The war on talent: scarcity in R&D-intensive industries
We face scarcity in the R&D intensive industry in the Netherlands. There is a shortage of technicians at Master and PhD level. We are all in the same boat, fighting for talent. Does this "war on talent" contribute to our preparation for the future? Or do entrepreneurs need to band together more?
Expertmeeting
On December 15, 2016, M2i Human Capital and High Tech NL organized an expert meeting around the theme "Scarcity in the R&D intensive industry. A group of entrepreneurs came together to exchange experiences and opinions on attracting (international) highly educated talent.
The expert meeting revealed opportunities and challenges:
- Companies and knowledge institutions 'fight' for talent. Knowledge institutions struggle to attract (Dutch) PhDs due to the high starting salaries in business. Instead of having a 'war on talent,' companies and knowledge institutions should work together for the future.
- For the inflow of Masters and PhDs, companies are mainly focused on the Netherlands. There is still a lot of potential in Eastern and Southern Europe. The source of international PhDs at Dutch (technical) universities can also be better utilized. Moreover, with international knowledge workers, you bring in new approaches and views. This benefits innovation.
- The number of engineering students is recovering dramatically. This must be accommodated from within the education system. A numerus fixus at technical universities would be disastrous, the entrepreneurs argue.
The participants concluded with the intention for a new session, together with (regional) government and education. High Tech NL and M2i Human Capital are happy to pick this up.
Would you like to participate? Contact:
- Coen de Graaf at 088 - 555 43 33 or coen.de.graaf@hightechnl.nl
- Marike Rupert at 06 - 30 47 70 67 or m.rupert@m2i.nl