By Merel Engelsman
Despite many breakthroughs in technology, logistics, information technology and environmental awareness, linear business models still dominate. ‘But now we want to transition from sell more, sell faster to a circular economy,’ Den Hollander says. ‘This means we will have to establish an entire infrastructure for product repair, including a pool of skilled laborers.’
Educational institutions will have to adapt accordingly, even though it is hard to predict what the characteristics of the circular economy will ultimately be. But where a fundamental change is required in business models, product design strategies, and consumer awareness, Den Hollander thinks that education will only need a small change in emphasis. ‘Circularity is a perspective, a mentality, on top of subject-specific skills and competencies. And the beauty of it is that once you have seen the circular light, you can never again unsee it.’
Teach the Teacher with video material
Since 2015, the CIRCO programme, supported by the Dutch government, helps in engaging small business owners and creative professionals in the circular economy. It has yielded a wealth of video material on all circular strategies, including repair. ‘The video material is very useful for the education sector,’ Den Hollander says. ‘Together with an educational need it has given rise to the CIRCO Teach the Teacher track. Dozens of lecturers at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and other Higher Vocational Education (HBO) institutions have already completed this voluntary track.’
Den Hollander was present at many of the lesson days. ‘The educators see the circular light the moment you start explaining that there is more to circularity than recycling. They also immediately realise how circular thinking can best be incorporated in their curriculum. This CIRCO track can also be rolled out to Intermediate Vocational Education (MBO) institutions, but I’m not aware of this already happening.’ For Den Hollander, implementing circularity into vocational education curricula is best left to the educators themselves. ‘Nobody has a better understanding of their field of knowledge.’
Increased repair is an inevitability in the transition to a circular economy. But what products will be repaired, who will do the repairing and where? In other words, what kind of skilled labour will society need? That is not something to be predicted with scientific accuracy, but Den Hollander is willing to make some suggestions.
Coordination in the entire educational chain
Next to the kind of product, the skilled labour needed also depends on how the product has been designed. ‘You have repair and repair,’ Den Hollander says. ‘Some repairs can be made by the consumer. But it takes a trained technician, or even an expert, when it becomes too complex or too dangerous.’ Modular design (in which, for example, hazardous parts may be enclosed within an easily replaceable module) can shift this balance somewhat. ‘But then the expert will still be needed to take the module apart, fix what is broken, and put it back into good working order.’ Depending on ability and experience, a different worker may therefore be needed at various positions in the repair chain.
“As soon as you explain that there is much more than recycling, you see the circular light come on”
Den Hollander thinks that effective design for repair and other circular strategies can only come to fruition with close coordination in the entire educational chain. ‘To put it very simply, someone with a university degree comes up with a design principle that someone with a higher vocational degree will need to translate into something practically usable’, he says. ‘And somebody with an Intermediate Vocational degree must be able to skilfully fabricate it. I once received a prototype that hadn’t been milled in accordance with the technical drawings we sent, but it turned out to be the only way to make it work. We must harness these skills and practical knowledge if we want to maximally extend overall product lifespan. The Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences therefore looks for collaborations with both universities and Intermediate Vocational Education institutions.
Vocational pride
With a small change in emphasis in existing vocational tracks likely serving the purpose, there may be no need to establish educational tracks dedicated to repair alone. ‘Those graduating in the upcoming years may of course opt to specialise in repair,’ Den Hollander says. ‘People in repair cafes keep telling me that this kind of work is greatly appreciated and certainly provides added value. A broken product, an upset product owner, and you can make all the difference. Repairing a product brings joy, even more so because it increases sustainability. Repairmanship truly is a profession with vocational pride.’
Marcel den Hollander studied Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft and became a commercial sustainability designer. In 2018, he received his doctorate degree in Circular Product Design. His research into Products that last serves as the basis for the government supported CIRCO. In 2021 he became a professor of Circular Manufacturing Industries at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.
This is an article from the new white paper ‘Repair in the circular economy’ from Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities. The white paper can also be downloaded as a PDF from www.centre-for-sustainability.nl from November 13. All articles, the summary and policy advice also appear in English at www.leidingen-delft-erasmus.nl. Can’t wait? You can request the white paper in advance via this link.