King Willem-Alexander paid a working visit to logistics service provider Dachser on Wednesday. The visit paid special attention to Dachser as a training company, as all trainees remained employed there during the corona crisis.
Samenwerkingsorganisatie Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven (SBB) sees that the corona crisis has put extra pressure on the availability of apprenticeships. SBB therefore launched the 'Internships and Apprenticeships' action plan. In this context, King Willem-Alexander visited Dachser in Waddinxveen, a learning company recognised by SBB.
Connection vocational education to business
Willem-Alexander was given a tour of the warehouse in Waddinxveen and spoke with a number of students and internship policymakers. The King then took part in two roundtable discussions on the connection between vocational education and business. In the first discussion, representatives of apprenticeship companies from the hospitality industry, camping and the Scheepvaart- en Transportcollege Rotterdam told about the impact of the corona crisis on the internship guidance and training of students.
The second talk was about policy development at both the national, sectoral and regional levels. The King spoke with representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the municipality of Gouda, training institute ROC Mondriaan and the Central Food Trade Office about policy measures to tackle youth unemployment.
Training company
Dachser offers apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities for vocational training students, school-leavers and graduates in almost every department: warehousing, transhipment, air and sea freight, customer service, IT, secretarial and commercial professions. In the 2018 and 2019 'Best Learning Company' election, the logistics provider was named sector winner in the province of South Holland.
''We know better than anyone how important our people are, especially at the intermediate vocational level and it is good to see that Dachser's vision has thus finally caught the eye of even The Royal Family," said Aat van der Meer, Managing Director of Dachser in Benelux. "That we would be honoured with a royal visit is of course wonderful to experience, not only for all Dachser employees in Waddinxveen, but also for us as management."
