Today in the Netherlands, there is a chronic shortage of 200,000 skilled laborers in the technology, healthcare and construction sectors. One of the key problems for this scarcity of workers is the current Dutch education system. At the age of 12, when Dutch children are about to finish elementary school, they are assessed with a comprehensive test which determines their developmental and academic levels and evaluates a pupil’s achievement level. Based on the results of the test, pupils are given a recommendation of the secondary education system they should pursue, which can be a VWO (which prepares them for an academic education at a university), HAVO (which prepares them for higher professional education) or VMBO, which prepares them for a more practical profession, for example in the healthcare, technology and agricultural sectors. VMBO takes four years, and students can then continue on to MBO (vocational school) for a specific course.
Status is not everything
However, once receiving their test results, most parents whose child was given a VMBO recommendation do not encourage their children to pursue an VMBO education, as it is considered to have a lower social status. Especially if parents themselves have a university or HBO background, many prefer their offspring to attend HAVO or VWO, so they can eventually earn a bachelor’s or master’s diploma. This has a higher social status, and eventually will allow their children to earn more money.
That was the case until recently. In the current job market, with huge shortages on more practical sectors, the wage differences between those with university and HBO degrees and MBO diplomas are narrowing. With the current shortage of employees with MBO degrees in technology, healthcare, agriculture, and construction, wages are rising, and in some cases bypassing the higher salaries that were only traditionally earned by those with a degree from the university and HBO.
According to Dutch writer and TEDx talk speaker Harim Aghmar, the Dutch economy is changing drastically, and it’s time to re-appraise MBO education as valuable. It should be regarded as an educational program that society needs, instead of looked down upon. Amghar, whose parents came from small town in northern Morocco where they did not have access to secondary education, immigrated to the Netherlands to ensure their children would have more educational opportunities. With his migrant background, Amghar points out that society needs to reappraise how we regard essential services that we need. He argues “those who build houses, care for the elderly, and keep technology running need to be put on a pedestal”. He argues for this eloquently in his pamphlet Maar dat begrijp jij toch niet [You probably won’t understand this], the derogatory remark that he constantly heard as an MBO student. Now Amghar, who in addition to writing is also an MBO teacher himself, and understands how pupils are still looked down upon for their MBO occupation, is changing the picture. Society cannot look down upon people whose skill set is indispensable.
Essential workers
Since 1981, the percentage of people with an MBO education has decreased from 60 to 25 percent, while at the same time the demand for those with an MBO education has only increased. Nurses, plumbers, mechanics and security guards: they are all professions that keep society running. But that is in danger of coming to a standstill due to labour shortages. Currently, there are currently 66,000 vacancies in healthcare alone, which by 2033 is estimated to increase to around 190,000.
Several MBO graduates anonymously disclosed to Nu.nl their salaries, some of which are higher than those of their HBO and university graduate friends. For example, a 27-year-old engineering manager earns €5,200 a month, and a 33-year-old backend developer takes home €4,200 monthly. A 51-year-old woman explains that she has a PhD, but could only get temporary contracts at the university. Now she works as a security guard at a museum. She argues that the constant overtime and job insecurity at university gave her too much stress in comparison to her current job, where she is rewarded for her work.
In the Netherlands, with an aging population and more people living alone, the salaries for workers in healthcare and construction will more than likely increase and exceed those of HBO and university graduates. There’s always that old joke: in the aftermath of a nuclear war, you’ll aways need a plumber, carpenter or farmer.
Written by Benjamin B. Roberts