# Half of Dutch vacancies hard to fill despite high employment

> The Employee Insurance Agency UWV says in its annual labour market report that shortages will not ease by getting more people into work alone, and that employees, employers and the government must invest more in retraining.

Economy · published 2026-11-03 16:18 · https://nlnow.nl/a/dutch-workers-need-retraining-as-jobs-shift-benefits-agency-says/

UWV, the agency that pays unemployment benefit, says getting more people into work is no longer the main challenge in the Netherlands. In its annual labour market report, published today, it says participation is historically high: nearly three quarters of people who are able to work do so.

Shortages persist all the same. Half of open vacancies are hard to fill. At the same time, the share of people with degrees receiving a WW (unemployment) benefit is rising.

UWV board member Judith Duveen says unemployment is increasingly occurring among ICT workers, even though that sector has large shortages. It is also rising in some technical occupations. "There is apparently a mismatch between what people can do and what companies are looking for," she says.

Duveen also points to ageing. Logistics and transport employ many older workers who will retire in the coming years, and employers will struggle to replace them because jobseekers often lack the right skills, she says.

UWV says employers should look more at skills than at diplomas and job requirements, and should train staff for other sectors too. "We won't solve the shortages just by getting more people into work; we also have to make the people who already work more adaptable," Duveen says. UWV also says employees, employers and the government should invest more in retraining and upskilling.

Employers' association AWVN says the call is not new. Spokesperson Jannes van der Velde says lifelong learning has been in collective labour agreements (cao) for decades, "but we just can't seem to get it off the ground." He says employers sometimes do not know how to organise it, and employees do not always use training that is offered.

## Background

- **UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen)**: The Employee Insurance Agency, which pays unemployment and disability benefits and helps people back into work.
- **AWVN (Algemene Werkgeversvereniging Nederland)**: The General Employers' Association of the Netherlands is a Dutch employers' organisation that represents companies in labour-market matters, including collective labour agreements (cao) and employment policy. It advises employers on personnel issues such as training, staffing and working conditions. It matters in debates about retraining and lifelong learning because it speaks for employers in negotiations with unions and the government.

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