The board of Glastuinbouw Nederland recently adopted the Human Capital Agenda for the next three years. The HCA is greenhouse horticulture's policy agenda for attracting, retaining, and developing human capital. This new version builds on the Human Capital Agenda 2020-2022 and its actions.
For the Human Capital Agenda 2023-2025, Glastuinbouw Nederland, together with entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, asked themselves how to structurally strengthen the attractiveness of the sector. How can we close the gap between supply and demand, and what can we do to sustainably connect existing and new forces to greenhouse horticulture?
"This is more urgent than ever considering the tightness in the labor market and competition from other sectors," argues Glastuinbouw Nederland. "On top of that, the work in the sector will change dramatically in the coming years, requiring different knowledge and competencies. We will therefore have to come up with new, creative solutions."
Being a good employer is key
By giving substance to being a good, people-oriented employer and raising the sector's profile, Glastuinbouw Nederland wants to ensure that more people choose and continue to choose to work in greenhouse horticulture. "Only then can the sector use that story to attract (new) employees and bind them to companies."
The specialists at Glastuinbouw Nederland have arrived at five spearheads that will be worked on with members and other stakeholders in the coming years, namely:
- Optimizing terms and conditions of employment;
- Investing in Lifelong Development;
- Tapping new sources in the labor market;
- Making flex work sustainably attractive;
- Raising the profile of working in greenhouse horticulture.
Greater challenge
Adri Bom-Lemstra, president of Glastuinbouw Nederland, stressed that employees have always been of great importance to greenhouse horticulture. "But with the current tight labor market, this has become an even greater challenge."
Board member Jacco Vooijs, also chairman of the Westland, Aalsmeer, and Noord-Holland Noord regions, thinks it is important that the HCA is the basis for policy for all employees. "So also for the essential group of international employees at greenhouse horticulture companies."
Glastuinbouw Nederland's Annual Labour Plan details how the aforementioned spearheads will be implemented in 2023.
Read the Human Captital Agenda 2023 - 2025 here.
Source: Glastuinbouw Nederland