The Dutch Defence corps is growing fast, but many of the vacancies now opening up are not for frontline soldiers. The strongest demand is in support jobs needed to keep a larger military organization working, including logistics, engineering, IT and medical roles. Vacancy data published in February found that openings for these kinds of Defence jobs rose by 60 percent in a year.
The change follows a wider shift in Dutch defence policy since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The war has killed an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 people and pushed governments across Europe to rethink how quickly they could expand their armed forces in a prolonged crisis. Defence says it wants 100,000 people working across the organisation by 2030, with the option of further growth after that. The ministry says it needs a force that can expand more quickly when threats change.
That increase is already visible in the numbers. Broadcaster NOS reported that the Defence workforce rose from 67,400 in 2022 to nearly 80,000 by 1 December 2025. More than 5,500 people were hired in 2025 alone. State Secretary for Defence in the previous cabinet Gijs Tuinman calls that rise encouraging. ‘We have not seen an increase like this before, so that is positive,’ he said. He also said the Dutch Defence needs to keep growing ‘because we want deterrence towards Russia to be as strong as possible’.
Much of that increase has not come from a sudden surge in full-time soldiers. One of the clearest rises has been among reservists. NOS reports that more than 1,400 were added in 2025, taking the total to 9,172. Reservists are not full-time military staff, but they train regularly and can be used to protect domestic infrastructure such as ports and airports, support the armed forces and help during disasters.
The growth in professional soldiers has been slower. NOS said the standing force rose by just under 5 percent in 2025 to a little over 45,000 professional military staff. Of the 100,000 people Defence wants by 2030, 56,000 are meant to be professional military personnel. Civilian roles matter just as much. Defence says it now has 25,699 civilian employees, including technicians, cooks, cyber specialists, IT staff, administrative workers and medics. The number of civilians is already above the ministry’s 2030 target.
Defence says it is paying particular attention to shortages in technical staff, IT specialists, logistics planners and medical personnel. Vacancy analysis points the same way. Nationale Vacaturebank found that nearly six in ten open Defence vacancies are aimed at MBO qualified workers, while 26 percent are aimed at HBO level applicants. The most sought after MBO roles include security guards, mechanics, cooks, logistics workers, warehouse staff and administrative employees.
The fact that support workers outnumber active is not unusual, a Defence spokesperson told De Telegraaf in February: ‘For every soldier on the front line, we need perhaps ten people in supporting roles.’
However, this rapid increase in employment opportunities at Defence leads to potential conflict with other domestic labour shortages. Sharita Boon, director of Nationale Vacaturebank, said the build-up will put Defence in direct competition with other shortage sectors. ‘They will end up fishing in the same ponds as healthcare institutions, installation companies, transport and logistics businesses and IT service providers,’ she said. She added that this creates pressure not only for Defence, but for employers across those sectors.
That is where the pressure will bite first. Defence policy is often discussed in terms of budgets, weapons and NATO commitments. But a larger force still depends on mechanics, drivers, technicians, medics and logistics staff. The Netherlands is trying to build a bigger and more flexible defence system. That will depend just as much on support staff as on people in uniform.
Written by James Turrell