The North has a shortage of carpenters
Translated by Thomas Ansell
Courses for carpentry that are being held in Heerenveen (Friesland) have been given a future by a combination of Frisian municipalities and the UWV (the Dutch agency for working). It is becoming more and more difficult to find motivated, but jobless, people to fill spaced on the course, thanks to falling unemployment in general. The Northern Netherlands has a current ‘job gap’, where significantly more people are needed to fill positions than currently live in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe. As reported by the Omrop Fryslân.
At the moment, those people that are applying require more training to fill in any skills gaps, and that has caused a rise in the per-pupil cost. The courses will take place at the Technopark in Heerenveen, and each year between 20 and 40 work-seekers and other entrants will be trained over the course of two months.
Participants will learn wood-working, frame making, and machining. After that, they will be ready to work in decking, flooring, and will also be able to make pre-fabricated buildings. After their course, participants will be fast-tracked into a range of 25 Frisian wood-making and building companies.
The building sector, up until now, paid for the courses itself. However, at the moment, the number of unemployed people is very low- and those that are looking to get into a job stand a little further away from full labour market integration.
For more information, just visit the Technopark website (in Dutch).
