"We believe in the power of collaboration, and our training programs complement each other well. That's why we've joined forces with several other training providers in the construction industry. After all, there's a high demand for well-trained people," says Koen Stephan, director of SOMA Bedrijfsopleidingen, an educational institution that has been offering practical vocational and management training in infrastructure for over 70 years, as well as hoisting training, relevant VVL-H, and BVL training. They also provide education on CSR, sustainability, and CO2 emission reduction.
Look, we constantly say that there aren't enough people to meet the enormous demand for construction workers. That's true, of course. But on the other hand, I also wholeheartedly invite parties to look beyond just the young people about to graduate. There's a large group who worked in our sector until recently and are eager to get back to it. And then there are, of course, the people who are outside the workforce but are eager to roll up their sleeves. And what about the significant decline in the financial sector? That sector also produces excellent professionals who, for example, are excellent planners or have extensive IT expertise. And what about someone who is very creative? They are often the best people for buyer support… In short, with proper retraining, they can start right away. The image that construction mainly offers dirty work is incorrect. It's actually an incredibly diverse and rewarding industry to work in! And we are absolutely capable of retraining the right people in a short time.
Some training for formwork professionals
"I completely agree with my colleague," says John Roelofs, manager of civil construction training at Civilion, a training institute that trains students throughout the Netherlands to become skilled professionals for the civil construction industry. They offer programs at intermediate vocational education (MBO) levels 2, 3, and 4, as well as the option to obtain an Associate's degree (AD) in Civil Concrete Construction, with the possibility of obtaining a full HBO diploma with a bachelor's degree, in collaboration with the Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences. Finally, Civilion also offers courses and training programs ranging from traditional formwork for construction site workers to practical BIM for project organizers, and just about everything in between. "Our training institute has very close ties with the industry. For example, our guest lecturers come directly from the field, and we actively develop the content of our curriculum in consultation with the industry. This way, our offerings remain seamlessly aligned with market demands." A question that's constantly changing, by the way: just think of the foreman today; their role is quite different than it was 15 years ago. It's quite a challenging market, by the way, as there's so much demand for young people graduating from pre-vocational secondary education (VMBO) from all sides. As a training provider, it's hard to break into that market; the average age of our students is between 20 and 30. The word "pride" also comes to mind: we see that our people are genuinely proud of the large projects they're involved in. I dare say that civil concrete construction contributes to the construction of the Netherlands' major civil engineering structures. And then it's quite frustrating that not everyone knows yet that skillfully creating good formwork for such projects is truly a specific profession. Precisely because of this specialization focused on civil concrete construction, we are the only educational provider in the Netherlands. And together with SOMA and other organizations, we focus on people who want to work in infrastructure. Stephan concludes: "It's great that we've been able to take the lead together, and I'm convinced that the construction world, including its people, will look very different in a few years..."
Click here for the training courses offered by Civilion and SOMA Bedrijfsopleidingen.
