Cabinet to open a Werkcentrum job centre in every labour market region
People looking for work or retraining, and employers needing staff, will no longer have to visit several separate counters, under a bill now before parliament.
The cabinet is making sure a Werkcentrum (job centre) opens in every labour market region, where the UWV, municipalities, employers and educational institutions join forces. The bill that regulates this has been submitted to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of parliament, for consideration.
What changes for you
- The new Werkcentra mostly open in neighbourhoods, such as in a shopping centre or a library, and people can walk in without an appointment.
- Each regional Werkcentrum has several locations, so the service stays close by.
Trade unions and the Samenwerkingsverband Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven (SBB) also work in the Werkcentra, under one roof with the other partners. The cabinet says this should get people into work faster and help companies fill vacancies faster.
The government says many thousands of vacancies are going unfilled in shortage sectors such as healthcare, education and the energy transition, while a large group of people is unnecessarily on the sidelines.
We really need everyone on the labour market. We cannot afford to leave people on the sidelines. Everyone who can work must be able to take part.Minister Aartsen, Social Affairs and Employment
Aartsen said the Werkcentra are an important step to help more newcomers and other groups into work.
The Werkcentra will receive structural funding, which will be written into law.
UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen)
The Employee Insurance Agency, which pays unemployment and disability benefits and helps people back into work.
Tweede Kamer
The House of Representatives, the lower and more powerful house of the Dutch parliament. Its 150 members are elected directly; it can amend bills and holds the cabinet to account.
SBB (Samenwerkingsverband Beroepsonderwijs Bedrijfsleven)
The SBB is the Dutch national partnership between vocational education (MBO) and business, bringing together employers and educational institutions to shape what students learn. It maintains the qualification profiles (kwalificatiedossiers) that vocational courses are built on, so training matches what employers need. In the Werkcentra it is one of the partners, contributing the link between training and the labour market.