Energy transition and labor market are central

''The energy transition is one of the most important current social developments and is even compared to the industrial revolution of the 19^ecentury'', says Gertjan Lankhorst, CEO of New Energy Coalition. ''It will completely change the way we produce and consume energy and will impact the entire energy chain, including the labor market. That's why we want to discuss this important topic with our partners and other sector stakeholders, so we can jointly anticipate the challenges that may arise.''

New Energy Coalition has therefore been put to the test in the context of the TransFuture Festival Entrance brought up this topic at a number of meetings.

Dialogue tables during TransFuture Festival

In the morning, several roundtable discussions were held in light of the ongoing "Human Capital in the Energy Transition" project. This project aims to improve collaboration between educational institutions and SMEs. This allows labor market issues to be addressed more efficiently, for example, by better designing energy education programs tailored to labor market needs and creating innovative work-and-learning environments.

Charles van Santvoord, project leader ''I'm very pleased with the large turnout of representatives from educational institutions and businesses at the dialogue roundtables. There was clearly a great deal of interest and enthusiasm among the participants to explore how to improve interaction to better educate and train future energy professionals. The meetings generated a great deal of valuable input, which we can now use to develop concrete actions.''

Meeting of the strategic coalition partners

In the afternoon a meeting took place between the Strategic Partners van New Energy Coalition, with a focus here also on the energy labor market in relation to the energy transition. This topic was introduced in a presentation by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, which published a report in March 2018 entitled "'Effects of the Energy Transition on the Regional Labor Market'.

Frank van Hout, representative of Energy College: “Energy College is at the forefront of developments in this area, and we have already developed numerous innovative energy tracks within our educational programs to meet the energy labor market's need for skilled personnel at the vocational (MBO) level. We will continue to collaborate with various parties, and I greatly appreciate that New Energy Coalition organized a meeting on this important topic."