Shortage of technical workers loses Holland thousands of jobs

Tuesday 30 October 2012

Companies in the technical sector are going bankrupt or moving abroad because they cannot find well-trained workers to fill vacancies, according to media reports on Tuesday.

Siemens Nederland board chairman Ab van der Touw told Nrc.next 30% of companies in the sector will be lost if something is not done. He says the aging workforce and the lack of enough vocational training college (mbo) students is causing a huge shortage of well-trained staff.

Siemens has moved its wind energy activities to Denmark and Germany.

One reason for the shortage of vocational school graduates is the negative image of the MBO training colleges, says MBO council chairman Jan van Zijl. One solution would be to have working technicians taking classes at these colleges, he told Nrc.next.

Van der Touw agrees, according to the paper. 'They could tell blood-stirring tales about the off-shore industry, for example.' he said.

© DutchNews.nl