Idealis building in Wageningen centre. Photo Resource ‘We want to see whether accommodating working young people is also a good fit for us’, says Idealis director Bart van As. In the pilot, between 10 and 15 studios in a student complex will be reserved for working youngsters who are not studying.
Van As emphasises that these are not rooms in student houses. ‘These are independent studios in student complexes.’ Working young people between the ages of 22 and 27 can sign a youth contract, which allows them to live in such a studio for a maximum of five years.
‘We want to see how people live together in such a complex and whether this suits us and our target group. You can do endless research on this and write reports about it, but we are just going to try it on a small scale and see how it goes.’
Housing shortage
There are several reasons for the pilot, says Van As. ‘We are a social organisation and are keen to contribute to solutions for challenges such as the housing shortage among young people. We are also seeing changes in the way people study. Students sometimes take a gap year or go to work temporarily, and working young people often continue to study. Students and young people in work are therefore becoming increasingly similar.’ In addition, expanding the target group would make Idealis less vulnerable in the future in the event of declining student numbers.
It is not yet known in which complex the pilot will take place. It is also not yet clear when the first working youngsters will be allocated a studio. ‘We aim to have the first young working people move into a studio before the end of this year.’
