Good prospects for graduates and job-seekers in Limburg
The prospects for graduates and job-seekers in Limburg from now until 2022 are better than the national average. Frank Cörvers, affiliated with the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at Maastricht University, conducted a study on this topic as part of the 4Limburg programme. “This improved outlook is due in part to the fact that relatively few young people are entering the labour market and filling vacancies in Limburg,” explains Cörvers.
Highly educated job-seekers have better job prospects in Limburg than in the rest of the country due to a high demand for replacements created by the retirement of many highly skilled workers. While these prospects are positive for Limburg academics in the medium term, currently the employment rate is lower and the unemployment is higher than the Dutch average.
A slight demand surplus is expected across all education levels in North Limburg, Central Limburg and South Limburg over the next six years. The labour shortage is expected to be highest in Central Limburg.
Technical graduates trained at secondary vocational level, higher vocational level or university level have good to very good job prospects until 2022. This will create bottlenecks for employers in Limburg's key industrial sectors. Recruiting university-level technical graduates will become one of the biggest challenges employers are likely to face over the next six years. Limburg is home to relatively few working academics with a technical background.
Graduates and job-seekers with a background in medicine or healthcare at the higher vocational or university level have better job prospects due to a relatively high replacement demand and a low influx of graduates on the labour market. Recruitment problems for employers in Limburg's healthcare sector are primarily expected in more senior positions compared to middle-management positions. Employers may find it harder to fill nursing vacancies than vacancies for nursing assistants. In the education sector, major bottlenecks are expected in the recruitment of qualified teachers, particularly at the higher vocational education level.
For economics graduates, relatively low employment growth and replacement demand is expected as a result of robotisation and automation. This will lead to marginal job prospects for this group.
Until 2022, employers will struggle to find low-skilled workers (primary/secondary education and early school leavers) for low-paid jobs and flexible jobs with few career prospects.
Programme 4Limburg
The goal of the 4Limburg programme is to boost labour market participation and vitality in Limburg by breaking from past trends. This project is a collaboration between Maastricht University, the Province of Limburg and chain partners, such as the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and the business community. Each partner is responsible for making their own contribution to the project.
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