Better educated youngsters in the Netherlands tend to have the same future plans, regardless of their ethnic background, according to a new report on integration and society drawn up for the social affairs ministry.

Most youngsters study a subject that interests them and expect to then get a job, buy a house and have a family, the Volkskrant quotes the report as saying.

However, 20 years ago youngsters with an ethnic minority background were more likely to opt for study subjects with high earning potential rather than one that matched their interests, the report says.

The researchers said they are surprised by the current findings, given that graduates with a minority background face discrimination and are more likely to be unemployed.

‘Discrimination on the jobs market is often in the news in our more polarised society and that could alienate some youngsters,’ researcher Eva Klooster told the Volkskrant. ‘However this research shows that many ethnic minority youngsters are positive about the future.’

The researchers asked almost 1,000 youngsters aged 14 to 23 about how they saw their lives when they would be 25. The group had a better level of education than average but was representative of society in all other respects.

Klooster did point out that youngsters who have no faith in the future may have been less inclined to fill in the survey.