{"id":50688,"date":"2026-01-30T13:39:46","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/flanders-metals-valley-if-we-want-to-retain-local-talent-we-need-to-engage-in-dialogue-with-the-education-sector\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:56:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:56:57","slug":"flanders-metals-valley-if-we-want-to-retain-local-talent-we-need-to-engage-in-dialogue-with-the-education-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/flanders-metals-valley-if-we-want-to-retain-local-talent-we-need-to-engage-in-dialogue-with-the-education-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Flanders Metals Valley: \u2018If we want to retain local talent, we need to engage in dialogue with the education sector.\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe challenges facing the metal and manufacturing industry are considerable, but at the same time, the future offers enormous opportunities. That is precisely why Flanders Metals Valley (FMV) has chosen to focus explicitly on the future generation during Advanced Engineering. On the first day of the fair, they will bring education and industry together around one crucial theme: talent development.<\/strong>

Flanders Metals Valley is a network organisation that brings together companies, research institutes and universities within the Flemish metal ecosystem. Its founding members include heavyweights such as Aperam, Nyrstar, Umicore, Aurubis and OCAS. The network has since grown to around fifty members.

\u2018Today, we bring together not only major industrial players, but also SMEs, universities such as KU Leuven, UGent and VUB, and research institutions such as VITO and OCAS,\u2019 says Wim Maervoet, coordinator of FMV. \u2018What connects them are common challenges that can be tackled more efficiently together than alone.\u2019

Education and industry in dialogue<\/strong>

One of those challenges is finding and retaining talent. At Advanced Engineering, FMV therefore deliberately focuses on schools and STEM education. \u2018Education must be able to indicate what it needs, but industry must also make clear which skills are crucial today and tomorrow,\u2019 explains Wim. \u2018On the first day of the fair, many schools and teachers visit, which is the ideal moment to start that dialogue.\u2019

\u2018Engaging in dialogue often leads to very concrete actions: company visits, guest lectures, teaching materials or guided tours.\u2019

During the event, various companies from the FMV network share concrete examples of how they collaborate with educational institutions. This is followed by an open debate and a networking opportunity.

\u2018Last year, we organised a similar event at Technopolis, and it was hugely inspiring. Companies then effectively build sustainable relationships with schools in their region to attract local STEM talent. Simply engaging in dialogue often leads to very concrete actions: company visits, guest lectures, teaching materials or guided tours.\u2019

Fishing in the same pond<\/strong>

According to Wim, this connection between education and industry is more important today than ever. \u2018Everyone is fishing in the same pond these days. All forms of industry are looking for talent. So it is essential to remain top of mind with young people and their teachers, while at the same time positively reinforcing the image of the sector.\u2019

\u2018Everyone is fishing in the same pond today. So it is essential to remain top of mind with young people and their teachers.\u2019

There is also a broader social ambition at play here. \u2018We attract a lot of talent from abroad today, and that is and remains a good thing. But we also have a strong education system that produces local talent. To prevent that talent from being poached, we need to offer them prospects. And those prospects are created through dialogue and cooperation.\u2019

More than just a trade fair<\/strong>

The event at Advanced Engineering is part of a broader initiative by Flanders Metals Valley. Every year, the organisation sets up a dozen activities, ranging from plant visits and substantive seminars to industry nights where companies can introduce themselves to students.

\u2018Our added value lies in knowledge sharing and networking,\u2019 concludes Wim. \u2018You learn new things, but above all, you get to know the right people to move forward together.\u2019

The \u201cwar for talent\u201d is a familiar problem for many companies in the metal and manufacturing industry. But a strong network and targeted collaborations offer opportunities. An unmissable opportunity to build the future of the sector together: Wednesday 6 May at Flanders Expo Ghent.<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The challenges facing the metal and manufacturing industry are considerable, but at the same time, the future offers enormous opportunities. That is precisely why Flanders Metals Valley (FMV) has chosen to focus explicitly on the future generation during Advanced Engineering. On the first day of the fair, they will bring education and industry together around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1614,"featured_media":50663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Flanders Metals Valley: \u2018If we want to retain local talent, we need to engage in dialogue with the education sector.\u2019 ","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,2],"tags":[],"edition":[204],"class_list":["post-50688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en","category-uncategorized","edition-advanced-manufacturing-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1614"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50688"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50689,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50688\/revisions\/50689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50688"},{"taxonomy":"edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.advanced-manufacturing.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/edition?post=50688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}