a quest for innovation
“If the students leave happy and talking about the products, I am already very satisfied,” says Ernst de Haas of VanDerEng BV. For as long as he can remember, his company has participated in Tech Your Talent On Tour.
Getting young people excited about engineering
Producing over 75 million industrial labels annually, 5 million wristbands for the leisure sector, 50 million breaking and consumption coins, and countless components for board games, VanDerEng BV is big in a few niche markets. During the upcoming Techport Technology Week, the company will host two classes of some 60 secondary school students in total at their factory in Heemskerk on 9 October.
Ernst: “We do this on the one hand from a social point of view, because we think it is important as a company to be a good reflection of society. That means we need to attract enough young people. And you can't enthuse young people early enough. In addition, I see that our own employees also become enthusiastic about this. They enjoy showing the students around and try to convey their passion for technology. You notice a certain curiosity and open-mindedness among the students. And every time, we are surprised by seemingly simple questions that then make us think! So it brings a lot of positive energy.”
search through the factory
Ernst continues: “Every year we try to do it slightly different and better than the year before. And that is challenging, because the tension curve of this target group is not very high. This year, we have a scavenger hunt in store for them. They get a short video introduction with images from previous editions of Techport Technology Week, combined with images of our company and the machines. These are very short fragments of one or two seconds that alternate quickly. The students have to pay close attention, because after that they go in groups of four in the factory to look for the machines that were in the video.”
“When they have found a machine, they have to ask the operator what exactly that machine does. Once they have found and mapped all the machines, they have to answer one last question: which machines do you need to make a certain product? Of course, we have a nice prize for the winning group and something tasty to eat and drink for everyone and a wristband with their name on it to take home.
We do this partly from a social point of view, because we think it is important as a company to be a good reflection of society, and partly because it also excites our own employees.
Ernst de Haan - VanDerEng BV
Participate with your company too?
During Techport Technology Week (this year from 7 to 11 October), schools and companies will show more than 5,000 students that the world of technology is broad, challenging and future-proof. We do this with workshops around the 7 Worlds of Technology, a hackathon and company visits. This year, we have twice as many applications from students, so we are still looking for companies that want to open their doors on 9 October and make students enthusiastic about technique. Get the young generation involved in your company and field and sign up!
Want to join, but doubt your company is suitable? Then contact Danielle van der Mark (danielle.vandermark@oud.techport.nl). She will be happy to tell you more about what the company visits entail and also think with you about how to shape the tour! For more information and/or registration here.