HRM and skills development - November 2019

Temporary employment sector needs to reinvent itself
According to a recent report (in Dutch, 2.23 MB) by ING (in Dutch), the Dutch temporary employment sector (Randstad, Adecco, etc.) is facing problems after a number of years of strong growth: there is less demand for temporary workers and at the same time it is more difficult to find people who are willing to work under these conditions. At the same time, the work is shifting from temporary workers to freelancers, which means that the margin created by the temporary employment sector is disappearing.

UK industry with food for thought on shrinking labour supply
The UK Food and Drink Sector Council (FDSC) has published a report (3.02 MB) outlining industry's ambition to address food chain productivity issues and the challenges it faces due to a shrinking labour supply. Industry is calling for a joint movement to include government collaboration and a high-level set of activities and outcomes to deliver results.

60% technology 40% human expertise ideal for supply chains
As technology continues to transform the workforce and logistics professionals navigate a rapidly changing supply chain, Coyote Logistics has released the results of their proprietary Tech + Humanity research study Finding Balance in Transformation. Conducted in partnership with Martec, the survey reveals that a balance of 60% technology and 40% human expertise is needed to optimally manage supply chains. You can read the report online after filling in your details.

Robotics: (no) plans, (no) job losses
More than half of the companies in the Dutch industry do not have a plan to robotise, according to research by InfoResults commissioned by evofenedex (in Dutch). One reason for this is that companies are not able to assess the added value. The price tag of such an investment is also a problem. The majority of the interviewees do not see any job losses due to robotisation, but rather help in combatting the shortage of personnel. The booklet (in Dutch) with results can be obtained from evofenedex. You will receive it by post and there is a copy at the NVC association office.

How do you teach packaging design?
An very interesting study by Maoliu Chen at Huzhou University in China explores the innovation and development of "Packaging and POP Design" and analyses the expansion and applicability of packaging design courses. A key element is addressing cultural and behavioural development. “The core connotation of ingenuity is inheritance, development, and innovation. This is precisely the spirit that Chinese current art design students are most lacking”, according to the research. An article (2.89 MB) about the research is published in Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research.

NL: Learning and development grants for SMEs
The government (in Dutch) has announced that, as of March next year, SMEs in the Netherlands can apply for a grant to set up a business school, get career advice for their employees or keep the skills of their employees up to date. Larger companies from the hospitality, agriculture and recreation sectors can also apply for a grant. The government is structurally allocating €48 million per year for this purpose. You can also comment (in Dutch) until 5 December 2019.

NVC members receive this information with all the relevant links in the monthly NVC Members-only Update. If you have any questions, please contact us: info@nvc.nl, +31-(0)182-512411.