Labour and education

As is the case in many developed economies, Dutch labour market policy in recent years has been shaped by an impending ageing of the population. This has prompted the government to introduce measures aimed at increasing labour market participation and increasing effective retirement ages, with a view to both increasing fiscal revenue and holding back the expansion of expenditure on pensions. These costs may be lower in the Netherlands than in many other countries, due to a relatively high employment rate and the widespread use of funded occupational pension schemes, but will still be significant and, all things being equal, will rise. These trends can be clearly observed in the table below.

Labour and wages

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit 2008

Education and labour force

The Netherlands boasts a highly educated, well-motivated and multilingual workforce, whose productivity exceeds that of most other European countries. Furthermore, the Dutch workforce consistently receives high marks from the international business community for its high percentage of advanced educational degrees and familiarity with foreign working styles and business environments.

The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, but being the most pragmatic and practical of people, they long ago realised that, as a small country which out of necessity had to go beyond its borders to trade, that success lay in learning other people's languages. Today, Holland is by far the most multilingual country in Europe. More to the point, the Dutch have a better working knowledge of English than many other nationalities on the European continent. Besides English, most Dutch citizens also speak German and French.

Holland has the lowest percentage of days lost to strikes within the whole of the EU. Companies operating here achieve flexibility in their labour practices through a mixture of arrangements, such as: various kinds of labour contracts; flexible working hours; the use of various types of shift work; and the frequent employment of temporary workers.

Dutch workers are protected by a social security programme, the costs of which are shared by workers, employers and the government. Additionally, the Dutch social insurance system covers medical and hospital costs and provides a minimum income for those unable to earn a living due to illness, injury or other valid reasons for being unemployed.

Dutch educational institutions are renowned the world over for their advanced programmes in the study of agriculture, geography and city planning, economics, mathematics and computer sciences, chemical engineering and engineering in general. Moreover, scientific and technical subjects dominate the curriculum in higher education, which is comprised of 13 universities and over 100 (university-level) higher vocational institutes. The latter produce the future engineers and other highly-trained professionals eagerly sought by industry. Most universities and technical colleges have well-developed business links with commercial enterprises so as to ensure that both training and research activities in academia coincide with the needs of both the local and global business communities. Maintaining a steady flow of this necessary human capital into academia, the Netherlands proudly points to the high proportion of its young people enrolled in higher education, especially in the fields of technology, economics, law and social sciences.

Educationalattainment

Source: StatisticsNetherlands 2006 (CBS)