A shortage of primary school teachers is looming in the Netherlands as a wave of older teachers are set to retire, the CNV trade union said on Monday.

While primary schools are currently shrinking, by 2017 there will be a ‘guaranteed’ shortage of 2,000 teachers, the union says.

The current shortage of jobs means fewer students are signing up for teacher training colleges and recent graduates are retraining for other jobs.

The CNV says encouraging older teachers to retire early would free up space in schools for new graduates.