A match made in Twente

Twente Board launched the Twente Portal: companies from Twente can find talent and graduates can find a suitable company from Twente.

It is the answer to an unfortunate question that arose after a survey some time ago: how is it possible that 85 per cent of all graduates turn their backs on our region and have difficulty naming companies from Twente, even if they have all studied here for at least four years?

There was no lack of initiative for keeping ‘them’ here, but there was no cohesion. And now there is, with the arrival of the Talent Portal.

Kathy van Eijkelenburg: “We all missed out on enormous opportunities, and we want to change that with the Talent Portal. We listen to talent and ask them a clear question: what way of looking for an organisation or job that suits you do you prefer?”

“I soon found out that there were no less than 173 initiatives regarding this issue, but not much cohesion. Companies sometimes even worked against each other unconsciously. The trust was there, but there was no ‘together’.” After her research, van Eijkelenburg came into contact with Gyula Rychtarski, Talent Programme Manager and member of the Young Twente Board. What followed was one concrete task: a Talent Portal had to be created, and van Eijkelenburg started working.

Twente brand manager Ellen Kuipers is also working on the Talent Portal, together with Van Eijkelenburg. “We have developed twente.com into a platform that matches supply and demand over the past couple of years”, says Kuipers. “And, as a triple helix cooperation, Twente Board also brings focus to the development of Twente into a leading green technological top region. We invest in the innovative power for a future-proof and sustainable Twente, and thus in attracting and retaining talent. Presenting Twente as an attractive region for living and working is important for attracting and retaining talent. The development of the Talent Portal is a necessary development, in which we can work as a facilitator for all of Twente. The search engine behind the Talent Portal is useful for all great companies, institutions and initiatives.

A lot of research had to be done before the Talent Portal could be created. Van Eijkelenburg: “Who are the talents that we are looking for? We identified thirteen different groups. All these groups, which consist of the young, the old, those with intermediate or those with higher education levels, expats, part-timers, status holders and those with unused potential, form the bottom of a sandwich. The organisations are the top of the sandwich. We have split these organisations into two. There are around 20,000 companies in Twente, and 150 of them have more than 250 employees. There are many smaller companies, especially compared to the west. These entrepreneurs are mainly focused on their customers, products, services or their people; not so much on organising their HR or finances. This makes sense, so we made a distinction between companies with and without an HR department.”

Kuipers: “Companies without an HR department live in the here and now. They want to grow now and need someone now. You must guide them differently, so they can reach one of the target groups.” Van Eijkelenburg and Kuipers call the different functionalities in the new portal the filling of the sandwich, and the way Twente is presented is the red sauce covering it all.”

The talent portal delivers customised work. “We want to establish links with talent inside and outside of Twente, so we can actively inform them about relevant matters. The ‘supply side’ within the online search engine has four sections: working, living, leisure and self-development. The ‘demand side’ of the Talent Portal does not try to get all the talent into some sort of database. We use LinkedIn for that”, explains Kuipers.

“Around 30,000 people visit twente.com every month, at the moment. We match the interests of these visitors to the content, companies and vacancies. If someone adds the tag ‘robotics’ to their profile, they will receive all the relevant content we have regarding robotics. We found out while talking with the target group, that many of them are not only looking for vacancies, but also for organisations that suit them. They also make their choices based on how these companies contribute to a better world. We have therefore linked the portal to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. If you want to know which companies in Twente contribute to the energy transition, for example, you will be able to see that with just a glance.”

“All tags in the new portal are unique. As far as we know, something similar does not yet exist in the Netherlands. And we will develop it further. To be continued!”