Work-themed amusement park in Tilburg

“Imagine Disneyland without the fairytales, pirates and adventures, but with a completely different subject: work, and yet, still as magnificent, fun-filled and exciting.” With those words, entrepreneurs Han Peekel and Steve Sichtman introduce their plans for a new inspirational park called ‘My Future Works’. The initiators want to situate this park in the ‘Spoorzone’, the development area around Tilburg Central Station, and provide ‘10,000 square meters of work-themed fun’. Tilburg University has been closely involved in developing this plan.

Projected costs of the park: between 45 and 73 million euros. That, however, will give you the chance to enjoy attractions such as the Mirrors of Self-esteem, the Haunted House of Failed Careers and the Roller Coaster of Job Interviews. “We want to associate work with fun and contribute to the much-needed innovation of the job market,” the initiators say in their master plan. This inspirational park wants to get its visitors to think about changes to the job market and that way, try to solve its problems.

[slideshow id=113]

The initiators asked economic consultancy ZKA Consultants & Planners to research the plans for their park. Their study is based on interviews with staff at museums, science centers, themed attractions and research institutes in the Netherlands. The benchmark shows that this park can expect 250,000 to 400,000 visitors a year. The consultants have distinguished two target groups; one comprises professionals who visit for the park for seminars and courses, and another consists of so-called day and stay visitors (students, workers and job seekers) who come to visit the park. These groups will spend 10 to 20 million euros a year, of which 70 per cent is spent in the park itself. ZKA estimates that the project will produce 150 to 350 jobs.

Ton Wilthagen, Labor Market professor at Tilburg University, is attached to the project as an advisor. He explains, “This park should have a fairytale atmosphere, similar to the Efteling amusement park, but also have a serious side. After all, we want to solve the job market problems. I think there is a 50-50 chance the park will actually be developed. In the last few months, we have spoken with companies and investors who have expressed serious interest, demonstrating that it is not a fad. The financial plans will be finalized in the coming year.”

My Future Works will be housed in the LocHal, which dates back to 1932 and is centrally located in the Spoorzone. This enormous glass and steel locomotive hall was used as a depot and workshop for locomotives of the Dutch railways.

Wilthagen compares the project to the Dutch institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum, another one of Han Peekel’s projects. This museum informs the visitor about the history of Dutch audiovisual media through various attractions. “The inspirational park My Future Works will have a similar set-up. It aims to have people experience how the job market is changing. We can show films of people talking about working in China, and another space in which industrial machines are demonstrated, and yet another space can be dedicated to the office of the future.”

For now, the university has no plans to financially invest in the project. “We have only offered our expertise. The inspirational park would benefit Tilburg University in several ways, though. It would give us an additional base in the Spoorzone where we could organize Studium Generale-style events, debates for example. And perhaps, build radio and television studios, a facility we currently lack.”

The master plan offers descriptions of the planned attractions. About the Haunted House of Failed Careers: “This main attraction is a modern re-imagination of the haunted house. Visitors enter in groups of twenty and are led through various pitch-black rooms, the floors of which are shaking. They make a narrow escape from the house, leaving behind the blows of destruction. We will be frightened by and laugh at angry bosses and clients, played by famous actors, who suddenly appear in doorways projected onto multimedia walls, “

Wilthagen acknowledges that sounds a little far-out and absurd. How will that solve our job market problems? “That subject will have to be made interesting, so we need to inject this serious issue with some fun. How do you get someone to reflect on work on a free Saturday? Many people view their job as something that encroaches on their free time anyway. In this park, visitors will be able to find out more about the history and mainly, the future of work in a stimulating and interactive way. They are encouraged to think about their personal development and future job possibilities in a fun way. And at the end of the day, visitors go home with their ePortfolio, which illustrates their own competences and skills.”