Brainport is seeking tens of thousands of tech and IT talents: ‘We are pulling out all the stops.’

The scale of the challenge: 70,000 people

The Brainport region faces one of the biggest labour market challenges in the Netherlands. Due to double ageing and dejuvenation, the available labour pool is shrinking, while the technology sector continues to grow. ‘We are talking about 70,000 people over the next ten years. Only 20,000 of them will come from the regular education system. This leaves a shortfall of 50,000 people,’ explains Van Deelen. ’And half of those are needed for the semiconductors sector.’

Five measures and Brainport Academy

To tackle this challenge, Brainport Development has developed a strategic agenda for talent development in collaboration with regional partners: the Schaalsprong Talent. Five measures form the core of this approach, based on the principle of lifelong development.

1. Attracting untapped talent

The first measure is to activate people who are currently ‘on the sidelines’. These include status holders, job seekers, early school leavers and partners of internationals. ‘Together with parties such as Ergon and Senzer, we will guide people towards jobs in tech or IT. But this must be done with guarantees from the business community, otherwise you are training people with no prospect of work,’ says Van Deelen. ‘Retraining programmes must match real job vacancies.’

2. More enrolment and fewer dropouts in technical programmes

More young people need to choose technology and, above all, complete their education. ‘We see that dropout rates are still high. A thousand students start, but not everyone makes it to the end. There are various underlying causes, such as choosing the wrong programme,’ says Van Deelen. That is why the region is investing in campaigns aimed at secondary education, hybrid learning environments and flexible learning pathways. For example, an MBO class with HAVO 4 students will start soon, 60 scholarships will be added to the TU/e each year and 100 individual learning pathways will be developed.
Educational institutions are also investing in additional teachers and better facilities. ‘The TU/e is building new labs and student accommodation to accommodate the growing intake. Think of programmes such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.’

3. Retaining talent for the sector

Many engineers leave the sector within five years. ‘That's a shame,’ says Van Deelen. ‘We need to ensure that people can develop within companies, feel at home and see prospects for the future.’ This is not just about being a good employer, but also about initiatives such as traineeships, job rotation and a focus on diversity and inclusion. ‘You shouldn't build a golden cage, but you do need to ensure that people remain motivated. A good example of efforts to retain engineers in the sector is Summa's new initiative, which involves monitoring and mentoring students for a year after they graduate to help them find the right place in a company, with the aim of retaining them in the sector in the long term.’

4. Higher labour productivity

A striking point: not only more people, but also smarter working. ‘With digitisation, robotisation and social innovation, we can do more with the same people,’ says Van Deelen. Yet this is still happening too little. ‘In times of economic boom, there is no time; in times of economic downturn, there is no money. But the urgency is increasing. At some point, there really will be no more people.’
That is why companies are being encouraged to review their work processes and make use of technologies such as AI and autonomous systems. ‘It's about investing in the long term, and that starts with awareness.’

5. Attracting and retaining international talent

Even if all these measures are successful, the region simply cannot survive without foreign talent. At companies such as ASML, half of the employees are already international. Nevertheless, the influx is under pressure, partly due to political discussions about internationalisation. ‘We no longer just roll out the red carpet. We are now looking more specifically at which skills we really lack and in which countries we can find them,’ says Van Deelen. Indonesia, Spain and Portugal, for example, are being actively explored.
One example of a concrete action is the website Insidr, which helps international parents find their way around the Dutch education system. ‘That may sound small, but it makes a big difference. If children don't settle in well at school, the family will still leave.’

The Brainport Academy as a foundation

Underlying all these measures is the principle of lifelong development. This is why the Brainport Academy has been established: a network organisation that brings together supply and demand in the field of further education and retraining. ‘There is no physical building, but there is a joint approach,’ says Van Deelen. ‘For example, if someone works at NXP and needs AI knowledge in five years’ time, we will ensure that suitable training is developed now.’

And now? What will we see in the short term?

The first effects are already visible. For example, this autumn, an MBO class will start with HAVO 4 students, there will be a joint campaign with the 4TU and various HBO institutions to attract international students, there will be 100 modular learning pathways, and we expect a total increase of almost 600 students in MBO, HBO and WO. The transition to year 2 is expected to grow by almost 300 students, and around 350 additional graduates will enter the semiconductor labour market. ‘We are monitoring everything closely because we want to know what works,’ says Van Deelen. ‘But the key lies in collaboration. No one can do this alone.’