Teacher shortage started in Randstad, but spreading fast

The teacher shortage in the Netherlands started in the five big cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, and Eindhoven - and is still the biggest there. But it has spread to the entire country. Every single employment region in the Netherlands is starting the new school year with open teaching vacancies, NU.nl reports based on a report from the Ministry of Education and conversations with teachers’ unions and school organizations.

The Ministry of Education report, published at the end of last year, showed that the five large cities (G5) were struggling with a shortage of 18 percent, compared to 8 percent in the rest of the country. Only 14 percent of G5 schools had all their vacancies filled, compared to 49 percent in the rest of the country. The shortage was largest in primary education and the areas around the big cities also have a higher shortage than average.

But the teacher shortage is “not a simple story of the G5 versus the rest of the Netherlands,” the Ministry wrote. All employment regions are experiencing shortages.

Teachers unions don’t have hard figures on this topic but confirm the trend. The shortage is visible throughout the country, and “it is even bigger in the Randstad,” a spokesperson for trade union LIA told the newspaper. The situation hasn’t improved in recent years, and union members report that filling vacancies is becoming increasingly difficult, the union said.

“The teacher shortage first became visible in the Randstad,” said Floor de Booys of the education union AOb. The problem then spread “like an oil slick” to the rest of the country.

The shortage is most noticeable in Amsterdam, the AOb said. “In some neighborhoods, there is even a shortage of 20 percent in primary education,” De Booys said.

The capital is trying to make teaching in the city more attractive, but the teachers Amsterdam recruits come from somewhere else. “For example, from Almere. But then Almere will have a teacher shortage again.”

In this way, the big cities also affect the shortage in other municipalities, creating regional shortages. “The south is now finding it increasingly difficult to fill rosters,” De Boys says. Groningen, too, is now facing the concerns Asmteram has been dealing with for years. “It is noticeable throughout the country.”