You’ve probably heard something like this before: Amsterdam’s tech industry is growing so fast it can’t find enough talent to keep it going. Quincy Dalh begs to differ. He just sees a mismatch between what everyone is looking for. Not one to let a problem rest, Dalh started Hello Amsterdam. ‘The most inclusive hiring event’ to connect tech talent with potential employers.
Searching in the wrong spots
“I really think there is enough talent to power the growth”, says Dalh. He also thinks both talent and startups are searching for each other in the wrong spots. “Tech students or young talent don’t look for jobs at startups and scaleups.” An important reason is, they’ve likely never heard of the next big thing.
“Students would rather join Adyen or Picnic,” Dalh explains. “Something they’ve heard of, something they already know. Or they are being headhunted by a company. They don’t need to look very hard for a job to find one.” It’s not only the students taking a more passive approach to starting their career. Their schools do so as well. “I often see no urgency to give them career guidance. Their schools also think ‘they’ll find a job easy enough’.”
Lack of tech talent?
In the meantime, many startups can’t find skilled tech workers, because they are not looking in the right places like schools, colleges and universities. As with many things, COVID plays a role, making it harder to go out and meet people. Dalh: “There were no opportunities for guest lectures where companies could meet students. Many startups and scaleups simply don’t have a network at the universities.”