The ministers Donner (Social Services) and Plasterk (Education) and their state secretaries Aboutaleb (Social Services) and Van Bijsterveldt (Education) visited Strukton Railinfra on Monday 2 April. The central theme of the visit was EVC, the Dutch abbreviation for recognition of acquired competences. The members of government talked to employees of Strukton Railinfra who received an EVC based certificate in 2006.

EVC
The level of craftsmanship and experience of an employee can increase without being noticed in the course of years. The EVC instrument helps to measure the level of cratsmanship and experience of an employee in an objective way and links this level to a level that is recognized by law. More than 145 of Strukton Railinfra’s employees have acquired a certificate through EVC. EVC projects are supported by a grant from the European Social Fund (ESF). Strukton Railinfra receives a grant covering 50% of the EVC costs from this fund.

Relay house
The party visited a relay house along the Amsterdam – Utrecht railway line, where Strukton Railinfra’s employees explained the working of relays, and told something about their experiences with EVC. Part of the party also visited some of the staff members at Strukton Railinfra’s office in Breukelen.

Successful
The visit was successful. The experiences of the employees in particular were held to be interesting by the ministers and state secretaries.

EVC news release September 2006