Utrecht, 16 December 2022 - This month, eight Utrecht schoolchildren visited Royal Jaarbeurs to spend a day with event managers and culinary advisor Piet van den Bosch, among others. As part of the 'Bliksemstages' project, an initiative of non-profit organisation JINC, they were given the chance to see how things work at Jaarbeurs. Together with JINC, Jaarbeurs helps children from Utrecht neighbourhoods with socio-economic disadvantages to get a good start on the labour market. The students asked the staff their questions and learned through fun workshops and presentations what Jaarbeurs does and how best to organise an event. Especially the Beatrix Theatre impressed the students.
Lightning internship on the trade fair floor
Every quarter, Jaarbeurs Utrecht welcomes schoolchildren for an internship. The aim is to make them aware of organisational skills and to introduce them to working in the events sector. The programme consisted of a tour of the exhibition halls and the Beatrix Theatre and the students were given a look behind the scenes in the Jaarbeurs kitchen. Culinary consultant Piet van den Bosch taught the students about the ins and outs of a dynamic culinary environment. "On some days we have as many as 2,500 to 3,000 dishes and snacks on the menu. I love showing the students how we face these challenges together behind the scenes. Besides, the need in our profession is high to enthuse as many young people as possible about our wonderful profession, so I hope we were able to inspire the pupils." After the tour, the pupils were tasked with organising their own event.
Jaarbeurs partner of JINC for 9 years
To contribute to creating equal opportunities for children in the Netherlands, Jaarbeurs has been a partner of JINC for nine years. Marloes van den Berg, Chief Sustainability Officer Jaarbeurs: "As involved residents of Utrecht, we like to be there for our fellow citizens. We are therefore proud that within the cooperation with JINC we can inspire young Utrechters with what it is like to work at Jaarbeurs. In this way, we offer young people fair opportunities and help them on their way to work." JINC branch manager Utrecht Annechien van Buurt: ""At the start of JINC in 2004, we helped 1,400 young people from vulnerable neighbourhoods to a fairer chance on the labour market. Last year this was over 63,000 young people. Together, we really can achieve more for young people in vulnerable environments. We are extremely happy that Jaarbeurs also offers schoolchildren various opportunities. Among others, we have also collaborated last years with the 'Boss of Tomorrow' and 'Job Application Training' projects."
Exhibition halls soon to be transformed into National Education Exhibition
For Jaarbeurs, education is an important pillar. One of the exhibitions organised by Jaarbeurs itself is aimed at educating the Netherlands: the National Education Exhibition (NOT). Tens of thousands of education and childcare professionals will gain knowledge and inspiration during NOT from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 January 2023 on the latest teaching aids, innovations and products. Audrey Wilschut, fair manager: "We are looking forward to finally being able to inspire education professionals live again in times of high work pressure. Especially now, it is important to take the sector a step further so that they can make a valuable contribution to the development of the next generation. As a special guest this year, we have Princess Laurentien van Oranje officially opening NOT 2023. We are also giving the stage to well-known top speakers such as professor Erik Scherder, TedX frontman Jim Stolze and well-known TikTok Master Jesper."
