Human Capital Agenda LBSP
The growth of the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) continues, even stronger than in recent years. Companies and institutions in the largest innovation district in the Netherlands in the field of Life Sciences & Health expect an increase from the current 20,000 jobs to 27,000-30,000 jobs in 2027. This is stated in the Human Capital Agenda (HCA) 'Leiden Bio Science Park 2023 -2028, 'Zonder Talent Geen Groei' ('Without Talent No Growth'), which was presented on Wednesday 7 December. Entrepreneurs, educational institutions and government will work together in the coming years with this agenda to meet the demand for talent.
The Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP) is an important growth engine for the province of South Holland and the entire Dutch economy. Here, more than 350 companies and knowledge institutions work together to develop new medicines, vaccines and therapies. This varies from start-ups to large, international companies such as Janssen, which has developed a corona vaccine in Leiden that is sold worldwide. The increase in the number of jobs has been higher than the national average for years. And that growth will continue: the companies and institutions present at LBSP expect an increase from the current 20,000 jobs to 27,000-30,000 jobs in 2027, according to research by the Human Capital Agenda Leiden Bio Science Park.
More demand for MBO and HBO students
At the same time, the agenda notes a shift in the demand for talent. In the coming years, professionals from intermediate and higher vocational education will be particularly needed, partly because, in addition to R&D, more and more in-house production facilities are being built on and around the LBSP. This is a major challenge, because demographic shrinkage and a fall in the number of people choosing to study for a technical degree program mean that the intake of MBO and HBO is decreasing. So it is time for action. To this end, about 45 partners have jointly drawn up the Human Capital Agenda Leiden Bio Science Park 2023-2027.
Agenda with six lines of action
The parties behind the Human Capital Agenda LBSP propose that education, companies and governments work together more intensively. The impending shortage of talent can be reduced in the short and long term along six 'action lines'. Examples of this are greater retention of talent already working at LBSP (e.g. by developing an attractive range of continuing education and training), ensuring that more graduates go to work at LBSP (e.g. by offering a wider range of internships and retention), better connecting education to the labor market, attracting more talent from the rest of South Holland, investing in housing for international employees, and promoting technology as a profile and study choice in secondary education.
Inspiration for the region and the rest of the country
The initiators of the Human Capital Agenda are Ida Haisma (director of the LBSP Foundation) and Joeri van den Steenhoven (Executive Board of Leiden University). “This HCA is a widely supported and directional agenda for all organizations at the LBSP,” says Haisma. ‘The HCA will further intensify the cooperation between all organisations, including companies and educational institutions. We also see the creation, process and content of this HCA as inspiration for the region and for the rest of the Netherlands.'
Clear signal
‘As a university of applied sciences, we are closely involved in the Leiden Bio Science Park and feel our responsibility to help meet the demand for talent,’ adds Van den Steenhoven. "But the challenge is huge. This requires a joint effort and strategy from all parties. We now have this human capital agenda for that. This means that the Leiden Bio Science Park can continue to be an important growth engine for South Holland and the Netherlands in the coming years.'
Read the original article by Leiden Bio Science Park in Dutch