ICT TRIBE ALMERE

One of Almere's economic pillars is tech & transition. The city wants to put itself on the map as the tech city of the Netherlands and is fully committed to innovation and growth. As a platform that connects IT talent with opportunities, ICT Tribe Almere plays a key role in this. By training and guiding people from diverse backgrounds to a career in IT, ICT Tribe Almere strengthens the local labour market and Almere's position as a tech city.

Our mission

Khalid: "ICT Tribe Almere is all about discovering, training and connecting IT talent with companies, which is badly needed as there is a huge shortage of well-trained IT personnel and developments in IT and technology are moving incredibly fast. Innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the labour market. This particularly impacts jobs with many repetitive or administrative tasks. Employees in these kinds of jobs are at risk because soon a large part of their tasks will be taken over by AI. ICT Tribe Almere offers them the chance to take in-service training so that they develop more digital skills, and have a better chance on the labour market. We also provide full retraining courses to become IT specialists".

All IT talent is welcome

With its central location and modern infrastructure, Almere is an attractive option for businesses to locate. Throughout the business world, IT plays an increasingly important role and so the demand for people with IT skills is growing everywhere. The IT industry itself is also well represented in our city and is eager for IT talent.

ICT Tribe Almere is a young, ambitious, driven organisation of professionals with a social heart. It consists of a team of specialists who bring with them very diverse experiences and knowledge ranging from IT and project management, training, didactics, and current IT education. Each team member plays a crucial role in shaping and implementing ICT Tribe Almere's strategy. Together, they transform Almere into a city where technological development goes hand in hand with collaboration and inclusiveness.

The enthusiasm of director Khalid Hafid and community manager Arne-jan IJzerman is contagious. Khalid sets the big picture and strongly believes in the power of inclusion; he wants to give everyone a chance to participate in the IT world. Arne-jan facilitates cooperation between employers, trainers and IT talent, creating a close-knit IT community where everyone feels welcome. Khalid and Arne-jan obviously don't do this just the two of them, Salma, Jeffrey, Aloys and Dylan complete the ICT Tribe team and each of them plays an important role in the whole thing.

Open, socially engaged startup

ICT Tribe Almere grew out of the ICT Fieldlab project, an initiative of the municipality of Almere, ROC Flevoland and Province of Flevoland. In November 2023, ICT Tribe Almere was established as an independent foundation and was given its own location in the ROC Almere Buiten building. A visit to the Tribe meeting point is worthwhile. Downstairs is a spacious meeting area, and an open office space with workstations for clients, companies and IT professionals in training. Upstairs are the office spaces and classrooms. It feels like a place where energy and creativity come together. But what really impresses is the stories behind the people who found their place in IT thanks to ICT Tribe Almere. Like the bakery worker who retrained as an ICT specialist and the professional dancer who gave his career a new twist by training to become a Network Administrator.

Straight from education to job

Last year, ICT Tribe Almere retrained two groups to become IT Support Staff or Junior Network Administrator. Among them are both school leavers and people with long work experience. They followed an intensive 12-week program covering technical skills as well as soft skills. Khalid: "At the graduation ceremony of the last group, the hall was full of family and friends. After the ceremony, we had immediately organised speed dates with employers, which led to several follow-up appointments. Some graduates have even already signed contracts. That is of course fantastic because that is what we do it for. Over 70% of the people we train here find a job in IT within a few months."

ICT Tribe Almere in practice

The retraining process is important, but where do you get suitable candidates from and how do you connect them with companies? ICT Tribe Almere has thought about that too: Khalid: "We spot talent through hackathons, knowledge sessions, master classes and through our partners. People who want to orientate themselves to the IT profession, we give them the opportunity to follow a Pathways program through our partner Techgrounds. This broad orientation in IT is partly made possible in cooperation with the Regional Werkbedrijf Flevoland (RWF). Flevoland residents can follow the Pathways program free of charge. We also organise regular speed dates, job fairs and internship conferences to connect IT talent and the business community." Arne-jan adds: "We don't do these kinds of activities alone. To appeal to as many target groups as possible and make an impact, we work together with all kinds of partners such as schools, companies, governments and knowledge institutions. Each partner brings unique expertise and resources that are essential to our success".

Fast-growing community

A close-knit community of IT talent, employers, training institutes, government agencies and experts from the IT sector has grown up around ICT Tribe Almere. Arne-jan highlights some of them: "In terms of education, we work intensively with the ROC. We are in the same building and hire teachers from the ROC for some classes. Together with the ROC of Flevoland, we are also co-founders of the Practoraat Actueel IT Onderwijs, which, among other things, maps information on the supply and demand of IT skills. We then use that information in compiling our training portfolio, which we develop together with IT training specialist Fast Lane Benelux. With our technology partner Inclufy, we have commissioned and customised the application WorkBoost for our student target group, and with higher education we organise hackathons or job fairs, for example, to connect companies with trained IT talent."

The power of together

The Municipality of Almere is one of the founders of ICT Tribe Almere and an active partner in the cooperation. Other important cooperation partners are social organisations such as Techgrounds, TechMeUp, Jinc and Werkbedrijf Flevoland. These partners play an important role in the development of ICT Tribe as a device to increase skills and knowledge about IT in the region. Finally, a special partner program has been set up for companies that want to attract more IT talent via ICT Tribe Almere. All kinds of well-known local companies participate in this. Currently, about 10 companies have already joined the partner program and the intention is to increase this number soon. Arne-jan: "Within the partner program, we offer several flavours. The benefits participants get depend on the level at which they become partners. For instance, top-level partners get priority in scouting IT talent."

Cooperation with metropolitan region Amsterdam

ICT Tribe Almere focuses mainly on Almere and the Flevoland region, but is also active in the High Impact Public-Private (HIPP) collaboration Circular and Digital. In it, they work with companies and educational institutions from the Amsterdam metropolitan region on innovation, circularity and training talent for the regional labour market. A growing number of partners are interested in ICT Tribe Almere's services, which is good news. Arne-jan: "More and more municipalities are investing in the development of IT talent in their region and we take it as a compliment that they also want to make use of ICT Tribe Almere's offer in the process."

Share your entrepreneurial story too? Tell us at info@onderneeminalmere.nl/en.

Stay up to date with the latest news, interesting developments for you as a (potential) entrepreneur and upcoming events? Follow us on LinkedIn or sign up for the newsletter here.