Hire facade specialists on call? No problem!

Speaking is Roel Jansen, commercial director at Ergon Jobs. "Particularly in the aluminum and curtain wall industry, people are facing huge peak times. This is what we have responded to with Ergon Jobs. With facadestaff.co.uk we facilitate companies looking for skilled workers for the plastic and aluminum window frame industry.

Think workforces for manufacturing and assembly of plastic and aluminum window frames, curtain walls and glass parts. On a limited scale, we also send out specialists in blinds, shutters and screens, because that is directly related to the facade." Gevelpersoneel.nl is thus a sister organization of Ergon Jobs. "Both companies fall under Ergon Netherlands. We are a small organization with years of expertise in the field of flexible labor for the construction industry. A staffing organization with a clear specialization, in other words."

Speaking the client's language

"To do our job well, we need to speak our clients' language," Jansen continues. "When a project is being hired on, we first make an inventory of which assembly method needs to be applied. We match this with the competencies of craftsmen in our database, after which we offer a careful selection of personnel." Jansen observes that the craft is slowly disappearing from the Netherlands with the aging of skilled workers. "Demographically, most craftspeople are 55+ and we see this group slowly retiring. As a result, craftsmanship in the Netherlands is extinguishing like a night candle. The interest of the youth lags behind and despite the fact that we talk about a very beautiful profession, it takes great effort to retain the young generation. For this reason we work with craftsmen from 16 different countries. After all, craftsmanship still exists across the border."

Problem solving with experienced people

Jansen operates with gevelpersoneel.nl in a real niche market. "Our business is particularly deployed when pressure arises. That means we have to deliver quickly; people want ready-made professionals. That's why we have experienced people from abroad. Indirectly and directly we now do business with some 80 to 90% of companies that are operational in facade technology."

Within the pool of foreign professionals are workers who have been working for Ergon for more than 15 years. "Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of foreign workers who want to settle permanently in the Netherlands. They are starting a family and want to secure their future in the Netherlands. They really are new Dutch citizens: through work, these people integrate smoothly. To speed up integration, we give them language courses. Sometimes our people get permanent employment with clients of ours. That may not be good for our own business, but it is the very best compliment we can receive for our work," Jansen concludes. "We are not a company with a focus on hard numbers. The social factor is just as important to us." ′