The workshop is often already there, the know-how is not
We hear this at almost every school we visit. Sound familiar?
Nobody was ever taught this
Micro soldering and modern device repair are not part of any teacher training programme. The teacher who is supposed to run the lesson has never been taught it either. That is not a criticism of the teacher, it is a gap in what is on offer.
Equipment that goes unused
Soldering stations and microscopes that were bought and then ended up in a cupboard, because nobody dares to teach with them. Two days of training turns that cupboard back into a workshop.
Pupils who talk about it at home
A pupil who replaces the cracked screen of their own phone shows it to everyone. No open day can match that as promotion for the technical trades, and it costs you a single lesson day.
There is work in it, and there will be more
Repair businesses are short of people. With the European right to repair rules, that shortage will only grow. A pupil who can do this has a trade that is in demand and that will not simply disappear.
We teach the class, or we train your teacher
Which of the two suits you best depends on whether you want this as a one-off or as a fixed part of your programme.
We teach the class. We arrive with the complete kit and run the lesson. Your teacher looks on and does not have to prepare anything. Ideal for a project week, an elective module or an introduction within a technology carousel.
We train your teacher. One or two teachers take a course with us and can then run it themselves, year after year. More expensive in the first week, far cheaper from year two onwards.
Many schools do both: first a lesson day to see whether it catches on with the pupils, then training the teacher if it works out.
A day in the workshop
This is what an introductory day in phone repair usually looks like. For a longer programme or a different subject we put together something tailor-made.
Morning: taking it apart
How a device is put together, why you always disconnect the battery first, and what goes wrong if you do not. After that everyone opens up a device themselves.
Afternoon: replacing a screen
Every pupil replaces a screen themselves and reassembles the device. If it works at the end of the day, you have a pupil who knows they can do it.
What we bring
Tools, parts, devices to practise on, teaching materials and enough workstations. All the school has to arrange is a room with tables, power sockets and good lighting.
Where this is usually paid from
Every school arranges this differently. This is what we come across in practice, so you know who to talk to.
- Professional development budget. If this is about training your teachers. That is usually the fastest route, because it is already in the department's budget.
- Sterk Techniekonderwijs (Dutch scheme). If your pre-vocational school is part of a technology region in the Netherlands, the scheme runs from 2025 to 2028. Ask your STO coordinator what fits within the regional plan; new applications are no longer possible.
- Workshop and equipment. If equipment is being bought anyway, the training to work with it is a logical item on the same budget.
- Project week or elective module. Many schools have a separate pot for this, outside the regular timetable.
- Working together with industry. Regional technology funds and companies that want to help bring new people into their own sector.
Not sure which pot it should come from? Give us a call or send us an email. We have had this conversation many times and are happy to think it through with you, even if it is ultimately your head of department who decides.
The questions we get most often
Which level is this suitable for?
How many pupils can take part at the same time?
Does our school have to put this out to tender?
What does the school need to arrange?
Can pupils bring their own phone?
Do the pupils get anything on paper?
Do you travel outside the Netherlands as well?
Start with a single day
Tell us which class you have in mind and how big it is. You will get a programme with a price from us that you can take forward internally. If it works out, we can then look at making it a fixed arrangement.