Pilot “Future in the Manufacturing Industry” gets a sequel

In collaboration with multiple manufacturers and government entities, Zuidberg partook in the “Future in the Manufacturing Industry” project last July. During this project, people on social welfare were re-educated to fulfil vacancies in the metal industry. Two of these participants found their jobs at Zuidberg.

The initiative

The pilot program kicked off in July 2018. Two government entities responsible for social security and employment hand-picked potential employees living in the municipality of the Noordoostpolder. The participants got acquainted with the various manufacturers at a special event hosted at Zuidberg’s business park. If they wanted to, they were able to work at a company for a day. After that the organisation, the participant and the manufacturers discussed possible matches.

Two of the participants expectations that matched those of Zuidberg. All participants were offered a free, full course in their line of future work. This was important so that they could immediately get to work after finishing their course. In Zuidberg’s case, one started learning for PTO and Tracks mechanic while another started learning operating steel bending machinery. Meanwhile, both have finished their courses and are introduced as Zuidberg employees.

Sequal

Across the whole project, five out of nine participants finished  and started working or have started another course.

Through this pilot, the Municipality of the Noordoostpolder has realised a better connection between education and the job market. Thanks to this success, the program is re-running the project in upcoming March.

This time, the project will put in extra time on aligning expectations between participants and manufacturers. An additional Dutch language course will also be offered to non-native speakers who require this to function properly. People from nearby municipalities will also be involved in this sequel project.

Zuidberg is glad to take part in this societal effort and wants to thank all the other parties involved.

Want to know more on our achievements in human recourses? Read this article about the new and exciting ways with which we approach the job market.