Acceleration of labour market transitions


In the FNS partner interviews, we feature a partner every week. Our partners give an insight into the developments and innovations within their organisation and their role in 6G Future Network Services. This month, we spoke to John Herfkens, from the “Platform Talent voor Technologie” (Talent for Technology Platform).

We face significant societal challenges. From agriculture and healthcare to education, logistics and science, no sector can do without technology and ICT anymore. The "Platform Talent voor Technologie” (The Talent for Technology Platform, hereafter PTvT) plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges by promoting technical education and fostering talent in the technology and engineering sector. During a recent interview, John Herfkens, a representative of PTvT, highlighted the essential role of human capital in technological progress and its challenges: "Acquiring technical and digital skills is vital for everyone to increase their opportunities in both society and the labour market. Therefore, it is important that everyone has the opportunity to develop and continue to improve these skills."

Booster of ecosystems
PTvT functions as the national knowledge centre for technology education and the technology labour market. The platform connects policy, practice and science with education, business and (regional) governments, and jointly arrives at powerful and practical solutions to social issues. "We are a foundation dedicated to helping solve social issues by ensuring that ecosystems are created in which the right people can be found," says John.

PTvT (3)

The importance of Human Capital
Rapid technological developments, such as 6G, require a flexible and well-trained workforce. According to John, it is essential that people are willing to work in sectors with technological innovation. "People have to do it, so you will need to motivate them to work in that sector. You also need people who are willing to make a career switch or undergo training," he explained. John also stressed the importance of demand-driven collaboration between governments, educational institutions and businesses. "Governments and educational institutions need to be much more demand-oriented and focused on the needs of businesses: what do they need and how can we help?" he said. "The ageing population and limited inflow of foreign workers are exacerbating shortages of qualified ICT workers and technicians. To bridge this gap, it is essential to encourage and support both current workers and new entrants to the labour market to move into technology sectors," John added.

PTvT and FNS
During the interview, John also discussed PTvT's role as program leader of Work Package 4.4  within FNS. The working group, consisting of representatives from companies, regions, educational institutions and governments, has a mandate to draw up an action agenda to achieve the 2030 targets. This will involve answering three crucial questions:

  • What will labour and education look like in 2030 to provide a sufficiently qualified workforce? (Vision)
  • What do we need to do to achieve this? (Goals)
  • Where do we start? (Action Agenda)

"The working group has now organised two sessions and we are now in the process of recalibrating the vision," John told us. "We also want to do additional research to establish where we think the jobs will be created and where the people will come from to fill them. For this, we will approach the other consortium partners. From there, we can move on to step 2 and step 3 and flesh out the action agenda. John emphasised the need for FNS to build a responsive network capable of effectively addressing future changes and challenges.

The labour market in 2030
The future of the labour market is a major concern for PTvT. Demand for ICT workers and technicians is increasing, while the workforce is shrinking due to an ageing population and limited inflow of foreign workers. "There are currently 670,000 people working in an ICT profession, and we need one million by 2030," John explained. Accelerating transitions is a multi-faceted process that requires collaboration, adaptation and innovation to meet the challenges of the future. John concluded, "PTvT wants to support and guide these labour market transitions. I think it is achievable provided we make the right choices. And that is what we are doing well with PTvT and FNS."

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