Review Dutch VET Circle LTT – Part 1

The training activities in the Netherlands on May 8-12th 2023 was hosted by Pieter van Schie, director of the Dutch Foundation of Innovation Welfare 2 Work (DFW2W). Sixteen delegates experienced the LTT, which was held in Leiderdorp and was aimed at enhancing on the one hand the potential of the participants for work based learning schemes and professional organisation of workplacements on the other hand. The blended mobility was also an activity that leads to the achievement of the project objectives. Below Part 1 in which we have outlined and showcased the Dutch Good Practice ‘ComOn’, VET System presentations, a VET-Circle Guide and tips and tricks on how to establish a good connection with the companies and how te motivate the students to get workplacements in companies:

Project ComOn – Dutch Good Practice

On Monday May 8th, Pieter van Schie, director DFW2W outlined the agenda with all the learning, training and teaching activities. A start was made with a good explanation about the difference between Holland and The Netherlands. Click this link to watch this excellent and funny video.

The first day we kicked off with Good Practise ‘Project Comon’. The VET Circle partnership has delegates from Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and they were very impressed by the organisation and market between employers and students. It’s interesting to see how the VET education systems can anticipate on a project like ComOn. For more information about the preparation and arrangements around this ‘Comon’ marketplace, see the link of the ComOn presentation below:

VET Circle Work Based Learning Guide

The VET-WBL Guide was also presented to the delegates. This is a comprehensive good practice guide detailing the steps towards setting up and running a work based learning programme for schools and companies in accessing employment or employability training.

The WBL guide includes information about the VET systems in the partnership countries, statistics of the youth unemployment rates and leavers from Education and Training in the European Union and the VET-WBL countries. Further it provides examples of good practice and work based learning templates, student, tutor and employer surveys, partnership agreements and service user consultation tools.

We have carefully described the definition and outline of the structure of the work-based learning activities regarding the ‘VET business partnership for WBL’ skills qualification, and the assessment criteria for identifying this as a good practice of work-based learning. The aim in this guide is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives on Work based learning education, support for young people, schools and companies out there. This Guide is for schools and companies, finding the identifying ‘good practices’, to use this knowledge to be able to innovate and have impact. We anticipate that this will likely include training, self-education, and practice by doing.

Through a couple of articles we have summarised the VET ingredients of each of the VET Circle Partner country partners. Please click the links to get the VET Systems better explained:

• Dutch VET System
• Greek VET System
• Turkish VET System
• Bulgarian VET System
• Macedonian VET System

The Dutch Welfare State, Employabillity and Entrepreneurship

A couple of facts of the Dutch Welfare state:

* Population Netherlands: 18 million

* The Netherlands is the most densely populated nation in Europe ((800 persons per square mile.

* 371,000 open Dutch job vacancies

* The Dutch economy is booming, but the downside is that there is a major shortage of personnel. Our economy is already bigger than before the corona crisis. On the labor market there is a lot of demand for employees, so much that there are shortages. There are 126 vacancies for every 100 unemployed.

* In the Netherlands, 800,000 people are no longer able to do their work in whole or in part.

* Overall, 38% of Dutch adults (25-64 year-olds) have a tertiary education, similar to the OECD average of 39%.

More information is showcased in the Prezi presentation below (in PDF):