DAM Netherlands: Sustainable mobility and inclusive participation for engaged communities

With the start of the new school year, there has been a problem in pupil transport nationwide, and especially in Rotterdam, due to a shortage of drivers. However, pupil transport and target-group transport offer a good stepping stone to the labour market, especially for older people who are struggling to find work.

Since 2015, we have already gained experience in Zeeland, and now we want to use this specifically for this target group in Rotterdam. We train people for our partners in passenger transport in the region.

Attention is essential here! By paying sincere attention to what people want and can do, and linking this to the needs of employers, supply and demand can be better matched.

How does this work?

Our development programme is tailor-made and lasts 6 months on average. Here, participants go through a landing phase to experience whether passenger transport suits them, followed by a development phase in which they move on to sustainable employment with our partners in the region. In Zeeland, we have managed to achieve a sustainable outflow of 55 to 60% with this approach since 2015. Our approach even served as an example at the programme council's apprenticeship festival.

📸 by Michelle Urbiztondo