Het Financieele Dagblad, the Netherlands: Cognizant’s Country Manager for Benelux Says Companies Need to Involve Early on in Education to Help Create Educational Programs

“The Dutch government has announced some extra funding for technical studies, and there is a greater focus in general on ICT and youths across the Netherlands and Europe”, says Manoj Mehta. Excerpts:

“For IT skills to really become part of everyday business activity, a certain amount of coding expertise should become part of the normal curriculum of any qualification or educational program.

We require more joint initiatives: companies need to be involved at an earlier stage in education to help create educational programs, as well as mentor students (either in practical terms or in their studies). For example, we have partnerships with colleges, where we advise on several areas including their curricula.

By ensuring collaboration at an early stage, students will have an opportunity to study and understand the needs of the labor market, right from the start of their education. This could include internships and also hands-on training from people who work in the areas/courses of their interest and who can give them the benefit of their experience.”

Click here to read more in Dutch (subscription required).