On 15 January, businesses, educational institutions, corporations and civil servants of the City of The Hague met at the Technology and Innovation House of the ROC Mondriaan college to discuss the gap between the labour market and various target groups. The aim was to implement the Energy Transition & Jobs Pact. The parties emphasised the need to balance supply and demand.
In view of the social task of achieving the objectives set out in the 2015 Climate Agreement, we have a major job ahead to make existing and new housing stock more sustainable. Transforming and transitioning of the existing housing stock is far too slow and at this rate will take many years to accomplish. What lies ahead of us will lead to a huge demand for jobs in the technical and engineering sector. A substantial number of people will have to be trained to meet this demand in the coming years.
If The Hague wants to be a climate-neutral city by 2040, around 10,000 to 15,000 homes will have to be transformed. In The Hague alone, this endeavour will require 3,000 people every year! Cooperation with all stakeholders and The Hague region is essential. With approx. 26,000 inhabitants receiving social benefits, it will be our challenge to find employees and train them to suit the changing job market.
Those who were present sought solutions to the problems they are encountering based on four profiles or personalities. It turns out, for example, that technical education is not attractive to young women and that companies have difficulty finding suitable interns. As far as the attendees are concerned, the focus is on three target groups:
At the end of the evening, five objectives were formulated.
A joint ambition has been formulated to close the gap between the supply of and demand for technically trained staff with the required energy transition skills in The Hague region.
