High time for an innovative approach to the tight labor market

In the QuickScan that Etil made for the Province of Limburg, four recommendations are made to match supply and demand on the labor market in the agrofood sector in the future.

1. Anticipate changes Make sure that education is flexible enough to respond quickly to changing employer demand, but also to provide customised solutions for target groups and to take advantage of opportunities that are available at that time.
2. Upgrade competencies Make sure that there is a good flow in training levels and work smartly together with other regions and with 'grey' sectors. In short: think outside your own box.
3. Broaden competencies Robotization and automation will take off in the coming years. The knowledge required is therefore constantly changing, so create an environment in which employees can learn for a lifetime and make crossovers with other disciplines.
4. Improve the image of the sector Think long term, show that you are a great innovative sector, especially in Limburg! Connect with the perception of tomorrow's employees, show young people the great career prospects in agrofood when they choose their education and ensure an attractive living environment.

A nice practical example around the last recommendation is the campaign of LTO Glaskracht, in which Vlogs uit de Kas gives young people a picture of working at a greenhouse company. Made by young people, distributed through a popular channel for young people.

In practice, we already see initiatives emerging that approach the labor market in a different way than usual and fit the recommendations.

1: Show what you mean to society

Internships at companies are important, but that is only one company. At the HAS the concept of Education in Practice is used. In their first year, students visit no less than 40 companies in the agrofood sector, which gives them a very diverse picture of the sector and allows them to get a good orientation. In addition, they work with real life cases and guest speakers. Director Frans van Leijden: "By organizing personal and intensive contact with people from the field we see several positive effects. Today's students are curious about the meaning that a company has for society. If they can hear and experience this first hand, it makes them more enthusiastic about working in the sector. That you contribute to the good health of people, that you feed the world; these are all things that inspire young people." Van Leijden therefore also sees something in company visits as an image campaign among secondary school students. "Personal experience and hearing the story of the entrepreneur himself has much more impact than a website or a brochure can have. It would be very nice if agri-food companies organize that together."

2: Get to understand millennials better

At Tomorrow's Talent during the Dutch Agri Food Week, 170 students and employers went cooking and eating together in 2 pools, in order to discover and better understand each other's lifestyles and ambitions. This is desperately needed, because millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) find other things important than older generations. They increasingly select employers based on aspects such as working atmosphere, flexibility, alignment with personal ideals, training and development opportunities and less on aspects such as a permanent contract or prestige. As an employer you can really miss the mark if you're not aware of this.

The Brightlands Campus is a good example of an inspiring work environment that attracts young people. With an open innovation culture and trainee programs you create a place where there is a lot to learn and develop, says Sebastiaan de Rede, manager of the Chemelot Career Center.

Also several seed breeders in North and Central Limburg recognize the importance of a different approach that fits in with the world of today's young people. Inspired by the North Holland initiative Seed Valley, the companies are looking to work together to reach young people. Because they are all looking for that MBO4 student who is meticulous, interested in research and has an eye for quality. Carlo Mutsers and Marcel Creemers of CITAVERDE College support them in this, as part of the AgroLeeft project. "As an educational institution, we find it important to act as a binding agent between students and companies. As a company you are often inclined to talk about things like salary or other conditions of employment. While young people are more likely to choose things like development opportunities, a pleasant working atmosphere, whether there are enough young people working there, how the company presents itself to the outside world. We help them to gain these kinds of insights and to tailor an action plan accordingly." A concrete recruitment campaign will be launched soon.

3: Look more broadly at today's talent

Cindy Vernes of Werkgevers Servicepunt Noord-Limburg, a partnership between the North Limburg municipalities and the UWV, argues for a broader view of talent.

"At the moment there are simply too few people who meet the ultimate picture of the employer: relevant diploma, convincing choice for agrofood and knowledge of the sector. While there are good people available who, for example, come from the business services or healthcare sectors. They have many appropriate competencies, but often have never thought about agrofood themselves. That's why we organized Today's Talent during the Dutch Agri Food Week, in which 8 employers talked to 8 job seekers. The conversations were aimed at making prejudices negotiable and at opening each other's eyes to the opportunities that are out there. A cartoonist drew the prejudices on the spot. In a follow-up session, we will look at solving these prejudices. What was special was that these personal conversations created much more space to see each other's potential. Employers are still inclined to filter through the hard skills first and only then to look at the personal qualities. Now as many as three job seekers were able to go into follow-up interviews with employers, a wonderful additional benefit of this initiative. My tips for employers: look more at motivation and less at the resume, dare to step away from existing processes and requirements in the interest of the longer term and open up the conversation with people, even if you find it exciting."

Some caricatures about the prejudices employers and potential employees have.
More on Today's Talent

4: Don't write off retirees

Supplier of indoor growing systems Light4Food works a lot with retired professionals. René van Haeff: "We have a number of pensionados who have decades of experience with, for example, lighting and cultivation, air treatment or mechanical engineering. That is very valuable if you want to test a new idea in practice and turn it into a real product. On the other hand, the younger generation is super-fast with computer technology." Combining young talent with old hands in the business is therefore highly recommended for companies that want to renew proven techniques and methods.

5: Be open to people with a distance to the labor market

When Geert Benders started the new food concept Beej Benders in Venlo, he needed a lot of new people. "We had agreed with the Werkgevers Servicepunt to aim for 20% people with a distance to the labour market. In the end, that even turned out to be almost 30%, so the project was very successful. What is remarkable is that we now see that we are 20% below the average turnover of companies with a new concept, while our people are of course also being attracted to this labor market. Further research is still needed, but it seems that this group is more loyal. As an employer, it is important to be open and to assume possibilities rather than impossibilities. Of course you have to look carefully at how to fill positions and provide good guidance, but that is part of being a good employer. As employers, we must quickly let go of our prejudice against people with a distance to the labor market. Offering opportunities to this group is not a mission impossible, but can lead to highly motivated and committed employees."

More about Beej Benders' labor market approach

Where do you see opportunities?

Where do you see opportunities to strengthen the labour market in the agrofood sector? How do you contribute to a positive image of the sector? Do you know how to touch young people, the elderly or people with a distance to the labor market with your vision and approach? Please respond below so that we can also learn from your experiences!

Sources: Etil QuickScan 2017, Colland labor market , LTO Glaskracht Nederland, Agriconnect
Photographs: Brightlands