Many students in the Netherlands choose vocational education (MBO), expecting a smooth transition into the job market. Yet new research shows that not all programs deliver on that promise. In particular, graduates from economics-oriented and administrative programs face longer job searches and fewer opportunities, despite the country’s tight labour market.
According to sector newspaper MBO Today, ‘Job prospects for economics courses remain moderate.’ The publication reports that economics-focused vocational programs do not align well with the current needs of the labour market. Graduates often take significantly longer to find substantial employment – defined as a job of at least three days perweek – compared to peers in other fields.
While most MBO graduates secure positions within a few months, those completing economics programs can wait much longer. For instance, graduates from the Business Services program at level 2 typically spend nearly two years beforefinding substantial work. Similarly, Commerce graduates at levels 3 and 4 often search for over a year. Despite these outcomes, such programs remain popular. ‘Approximately 4,000 Business Services graduates are enrolled annually,’ according to MBO Today. This continued interest cannot be explained by earnings potential, as the starting salaries for economics graduates tend to be lower than those from other vocational disciplines.
Researchers expect these job market challenges to deepen in the coming years. ‘The work of administrators and bookkeepers will increasingly be replaced by automation,’ the report warns. MBO Today adds that young people, especially those with an immigration background, still often choose economics-related programs, underscoring the needfor ‘better information about job opportunities’.
UWV, the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency, paints a similar picture across several sectors. It notes that ‘despite the tight labour market, there are professions with few job opportunities’. These include data entry clerks, mailroom staff, copywriters, translators, graphic designers, animal caretakers, photographers, life coaches and sales associates specializing in household goods and gift items. According to UWV, the decline in administrative jobs at MBO level 2 has been driven by digitalization. ‘Smart software and computer systems are replacing repetitive tasks,’ the agency explains. Project-based data entry work still exists, but much of it now involves cleaning or entering old data. New data entry tasksare increasingly automated or performed by users themselves.
The creative and language-based professions are also undergoing rapid change. UWV reports that ‘tasks like writing, translating and designing are already being partially taken over by AI models’. In 2024, vacancies in these fields droppedby nearly 30%. Human creativity remains valuable, but collaboration with AI has become a key skill, as people are still responsible for refining and improving machine-generated results.
Competition is also fierce in fields that attract many students but offer few openings. ‘Some professions are too popular among students and job seekers,’ notes UWV, pointing to animal care, photography and life coaching as examples. Forphotographers, the rise of AI technology adds even more pressure to an already crowded market. The changing retail landscape has further affected job availability. As several major household goods and gift chains, such as Blokker and Casa, closed stores or declared bankruptcy, job prospects for sales associates in household goods and gift items have declined, according to UWV. The shift toward online shopping continues to reshape this sector.
To support job seekers, UWV promotes Beroepskeuze, its online career guidance tool that helps individuals identifyprofessions with better employment prospects based on their skills.
As automation, AI and digitalization transform the Dutch labour market, experts emphasize the importance of makinginformed study choices. A vocational diploma remains valuable, but not every program currently offers a guaranteed path to employment.
Written by Nicole Bea Kerr