Amy Oerlemans is commercial director of Kloet Maintenance in Vlaardingen. She and her brother are the fourth generation in the 100-year-old family business. A few years ago, Amy suddenly received a phone call that fundamentally changed the way she perceives her employees. The daughter of one of her employees, Mr Da Silva, called asking her to fire her father because he could no longer keep up his work. Mr Da Silva was a crucial employee for Amy: “There was Da Silva on our facade, so to speak, instead of Kloet. Having to fire this iconic employee would really be a slap in our face.”

On 23 January, the initiators of the Workforce Matching Platform presented their project to Rob Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy. The platform uses AI matching technology to match candidates with technical employers based on skills and competences. The technology objectively suggests the best fit for each vacancy. It also allows for flexible working on projects and jobs. The initiative is in line with the plans of cooperating technical industry sectors to recruit more technicians.

In a tight labour market which is constantly changing, it is important for UWV to quickly anticipate new developments. The traditional matching of supply and demand based on education and work experience no longer suffices. UWV is partnering with work-tech company 8vance to improve its services to jobseekers and employers. By switching to 8vance’s intelligent matching technology, UWV will be able to guide more people to the right job.

8vance kicks off 2023 with 25% team growth. As many as ten new talents have been recruited in just a few weeks. As a supplier of intelligent matching technology between people and work, 8vance has outgrown its start-up baby phase once and for all. The Research, Marketing, Sales, Implementation, Support, UX-design, Development and Information Security disciplines are being strongly reinforced. With this growth spurt, the total number of colleagues now reaches almost 50 specialised employees. We are happy to introduce them to you:

Suppose you have difficulty standing for a long time, talking or concentrating. If so, it is currently difficult to find a suitable vacancy or job. With the help of EU funding, 8vance is now building a smart ‘ability’ profile. With this, anyone can easily indicate their capabilities and limitations, and find work as easily as anyone else. The new features will become available to all 8vance clients during 2023, allowing them to tap into an even larger pool of suitable candidates.

Anyone looking for staff or work in laboratories or process engineering will soon end up at Balans. The company makes dreams come true for people who want to work in these sectors. Balans’ 20 employees pair clients and contractors for the best matches. In order to do so, the Arnhem-based employment agency successfully uses 8vance’s matching technology, which uses AI to accurately predict suitable jobs and candidates.