Third chapter of the English version of the book 'Energieke Arbeid' published by the Centre of Applied Labour Market Research and Innovation (Dutch abbreviation: KCA) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of applied labour market research at Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This chapter discusses the second line of research of KCA: The Labour Market in the EnergyPort Groningen Region.
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In 2013 the Centre of Applied Labour Market Research (Kenniscentrum Arbeid, KCA) has developed a method for data collection to get an insight in employer’s future demand for staff. The method is developed to contribute to solve an action problem in the Eemsdelta region. Despite indications of a threat of shortage of technicians in that region, none of the regional actors undertakes action. They miss detailed information about the employers’ future demand for staff. To be able to take tailor-made measures, the actors must have a proper idea of the labour market problems which can be traced back to company level. For each job opening must be clear to which profession it is related and to which educational specialism and educational level. These information appears to be not available. For employers it is, understandable, difficult to estimate their future demand for staff, because a lot of uncertain factors influence that need. Especially SME’s who often don’t have a HR-officer are missing the knowledge and time or money to invest in making a future picture of their need for staff. And data from existing labour market information sources can’t be translated well at regional or local level, never mind at company level. Without detailed information about the future employer’s demand for staff, possible problems stay latent. There is no sense of urgency for the employers to take action and the regional policy makers are missing information to develop specific educational and labour market policy. To get the needed detailed information, it has to be obtained from the employers themselves, at company level. During a research pilot in 2013 KCA has designed a method for data collection and practiced it with nine companies in the Eemsdelta region. The results indicate that the method works. In a relatively labour-extensive way the needed information can be obtained. At company level it gives the employer insight in his actual and future staff requirements and makes him aware of possible problems. As regards to the policy makers, the pilot was too small for a complete regional picture, but it demonstrates that the anonymised data of the individual companies can be merged to one umbrella data-file. From that file analyses can be made to find trends and possible problems at the labour market, both at regional and sectoral level and to obtain input for developing effective policy. The successful results of the pilot offers good reasons for a follow-up study with much more companies and to develop the method into a complete labour market monitor, by broadening the method with data about the labour supply and data of new employers.
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English version of the book 'Energieke Arbeid' published by the Centre of Applied Labour Market Research and Innovation (Dutch abbreviation: KCA) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of applied labour market research at Hanze University of Applied Sciences. After an introduction by drs. Marian van Os (vice-president of the Executive Board of Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen), the first chapter (by dr. Harm van Lieshout) takes a brief look back at the development of KCA over the past ten years. The second chapter (by dr. Louis Polstra) discusses the first of two lines of research of KCA: Healthy Ageing & Work. The third chapter (by dr. Harm van Lieshout) discusses the second line of research: The Labour Market in the EnergyPort Groningen Region. The book concludes with a brief epilogue by van Lieshout & Polstra.
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The Dutch floriculture is globally leading, and its products, knowledge and skills are important export products. New challenges in the European research agenda include sustainable use of raw materials such as fertilizer, water and energy, and limiting the use of pesticides. Greenhouse growers however have little control over crop growth conditions in the greenhouse at individual plant level. The purpose of this project, ‘HiPerGreen’, is to provide greenhouse owners with new methods to monitor the crop growth conditions in their greenhouse at plant level, compare the measured growth conditions and the measured growth with expected conditions and expected growth, to point out areas with deviations, recommend counter-measures and ultimately to increase their crop yield. The main research question is: How can we gather, process and present greenhouse crop growth parameters over large scale greenhouses in an economical way and ultimately improve crop yield? To provide an answer to this question, a team of university researchers and companies will cooperate in this applied research project to cover several different fields of expertise The application target is floriculture: the production of ornamental pot plants and cut flowers. Participating companies are engaged in the cultivation of pot plans, flowers and suppliers of greenhouse technology. Most of the parties fall in the SME (MKB) category, in line with the RAAK MKB objectives.Finally, the Demokwekerij and Hortipoint (the publisher of the international newsletter on floriculture) are closely involved. The project will develop new knowledge for a smart and rugged data infrastructure for growth monitoring and growth modeling in the greenhouse. In total the project will involve approximately 12 (teacher) researchers from the universities and about 60 students, who will work in the form of internships and undergraduate studies of interesting questions directly from the participating companies.
The growing complexity of distribution centres and yards, combined with demands for efficiency, safety, and sustainability, and ongoing driver shortages, make automated and teleoperated vehicles increasingly attractive within the logistics sector. However, involved costs of these machines, mixed traffic flows and interactions with personnel present challenges in risk management, acceptance, and regulations. TITAN (Testing and Integration of Teleoperated and Automated vehicles for Next-gen yard logistics) aims to advance yard automation from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5/6 to 7/8 by demonstrating and testing teleoperation, automated docking, and connectivity solutions in real operational environments. The core objective is to bridge the gap between isolated pilot results and scalable commercial adoption. By integrating teleoperated and automated vehicles into live logistics settings, the consortium seeks to unlock improvements in throughput, reduce labour strain, and enhance overall sustainability. Coordinated by HAN, the consortium aligns industrial and academic expertise to overcome hurdles in deploying Cooperative Automated Transport (CAT) at logistics yards. The project also emphasizes collaboration between research institutes (HAN, Fontys) and industrial partners (V-Tron, MST, Verhagen-Leiden, Jumbo Groenewegen, KPN, DPD, DAF, Werken-aan-Verbinding), ensuring that both practical needs and innovative research remain aligned. Building on insights from previous projects (5G-Blueprint, SAVED, CAT4Yards, and CEYAS), TITAN adopts a multi-phase research and development approach. Through iterative testing at practical end users like DPD, the project will collect data to measure performance, safety and social impacts. Parallelly, digital twin simulations will replicate yard scenarios, allowing risk-free exploration of edge cases and operational strategies. TITAN’s approach integrates technical, operational, and social aspects, providing guidelines for safe, efficient, and accepted CAT deployment. By elevating TRL 6 technologies to TRL 7/8, the project lays the groundwork for scaling automation in logistics, ensuring future readiness and global competitiveness for Europe.
The German-Dutch project "Young Maritime Talents" aims to inspire young people for the maritime industry and prepare them for the professional demands of the future. The goal of the consortium, consisting of ten partners and numerous associated partners on both sides of the border, is to develop strategies and measures to attract, develop, and retain young talent in the industry. This will be achieved in particular by strengthening maritime career orientation, actively facilitating suitable practical contacts, and promoting relevant future skills. The broad spectrum of perspectives and competencies of the project partners offers great potential for this. The participation of innovative companies from shipping, shipbuilding, and the port and offshore industries ensures comprehensive industry coverage.The project is aimed at all stakeholders in the field of (pre-) professional orientation and the career entry phase, i.e., from school through training or university studies to the company: from Young Maritime Talent to Young Maritime Professional.The core content of the project is a cross-border structural analysis of career orientation and the transition from school to work, as well as the development of a matching system to precisely match prospective career seekers with opportunities offered by maritime employers. Furthermore, target group-specific materials and formats are being developed to support schools and maritime companies in implementing practical programs for students and career starters. These include simulation games and various events for exchange and mutual coaching among the participating stakeholders. With these measures, the project contributes to making the maritime labour market in the German-Dutch border region more effective, inclusive, and sustainable, and to improving access to high-quality training and jobs.
