Pupils who wear headscarves or have a Dutch-Moroccan background have a harder time finding work placements, according to a survey by the Verwey-Jonker Institute for social affairs.

The survey of 120 pupils, employers and school staff found that discrimination was most common in small and medium-sized businesses in the retail, catering, administration and technical sectors. Girls with headscarves were also more likely to be given roles where they had less direct contact with customers.

‘Students with a minority background are relatively more likely to be placed with government bodies or ethnic businesses,’ Eva Klooster of the Verwey-Jonker Institute told Nos.

Education minister Jet Bussemaker said the findings were ‘worrying’ and called for further research to be carried out. ‘They show that negative perceptions and discrimination are still a barrier to finding work placements for a large group of young people,’ she said.

Part of the difference was due to pupils not applying for work with companies which had a reputation for discrimination and choosing businesses with a similar cultural background to themselves, the study found.

Mediation

Some school staff said they were reluctant to set too many conditions for fear the work experience places would dry up. One reported a bag shop owner had stopped taking on Dutch-Moroccan students after complaining he had suffered three thefts.

Another said minority students tended to stay away if they were experiencing discrimination in the workplace rather than speak out. ‘They don’t take it directly to the company, you often only hear about it much later. Native Dutch students complain straight to the boss.’

The researchers said schools should be more active in following up situations where discrimination was suspected. ‘People work around discrimination rather than address it,’ said Klooster. ‘And education professionals who want to do something about it often deal with it in an individual context, when schools should make it part of what they do to improve opportunities for work experience.’

The institute said the survey was an initial study and more detailed research was needed to gauge the true scale of the problem.