Educational institution Vonk joins AYOP

We are pleased to introduce a new member of the AYOP network. As a vocational education organisation, Vonk is at the heart of society and is strongly anchored in North Holland. In order to address the shortage of technically trained workers, Vonk works on educational innovation and practice-oriented learning through projects in public-private partnerships. Together with regional partners and the business community, Vonk is continuously looking for the connection between education and the changing demands of practice.

The search for a connection between education and practice

Henriëtte Weerstand-Slot, Project Leader of Education Updates at Vonk, explains: “Technical professions are so subject to innovation that we always have to deal with a backlog in education. For example, we now teach our students how diesel engines work on ships and how they are maintained. But in a few years, when the students are finished, ships may already be running much more on bio-ethanol or LNG. Our challenge is to find the connection here. That is why small-scale cooperation between education and companies is of great importance. We do this demand-driven. A company encounters something and shares this with us, which allows us to determine which elements we need to add to the curriculum”.

Changing offshore energy landscape requires changed education

With the project ‘Career as (fl)expert on the North Sea’, Vonk is working on implementing a new training branch for service and maintenance, specifically focused on the North Sea: “A lot is happening on the North Sea. The changing offshore energy landscape requires changed education in the field of technical and nautical maritime training. This is an example in which cooperation between education and the business community is indispensable. We do not know what the jobs of the future will be, but we try to map this out as best as possible by keeping our finger on the pulse in the sector. What are the current professions around the North Sea? What are the expected professions? Which technical skills do you need now and do we expect to need in the future? In this way, we investigate, always in collaboration with companies, where the gap lies and how we can close it,” says Henriëtte.

Involving students through the AYOP network

For Vonk, membership of AYOP is an important tool. Henriëtte explains: “Because we are involved in developments in the field of offshore energy and hydrogen, for example, we can act more quickly. For example, is a port working on a pilot? Include students and education in this! We can then immediately see what this requires of education. And students immediately get an idea of ​​what the practice looks like.”

Would you like to know more about Vonk’s projects or discuss how your company can collaborate with education? You can find contact details for Henriëtte in Vonk’s member profile.