Technology Experience Centre opens in Utrecht next year

It should help young people get acquainted with technology and find a job easier

The Council of Mayor and Aldermen in Utrecht has awarded a grant of 600,000 euros to the Technology Experience Centre Utrecht project. TEC Utrecht will become a playground where proven professionals will share their passion for technology, creativity and innovation with young people.

The aim is to get young people under the age of 16 involed and help them gain experience with technology. As the Alderman for economic affairs Klaas Verschuure explains, the Netherlands has a large staff shortage in the technical sector. He thinks that people trained in the use of tech will be desperately needed in the coming years in the country to build homes, to facilitate the energy transition and to help make the economy more sustainable.

By bringing young people into contact with technology, TEC wants to stimulate their interest. They will soon be able to play and experiment with technology in TEC as it will officially be opened in early 2020.

Towards easier realisation on the job market

TEC is a collaborative project involving the education and business sectors and is in line with the municipality of Utrecht's ambition to combat the mismatch in the labour market. It is still too often that young people choose a profession in which they will find it difficult to get employed later.

The subsidy for the project comes from the 'Opportunities for West 2' program from the European Regional Development Fund. Through an urban program for integrated sustainable urban development, Utrecht can use around € 6.4 million in the period 2014-2020 for projects aimed at strengthening the business climate, reducing the mismatch on the labour market and transition to a low-carbon economy.

The TEC Utrecht site in Overvecht also contributes to the Samen voor Overvecht assignment, in which the Municipal Executive accentuates on, among other things, the ambitions to strengthen the perspectives for young people and their motivation to do business.