikkelingsfonds voor de Nederlandse Waterbedrijven.
Any questions? Ask Njord Pattiasina.
