Mechanics, plumbers, electricians and nurses: the Netherlands needs you

Photo: Depositphotos.com
Photo: Depositphotos.com

Unemployment may be set to reach 6.5% next year, but there are still many professions with a shortage of staff, broadcaster NOS said on Monday, quoting figures from national jobs centre organisation UWV.

In particular, there is a shortage of mechanics, nurses, electricians and specialised construction workers, NOS said. Software and app designers, transport planners and logistics experts, and plumbers and pipe fitters complete the list of sectors hit by skill shortages.

The UWV expects unemployment will continue to rise but that this will not have an effect on sectors which are crying out for qualified workers. ‘These are all jobs that need specific training,’ advisor Nicole van der Goorbergh told the broadcaster.

Earlier this year, the government’s SER advisory body warned that more needed to be done to train people for jobs which need doing. The government has also pledged to invest millions of euros in making healthcare a more attractive option.

‘We represent dozens of construction companies and we have at least 30 jobs on offer,’ Sander Gerdes of road building alliance Infravak told NOS. ‘I think youngsters are choosing to study what they think will be fun, but you should also look at the employment perspectives.’

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