We want to develop FLIX: a microlearning platform & talent agency that trains and VCA-certifies students in just five days. With this fast, practical approach, students become ready to support the energy transition with hands-on tasks, ranging from administrative support (like KLIC reporting) and site marking to digging and moving materials, inspired by the ‘douwwerkers’ from back in the day. With sharp focus, our aim is to shorten the training process from months to weeks, creating valuable assistants for professionals. This means experts can concentrate on the complex, high-impact work, while students help accelerate the transition. That’s our edge: we don’t just fill jobs—we unlock potential. - Students gain unique CV-skills, income, and purpose, turning their ambition into action. - Companies get instant, hassle-free access to a motivated talent pool, with the option for long-term growth (talent bridge), simply by paying a placement fee. To build this platform, we want to collaborate with early-retired professionals from the field. They have the knowledge, but not always the capacity for heavy work anymore. By transferring their expertise into microlearning modules, they can keep contributing to the transition in a new, meaningful way.

The hard truth is this: our energy grid can’t keep up. And without a stronger grid, sustainable solutions like solar panels, wind turbines, and even AI innovations simply can’t scale. That’s the real bottleneck: we keep investing millions in new technology, but without people to build and maintain the infrastructure, nothing changes. Right now, with the current talent pool, we will simply never get there. For example, in Rotterdam, 2 out of 3 vacancies for the energy transition remain unfilled (ABN AMRO, 2024). But we’ve identified an untapped resource: students. We represent a large part of the potential workforce and care deeply about the climate. So we asked ourselves: why can’t we be part of the solution? At the moment, many of us work in retail or hospitality, jobs that are neither particularly fulfilling nor challenging. Yet, our research shows that students are eager for well-paid, flexible work, even when it involves manual skills. The main barriers? 1. A lack of knowledge on where to start. 2. A skills gap that prevents students from entering the sector. We began developing this idea during the Bachelor course Entrepreneurship and after winning the Dutch bachelor competition, we are eager to take it further.