Kees Shipping Company

Apprenticeships on the Amsterdam canals

Context

It is becoming increasingly important to offer services that are both competing and cost-covering, especially where apprenticeships and daily activities for people with a disability or psychiatric problems are involved. Water transport appeals to the imagination: artisanal, pure, fair and 'genuinely Amsterdam'. The business demand for water transport by small, clean vessels increases and is stimulated by the municipality of Amsterdam in order to limit overburdening of the roads in the city centre and to improve the air quality and the city's streetscape. Beside demand for cargo transport, there is also sufficient demand for small-scale, clean and silent (tourist) passenger transport. 

Initiative

Kees Shipping Company (Rederij Kees) offers people with poor prospects on the job market (ex-homeless, ex-addicted, psychiatrical history, lightly limited mental capacities) a working environment in the Amsterdam water transport sector. It is a social enterprise, offering paid cargo and passenger transport on the Amsterdam waters, with small open vessels, powered by silent and clean electric motors. Cargo bikes are used for further transport from the boats. The company also offers warehousing, because of the limited space companies on the canals have. Rederij Kees cooperates with beer brewery De Prael, mental health institution De Regenboog Groep and transport company Mokum Mariteam.

Impact

Rederij Kees stimulates societal integration by apprenticeships and creating meaningful working situations. Participants can do practical training, education and courses (forklift truck certificate, limited boat licence, technical assistant, logistics worker). The goal is outflow to regular jobs.