Samsung Partners with the Dutch Government to Tackle Youth Unemployment and Prepare Young People for Jobs in the Evolving Economy

Samsung  Electronics recently brought together students, graduates and other young people between the ages of 20 and 27 for a day of business skills training. The Digital Employment Day, held at the Circus Theater in The Hague, Netherlands, offered job seekers career advice and skills training on topics such as big data and business intelligence. The Digital Employment Day was held in cooperation with the government of the Netherlands, the municipality of The Hague, Samsung, Capgemini and the Randstad Group.

At the event, Minister Jet Bussemaker, Prince Constantijn van Oranje and the Dutch directors of Twitter and Samsung also presented their visions for better preparing students to fill jobs in the digital economy and close the country’s growing skills gap.

“Youth unemployment is a growing social problem here in the Netherlands. The digitalization of the economy has created new options and job vacancies, but the current education system does not sufficiently prepare students for these roles,” said Prince Constantijn. “Digital skills are critically important to securing a meaningful job in our evolving economy.”

Diverse labor studies confirm that in the coming years, the job market and employment requirements will continually evolve – and often because of new technological components. For example, doctors are now conducting operations from a distance through the use of robotic arms, while concept developers are working to incorporate virtual reality into education and even marketers are using big data to create more effective consumer campaigns.

“The Digital Employment Day provided me with valuable insights into the kinds of skills I really need to succeed in today’s workforce,” says Rianne Rapmund, a student at HRM (Human Resource Management) at Leiden University. “Next to that, there are endless possibilities for advice and networking. I would recommend that everybody visit these kinds of events.”

The Digital Employment Day is part of Tackling Youth Unemployment of the municipality and the government.