A new report from one of the Netherlands’ most influential policy advisers has a blunt message for the government: the country is sitting on a pool of untapped talent, and it’s costing everyone.
The Social and Economic Council (SER) — the body that brings together employers, trade unions and independent experts to advise the Dutch cabinet — published an advisory report today arguing that refugees, asylum seekers and displaced Ukrainians are not being given enough opportunity to put their skills to work, particularly in sectors where staff shortages have become chronic.
A slow road into the workforce
The numbers help explain the SER’s concern. Eight years after receiving a residence permit, only 57 percent of status holders in the Netherlands are in paid employment — a figure the council considers far too low given how tight the Dutch labor market has been. Ukrainian refugees tend to find work faster, since they are not required to complete the standard civic integration process that other newcomers face. But that speed comes with a catch: many end up working below their level of education, and a large share are employed through temporary staffing agencies rather than in roles that match their training.
Part of the problem, according to the SER, is structural rather than personal. The council notes that a great deal of valuable time and motivation gets lost while asylum applications are processed, and that paid work is often difficult to combine with learning Dutch and meeting civic integration requirements — two things newcomers are simultaneously expected to do.
“Newcomers bring knowledge, experience and ambition with them,” said SER chair Kim Putters, adding that recognizing this from the outset would let people build on their skills while giving employers access to talent they currently aren’t using.
What the council wants to change
The SER’s recommendations are aimed squarely at making labor-market participation a central goal of newcomer policy rather than an afterthought. Among its proposals: give municipalities a legal responsibility — backed by structural funding — to help asylum seekers and displaced Ukrainians find work, and get government, municipalities and employers collaborating directly with understaffed sectors to build preparatory and work-study programs that let newcomers gain experience and move into more advanced roles over time.
A government already moving in this direction
The timing isn’t coincidental. The report was commissioned at the request of the previous minister for employment, and current minister Thierry Aartsen welcomed it as confirmation that his ministry’s approach is on the right track. Before the summer, Aartsen had already unveiled a plan to get an additional 75,000 newcomers into work by the end of 2030, including letting asylum seekers with strong prospects of receiving a residence permit start learning Dutch and working while still at reception centers, and making it easier to combine work with civic integration.
“Newcomers do not benefit from being left on the sidelines for long,” Aartsen said, pointing to the tight labor market as a reason the country can’t afford to leave that talent unused.
The broader economic backdrop supports his urgency. With unemployment sitting near historic lows and nearly every sector reporting staff shortages, banks and economists have already flagged newcomers as an underused source of labor. One 2025 industry analysis found the number of refugees and status holders in employment climbing by roughly 17,500 in a single year, with employers increasingly willing to give newcomers a chance simply because the alternative — unfilled vacancies — is worse for business.
Why it matters beyond this week
This isn’t a one-off announcement; it’s the latest step in a policy shift that’s been building since early summer and is set to keep unfolding through 2026 as ministries, municipalities and employer groups work out how to implement it. Expect follow-up coverage as concrete funding decisions, pilot programs, and sector-specific agreements start to take shape in the coming months — which is exactly why this story is worth bookmarking rather than skimming once.
Sources
- NL Times — Dutch advisory council calls for more work opportunities for asylum seekers, Ukrainians
- NL Times — Dutch government outlines plan to help 75,000 refugees find jobs amid labor shortages
- ABN AMRO —
The post Dutch Advisory Body Says the Netherlands Is Wasting the Skills of Refugees and Ukrainians appeared first on .
Dutch Advisory Body Says the Netherlands Is Wasting the Skills of Refugees and Ukrainians 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-09-23 10:01:36
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
