Sander Wubbolts is the Area Manager for Africa, the Middle East, and India at STC International. He has more than 20 years – experience in the maritime, ports, and logistics sectors. He discusses the need for vocational education and training, realistic partnerships, and creating impact.
Thanks to our partnerships with universities and companies, we can operate at the level we want to.
‘Selling courses is not STC International’s main goal – on the contrary. We want to have impact and aim for long-term relationships. Our education and training projects are supervised and monitored continuously. We value long-term, international partnerships, in which we work together with universities and companies. This way, we can guarantee the level at which we want to operate.’
Our organisation has more than 35 years of experience in educating and training, in the Netherlands and abroad. As such, STC International is unique. ‘STC offers a wide range of training programmes and courses under one roof, which sets us apart from the rest of the market. We offer courses that give professionals and experts the knowledge and skills they need, and we provide officially recognized certificates upon successful completion of the courses.’
We have vocational education system in The Netherlands that is not available abroad. Yet, this is exactly the type of education that is needed to build a stable economy.
Having a solid base of (certified) skilled workers is an important requirement for any company when they select a business location, independent of industry sector. However, this base is lacking in many countries. ‘In addition to highly skilled workers, you also need a large group of employees to do operational work. Companies often underestimate this need. STC International aims to make companies and governments aware of this large group of people who are in need of education and training – often tailored to their job. The vocational education system we have in The Netherlands often is not available abroad. We can contribute to fill this gap by offering a variety of vocational training courses.’
Our training and consultancy programmes make socio-economic impact. We can make a difference in people’s lives.
By providing vocational education and training programmes, we can make socio-economic impact. ‘You can create the right conditions for people to develop their knowledge and skills. For example, we trained a woman in South Africa, with no nautical experience, to become a licenced pilot. She now works in a port and lives her dream. By providing the pilot training we indirectly contributed to the black economic empowerment in general and the empowerment of women more specifically. This gives me personal fulfilment, because that is how we can make a difference in people’s lives.’
Our courses are constantly updated with relevant themes such as sustainability, digitalization, and energy transition.
Sander emphasises the need to stay on top of global developments. ‘You need to know what’s happening in the world in order to ensure that your education and courses remain relevant. Themes such as sustainability, digitalization, and energy transition are currently very important. STC International translates these themes into its range of products such as the Online Port Management Programme – Digitalisation, which is made in co-production with the Port of Rotterdam and many other online (self-study) programmes.’
If you have any questions related to this article, or to our training and consultancy in Maritime & Offshore, Port & Terminals, or Transport & Logistics, then please feel free to contact Sander Wubbolts via: s.m.wubbolts@stc-r.nl