CIV Bio Sciences Annual Event 3 joins Human Capital XL to ‘talk about talent’

For our third Annual Event we teamed up with Human Capital XL. Human Capital XL offers employers based at Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) and job seekers an opportunity ‘to meet, learn and grow together’. Being all about ‘Human Capital’ this year, our Annual Event fitted well in.

Leiden Bio Science Park meets and needs human capital

On July 1, while temperatures outside rose well above thirty degrees, over 120 people gathered in Fletcher Wellness Hotel Leiden. Thijs Remijn, Human Capital Project lead with LBSP Foundation kicked off the afternoon with a general introduction on LBSP. Clearly the park has al lot to offer to many. But also, LBSP can not innovate and grow without sufficient, well trained talent. Before the networking begins, the participants first break out in three parallel sessions.

Human capital collaboration pays off

In our Annual Event session, CIV partners and other interested parties receive an update on CIV activities contributing to the execution of the Human Capital Agenda LBSP. Working together pays off! Education and employers now join forces in activating potential bio sciences talent. (At mboRijnland the intake figures of vocational education students choosing laboratory technology are rising again.) Also, steps are being made in understanding (1) and acting (2) on the needs of companies for the recruitment and training of switchers and employees. A ‘life long learning portal’ for employees and employers at LBSP is now in the making.

The regional public private ecostystem in perspective

Guest speaker Zeb Bergsma, Labour market expert with Wise up, sheds a light on the Dutch ecosystem of public and private partners, and how to navigate through it to shape sustainable solutions for (omnipresent) vocational talent shortages. What if we consider the perspective of a potential switcher, of an employer, of government and the full (public, private, national, regional, education) ecosystem? Clearly, mutual understanding of this complex system is necessary to be able to collaborate effectively as a network on shared services.

What can I contribute from my perspective?

In order to translate the topic to our region and CIV mission, Zeb moderates a panel discussion with CIV partners. All recognise the shortages and are busy to tackle them in various collaborations. Natascha van der Laan, Principal Operational Manager with Randstad, is working with ROC’s and Technicom to recruit, educate and employ 1000 operators nationally. Diana Harris, Training & Learning Lead, Operational Excellence, Digital & Strategy with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine is seeking customised education for (new) employees. She is teaming up with e.g. Biotech Training Facility to teach employees Good Manufacturing Practices. Geert Neelen, Strategic Relations Manager Life Long Learning with mboRijnland is involved in Via Delta. Via Delta is a collaboration of four centres for regional vocational education (ROC’s). Together they form the point of contact for Life Long Learning in South-Holland.

Get to work!

What can CIV Bio Sciences do more? According to Natascha it is simple: ‘we should look at talent differently, build that ecosystem, really trust each other and ACT!’. Which is exactly what we plan to do. As life sciences operators are in high demand in the Leiden region, CIV partners now plan to work together (Randstad, Techniek College Rotterdam, mboRijnland, Technicom and employers) on attracting and training lateral entrants and switchers locally. With more than enough ideas to continue our ecosystem/ network/ CIV expedition, we conclude an engaging discussion and thank our panel.

The afternoon moves on with an interactive networking and drinks session, so job seekers can put their new skills into practice and connect with (future?) employers. All in all, a successful and, may we say, quite collaborative event in the Dutch Bio Science Week 2025.

As usual, the speakers’ presentations will be shared with all attendees and CIV partners.