How to get young people excited about work in infra

On several fronts at once, young people are being enthused about work in the infrastructure sector. With campaigns such as 'Civiele Helden' and 'Ik ga voor Infra', Bouwend Nederland is carrying out strong promotion, while a training company such as SPG Infra Vakopleidingen with practice-oriented education is the link between young people and the business world. Jakob de Jonge, secretary Vakgroep Opleidingsbedrijven Bouwend Nederland, and Guillaume Huisraad, director of SPG Infra Vakopleidingen, explain how this works out in practice. 

"We want construction and infra to be and remain an attractive sector. That is why we are working on a positive image of the sector, including with campaigns. We are also committed to getting more people to choose a job in construction and infrastructure." Speaking is Jakob de Jonge. He is secretary of the Vakgroep Opleidingsbedrijven, one of the trade groups within Bouwend Nederland. The training companies fulfill an intermediary role between the construction and infra companies and the ROCs, and the construction and infra companies where the young people do their training. "One of the most important issues for years has been the influx of new skilled workers. There is a huge task in construction and infra to build houses and maintain infrastructure. In addition, we have the sustainability task. To accomplish all these tasks you need people. And that's quite a challenge when you consider that the generation of baby boomers will be retiring in the coming years, while young people are less likely to choose an MBO vocational education."

Campaigns with great results

In order to turn the tide somewhat and get working in infra on the radar of young people, Bouwend Nederland, in cooperation with universities of applied sciences, launched two campaigns specifically aimed at the infra sector over the past two years: Civil Heroes and Ik ga voor Infra. Civil Heroes is an online campaign. Fewer and fewer students are choosing to study civil engineering, so the colleges decided to join forces to put civil engineering more on the map. The campaign specifically targets high school students, college students and their parents. Via videos on social media, such as TikTok and the website studeercivieletechniek.nl, they are introduced to the profession. The results are positive: the videos have been viewed millions of times and thousands of people have visited the website. More young people are also showing interest in the courses. The 'I'm going for Infra' campaign is aimed primarily at young people between the ages of 20 and 27 who are attracted to the infrastructure sector, but do not yet know exactly what they want. This campaign highlights the benefits of working in the infrastructure sector, such as getting a degree, a good salary, job security, freedom and the opportunity to work with impressive machinery. Since its launch, the campaign has reached 1.4 million people and the dedicated website attracted more than 14,000 visitors. 

Liaison between youth and business

Training companies are also making an important contribution to getting more young people to work in infra. There are forty training companies in the Netherlands. They guide young people in their route to construction and infrastructure. Together they work hard to provide sufficient and well-trained personnel. SPG Zuid-Holland is one of these training companies. "Sixty recognized training companies from the region are affiliated with us," explains Guillaume Huisraad. "This ranges from small to large. From SPG Infra Vakopleidingen, we offer young people and lateral entrants practical infrastructure training. Students work four days a week at a recognized training company and attend theory classes one day a week at an ROC. We supervise and coach the students both at school and on the shop floor. We report the young person to the ROC and ensure a suitable match with one of the affiliated companies. The young person is employed by us and receives a salary through us. The only thing an affiliated recognized apprenticeship company has to do is provide a good safe practical place and provide expert guidance. In this way, we are a true connector between young people and the business community!"

From taster internship to job fair

Currently, SPG mentors 55 young people. The goal is eighty students. "They are real doers who want to be busy. But many young people do not know exactly what the infra entails. That is why we try to cooperate with schools in a very targeted way. For example, we now have a continuous learning line from vmbo to mbo. We are currently doing this in cooperation with six schools. To this end, we offer the optional subject "Building and site preparation and finishing" for the vmbo schools. In this way, we hope to create a bond with young people at an early stage. We also organize occupational fairs, guest lectures and taster courses, and we work together with Sterk Techniek Onderwijs. Especially the taster internships work very well to let young people experience what working in infra entails." 

Beneficial for businesses

That working and learning in practice works well, Huisraad also sees. "Young people are just employees and feel like one of and really build a bond with their colleagues. You also really see them grow during the time they work at a company. And once they get their degree, nine times out of ten they stay working at their apprenticeship company. That only benefits the companies and therefore the industry."