The Province of South Holland is collaborating with the Economic Board South Holland to create a future-proof labor market. Through the Human Capital Agenda South Holland, various sub-agreements are established in which education, government, and business work together on training, innovation, and skills. One of these sub-agreements is the new program “Lifelong Innovation and Learning in the Gorinchem Region” at i_lab in Gorinchem.
For this program, the Province of South Holland is providing a subsidy of €372,500. The program targets employees and companies in the region, helping them develop new skills and apply innovations directly in their daily work.
With this program, the province, together with participating partners, invests in the development of employees and the innovation capacity of the region. This enables companies, educational institutions, and local governments in Gorinchem to collaborate more strongly and respond to technological and societal changes.
Learning and innovating together in Gorinchem
i_lab is a regional innovation and learning environment that functions as a cooperative platform connecting learning, working, and innovating, based at the regional vocational and innovation campus in Gorinchem and as a hub within the network of education, business, and government. Thanks to the provincial subsidy, more employees in the region can acquire new skills and learn how to apply innovations in their daily work. This makes organizations more productive and future-proof.
The Innovation Expedition: learning by doing
An important part is the Innovation Expedition, a practice-oriented learning and innovation trajectory where employees work on a concrete issue from their own organization. From robotization to digitalization with AI, learning is always central. Companies receive customized guidance from experts, accelerate innovations on the work floor, and develop new skills that add immediate value. Participating companies receive:
- Guidance from innovation and technology experts
- Acceleration on the work floor
- Practical, directly applicable solutions
Stronger collaboration between teams and organizations
Louisa Visser, director of i_lab, explains: “By working from real issues on the work floor, innovation arises that is immediately relevant and produces results. What makes this approach so strong is the collaboration: companies inspire each other, learn from experts, and develop new skills that add lasting value. We invest not only in technology but also in people and thus in the future-proofing of our region.”
Practical examples from Gorinchem
Royal Van der Leun
This company developed an AI tool to analyze programming code faster and error-free.
Hermeta
This company is working on robotization of the packing department and experiences improved collaboration and focus.
Redfox
This company researches how AI drawings can be automatically assessed, making errors visible faster and increasing productivity.
Broad support in the region
The project is supported by a broad network: 6 school boards, 7 regional municipalities, and more than 50 companies are connected to i_lab Gorinchem. The program runs from September 2025 to December 2027 and supports over 350 employees and more than 35 employers in the region.
With this investment, the Province of South Holland strengthens the innovation capacity, collaboration, and future-proofing of the Gorinchem region.
Read more about the Human Capital Agenda South Holland on the website of Economic Board South Holland (opens in new window).