How DOTT, Xillio, and others plan to leverage TOMAS CONNECT #4 to build local tech talent pipeline

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โ€œThere is no senior without a junior.โ€

This quote from TOMAS eloquently captures the importance of talent. The success of every great company on this planet has been owed to them having the best talent pool. However, the art of building this great talent pool has never been easier and the cracks have often shown.

The challenge became apparent during the pandemic when companies needed to recalibrate their employee pool and even find local talent. For companies operating in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and the Netherlands, the task has been made easier by TOMAS CONNECT, a live matchmaking event that helps companies invest in the local talent pipeline.

What is TOMAS CONNECT #4?

TOMAS Local Talent Investment
TOMAS CONNECT #4 will act as a gateway for companies to benefit from local talent | Image Credit: TOMAS

TOMAS CONNECT #4 is the fourth edition of CONNECT hosted by TOMAS as a way to help companies engage and connect with local talent. This year, the event is being held as an in-person event at Zoku Amsterdam on October 7 with registration and walk-in beginning at 3PM CEST.

The event is essentially an opportunity for companies in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to find solutions to their recruitment and CSR needs in one place. TOMAS CONNECT #4 will be an opportunity for companies to meet a number of local educators, projects and programs that could help companies add new sources to their recruitment pipeline and diversify their talent pool.

The idea of finding right talent is both time and resource consuming, TOMAS CONNECT #4 wants to make it simpler. With an optimised matchmaking between companies and the talent development initiatives, the CONNECT #4 will be a gateway to over 70 ways the region of Amsterdam Metropolitan Area supports the local tech talent ecosystem.

“This time we invite companies to take a lead and present their recruitment and/or CSR needs to the number of local educators, programmes and projects. Those initiatives will be carefully pre-selected prior to the event. This tailored approach ensures we meet expectations from both sides, companies and initiatives,” says Igneta Skliaustyte, co-founding partner at TOMAS.

She says there will be around 10 companies at the LIVE matchmaking event this year and companies like Xillio, DOTT, TomTom will pitch their needs or interest to the initiatives. “Both active and passive participants will be able to meet the initiatives 1-1, join the strategic discussion and networking drinks. We are open to everyone that wants to tap into the local talent ecosystem,” she adds.

Need for local tech talent

TOMAS Live Matchmaking
TOMAS helps companies find local tech talent with its live matchmaking event | Image Credit: TOMAS

At the heart of TOMAS CONNECT #4 is the ever prevalent need for tech talent and lack of adequate resources to meet those needs. Igneta says the pandemic has accelerated the need for reskilling and upskilling.

“There are 70 talent development initiatives in the tech sector alone. Now that we’ve got TOMAS – a map to all the upskilling, reskilling, and life-long learning initiatives, it is easier to advise companies that are looking for talent or ways to contribute,” she adds.

At CONNECT #4, Igneta sees companies showing their interest in diversity and inclusion and supporting people from “underrepresented communities, refugees, and also gender diversity in the tech sector.”

Amsterdam-based micro-mobility startup DOTT is coming to CONNECT #4 with a clear focus on diversity and inclusion. “We have a very diverse company with over 75 nationalities working across 42 cities in 10 countries. We have relocated quite a lot of people to our HQ and that really brings in people with new backgrounds and ideas to the business which is what we are really looking for,” says Christopher Redmond, Tech Recruitment Manager at DOTT.

In order to expand its diversity and inclusion efforts, DOTT has also set up a D&I committee and has even started working with an external partner to develop training for the whole company.

Redmond says diversity and inclusion has been a challenge within the tech side of DOTT. With TOMAS, DOTT wants to overcome this challenge by connecting with partners that are solely focussed on D&I.

TOMAS CODAM Initiative
Amsterdam-based DOTT has already partnered with CODAM initiative | Image Credit: TOMAS

“We are focused on having a balanced workforce and internships are important at Dott. We have previously partnered with CODAM a number of times and those interns have become very valuable employees for us,” says Redmond. “Interns bring a certain type of energy and enthusiasm that we really love here and so I know there are partners that will also be able to assist us in this department,” he adds.

The need for tech talent won’t just revolve around diversity and inclusion and will also focus on sustainability. “There is no senior without a junior,” Igneta says, highlighting the key focus of TOMAS.

She wants to see more effort in hiring reskilled juniors at CONNECT #4. “The local academies all together train more than 2,000 tech talents per year, of which at least 40% are women. Their students are very motivated, success-driven and hardworking. I hope to see an inflow of companies that are not yet in touch with the local educators. That is where the real impact happens,” she adds.

Finding the right talent at TOMAS CONNECT #4

At the root of this initiative by TOMAS is to help companies in Amsterdam find the right tech talent. Matthijs Geuzinge, Director Operations at Xillio, says the data migration company is not looking at people “capable of doing stuff but instead identify the right potential early.”

This is in stark contrast to traditional hiring methods used by companies and Matthijs says finding talent with this early potential is not easy. He says the challenge is not associated with “technical talent acquisition but the social intelligence necessary to figure out if someone fits within your culture.”

“I think our main purpose when it comes to finding talent is unlocking someone’s potential,” adds Geuzinge.

Geuzinge adds that events like TOMAS CONNECT #4 greatly helps Xillio find this talent with early potential. โ€œ[TOMAS] brings the actual employers like Xillio and other partners together and enables them to exchange experiences, best practices, and puts them in the spotlight,” he says.

Christopher Redmond from DOTT shares a similar experience about TOMAS. “A few months ago we attended an event Tomas hosted, this event focused on addressing the most common issues faced by tech companies, having too many seniors and a lack of diversity in their tech teams,” he says.

An opportunity to nurture local talent

Gunjan DOTT TOMAS
Gunjan Sharma from DOTT will be one of the key speakers at the event | Image Credit: TOMAS

For Xillio, DOTT, and others, the TOMAS CONNECT #4 is an opportunity to nurture local talent. Despite operating in a niche data migration industry, Matthijs says Xillio is deeply committed to hiring people with early potential, help them learn and turn them into future leaders.

As an early adopter when it comes to hiring local talent, Matthijs says Xillio now partners with many local talent providers and is involved in development of actual curriculum.

“We contribute by providing workshops and information that can be included in the curriculum that will make the process valuable for the talent that’s actually participating,” he says.

On October 7, when companies like Xillio and DOTT descend at Zoku Amsterdam, the topic won’t just be restricted to finding local talent. However, the discussion will move to sustainable skilling of these talents and offering them a pathway to become future leaders and entrepreneurs. By offering a platform to meet that goal, TOMAS will elevate itself as an arbitrator of talent in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

Editorial team

The editorial team of Silicon Canals brings you technology news from the European startup ecosystem.ย 

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