On Tuesday, October 15, members of parliament, journalists, civil servants and experts gathered again in Nieuwspoort for the fourth edition of the Labor Market Gate. This time the topic on the agenda was 'the connection between education and the labor market'. Although the subject is of great importance to employers and educational institutions, it is not yet high on the political agenda. All the more reason to exchange views with all stakeholders.

Lifelong development

"We really need to accelerate on the Lifelong Development dossier," stated ROC Mondriaan board chairman Hans Schutte. Led by Hans Biesheuvel, former chairman of ONL for Entrepreneurs, Schutte entered into a conversation with Maurice Limmen, chairman of the Association of Universities of Applied Sciences. Two gentlemen with a clear vision on the issue and a rich career in the field of education. Limmen came with strong words towards the cabinet: "I call the education plans from the coalition agreement worrying. What strikes me is a lack of notion of retraining and upskilling from one sector to another, a vision on this is completely lacking."

Especially in professions where labor is in high demand - such as engineering, healthcare and ICT - it appears that there are too few qualified people to meet this demand. This problem is exacerbated by technological change and an aging workforce. All in all, this is putting increasing pressure on these sectors.

Educational institutions come along with difficulty

The speakers indicated that educational institutions are struggling to respond properly and effectively to the rapidly changing labor market. This is due to complex regulations, limited flexibility in curricula and a lack of cooperation with industry. Moreover, budget cuts in education are creating additional bottlenecks. To close this gap, the need for better cooperation between educational institutions, businesses and government was emphasized: the so-called triple helix. Companies must be actively involved in designing training so that it is better aligned with practice. The government can play an important role by adjusting regulations and offering financial incentives to promote Lifelong Development.

Long-term study penalty and labor shortages

Another concern was the so-called lanxiety study penalty, which may cause students who take longer to complete their education to be discouraged from further specializing in fields where there are major shortages. The issue of how the nearly half a million people out of work can become active in the labor market again was also addressed. Following this, Maurice and Hans entered into conversation with MPs Mikal Tseggai (GroenLinks-PvdA), Daan de Kort (VVD) and Rosanne Hertzberger (NSC). All these discussions about the cuts in education, the influx of international students and Lifelong Development made for a lively discussion, where clear contrasts could be seen between the coalition and opposition parties.

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Sem Overduin
Public Policy & Affairs Manager
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Oifik Youssefi
Public Affairs Officer
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Maaike van Driel
Head of Legal
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Thomas ten Veldhuijs
Senior Legal Counsel
Thomas.tenVeldhuijs@headfirst.nl