Something for you? Thousands of jobs available at festivals | Work

Thousands of available jobs? This is unique in the festival world, because ID&T has never had so many vacancies in the past thirty years. “We used to have so many people that we even had to introduce a waiting list. That still seems unthinkable at the moment”, says Rosanne Janmaat, operational director at ID&T Group.

The cause of this staff shortage is due to the corona crisis. The events sector was down for two years and the festival staff started looking for other jobs. Janmaat: ,,It’s only logical, because everyone has to earn money. A large proportion now work at the GGD or in construction. So we have to look for new people.”

This is also recognized by Berend Schans, director of the Dutch Poppodia and Festivals industry association. The pop sector was the first to close and the last to open. And the corona support was often not enough to keep the pants on.” He does not yet have the figures for 2021, but in 2020 at least 1200 employees of VNPF stages were no longer offered work. This is about 20 percent of the number of workers in the sector.

Schans: ,,The figures were even higher at festivals and events and their suppliers. Here there was no more work for 40 to 70 percent of the people. Self-employed people in particular were the victims of this. They had to look for something else. Not all of them will return this festival season.”

This means that a whole new batch of employees has to arise. And that is not very easy, because some people doubt whether the festival summer will really continue. ,,This is understandable after two years of uncertainty”, says Janmaat. ,,But festivals continue. We have every confidence in that. Look at foreign countries, such as America or Great Britain. The festivals just go on there.”

Besides the doubt, many young people just don’t know yet that they can work at a festival. “They only come into contact with this when they actually walk around a festival. But many new students have never experienced a festival.” And many older students – who are familiar with these side jobs – have now graduated. ,,They may already have a permanent job and can therefore not be behind the bar all summer”, says Janmaat.

By the way, ID&T is not only looking for bar staff, but people from all kinds of different sectors: internship builders who can turn a lawn into a complete ‘city’, people who regulate light and sound, cleaners, security guards and, for example, emergency services. “We can use anyone. For example, at a multi-day festival such as Mysteryland, we need 5000 people. The artist team alone consists of about 200 people per day. And there are also a few hundred security men around every day.”

In total, ID&T has 45,000 to 50,000 jobs available. ,,To get this done, we have set up the website De Leukste Zomerbaan in the Netherlands. Here you can see exactly what you can do and where you can come and work”, says Janmaat. A large part of the events takes place in the Randstad, but we can also be found in the rest of the Netherlands. ,,And if you are still busy completing your studies, you can also join later. Anyone who needs it can come and work with us every weekend. Less is also possible, it is very flexible.”

In addition, there are also sufficient permanent jobs available in the event sector. Schans: ,,If you like going out, going to concerts or going to the theatre, you can now turn your hobby into your profession. There are plenty of job opportunities at all levels in the cultural sector.” In any case, the director sees the future positively: “We are now really in a start-up phase. But I’m confident we’ll be back to full normal in a year or two. The love for culture has not disappeared among young people.”

And Janmaat also expects a good festival summer. “We feel the urgency to get everything done. Our staff shortage should not detract from the festival experience. But the ball will roll when we have played a few festivals again. It’ll be fine.”

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