A job guarantee if you choose the right study option
Providing young people from Rotterdam South with a stronger position on the labour market is highly rewarding for the parties collaborating on 'UIA BRIDGE' (Building the Right Investments for Delivering a Growing Economy). Representatives from the construction sector had heard about the Kick-off meeting for the BRIDGE project held on 8 June 2017 and were enthusiastic about the career start guarantees. After all, the construction sector is desperately in need of workers. And the (young) workforce available in Rotterdam Zuid is quite substantial.
At the BRIDGE Kick-off, Bouwend Nederland representatives made enquiries about the project with parties such as Defence and Deltalinqs (an organisation that promotes the common interests of Port of Rotterdam workers). These last two have been involved in pioneering CSGs for quite some time. Bouwend Nederland representatives demonstrated that it is only a question of time before career start guarantees are offered by the construction sector to young people in Rotterdam Zuid.
Naturally, there are a few matters that need to be settled before the CSGs can actually be implemented. The young people in Rotterdam South need to be informed about jobs in the engineering, care and food sectors. Nowadays, all too often a study option is chosen with an inadequate perspective of the labour market. To put it plainly, young people are being educated to become unemployed. Meanwhile, the engineering, care and food sectors are sounding alarm bells about rapidly increasing staff shortages.
This is why major efforts are being made as part of BRIDGE to influence the decisions undertaken by pupils. A range of career guidance interventions and a far-reaching campaign is being developed that focuses on pupils, as well as their parents, teachers and mentors. The aim is to reach 1,200 pupils a year — from the age of ten when they are in primary school Group 6, until they complete their education — and to eventually issue 600 CSGs every year. The first campaign activities will be launched at the end of the summer holidays.
Author: Edwin Cornelisse, communications adviser for BRIDGE and the National Programme for Rotterdam Zuid (NPRZ).
Jobs and skills in the local economy
