The Importance of Job Recruitment Agencies in a Flexible Economy
As the Dutch economy continues to grow, some of it as a result of its fast-expanding digital economy, some have questioned the role of the Netherlands’ job recruitment agencies (uitzendbureaus) that have always played a significant role in its unique working culture. These temporary employment agencies owe their existence to the economic climate of the second half of the 20th century—a period of economic fluctuation within various sectors. In general, this is also evident in sectors like the agricultural industry, which calls on temporary workers based around the seasonal growth of crops. Essentially, a flexible economy calls for flexible jobs and recruitment.
The Flexible Dutch Job Market
Around 700,000 people work as temps in the Netherlands, making it the country with the sixth highest percentage of flexible workers, usually with the intention of getting their foot into a particular labour market or getting to know an employer or sector. Temporary recruitment agencies play a unique role in the Dutch economy because they are also the typical first stops for foreign workers looking to find work in the Netherlands; agencies also typically help new workers to find temporary housing for further convenience.
As of 2017, 40% of workers (3.3 million out of 8.3 million) in the Dutch labour market were classified as on short-term or flexible work contracts. The advantage of this flexible job market is that Dutch workers tend to pick up a variety of labour skills throughout their lives, starting from the time they finish their education, to when they move from job to job. An almost perfect job economy is also derived from this system as workers’ skills tend to reflect the demands of prominent industries in the economy. This means it is not uncommon for workers to have a plethora of various skills, making them more adaptable to a continually adapting job economy.
The Dutch Digital Economy
Now that the digital sector plays a more prominent role in the Dutch economy, there has been a natural increase in the demand for positions in IT; this includes roles in cybersecurity, data and AI development. As of January 2018, there were more than 33,000 IT online vacancies. The Dutch government is also looking to invest more in the digital sector, aiming to have the most flexible and connected digital economy by 2021. Currently, the Netherlands ranks 4th out of 28 EU member states in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) which judges countries based on the following:
• Connectivity Broadband speed and prices
• Human capital Internet use, basic and advanced digital skills
• Use of internet Citizen use of online content and transactions
• Integration of digital technology Business digitisation and e-commerce
• Digital public services eGovernment and eHealth
The shortage of workers with the required skills in IT has prompted the Dutch government to take policy action by implementing ICT skills into the education system, to get more young people interested in the sector as early as possible. The long-term effects of these policies should eventually have a noticeable impact on the skill sets of future employees, helping to fill the shortage of workers in the digital sector.
Job Recruitment in a Digital Age
In a digitalised economy, there has been an emergence of tech start-ups, looking to develop digital goods and services such as gadgets and apps; the continuing rise of this digital industry means no shortage of demand when it comes to programmers and other IT-specialised roles. There is no doubt that any worker looking to adapt to the modern digital age should consider picking up the necessary skills in IT to take full advantage of the currently low supply of workers in these areas.
Start-ups also show another level of flexibility in the job market—new small companies can easily be set up thanks to the digital age and its hyperconnectivity that allows for companies to easily upload apps online via app stores and selling goods via e-commerce. With that in mind, it is not hard to speculate that there will be a surge of new digital jobs on the market, further increasing the demand for skilled digital workers. However, as start-ups tend to be quite risky, it may also add to the temporary jobs on the market, meaning more temporary digital roles for recruiters. This can also benefit workers as some IT skills, such as programming, can be adaptable for a wide range of different roles, which can even be spread across a variety of sectors.
Overall, the digital economy could end up being a natural extension of an already-flexible job market, meaning more skills that workers may desire to work towards and a greater demand for those skills in the long term for many businesses looking to adapt to the new Dutch digital age.
Written by Edward Mah for Together Abroad