Waiting lists at 70 percent of Dutch daycares due to staff shortages

At least 70 percent of daycare locations in the Netherlands currently have a waiting list, primarily due to widespread staff shortages in the sector, AD reports based on research by the National Vacancy Bank. The researchers worry that the problem will increase if the government goes through with its plans to make childcare virtually free.

At the moment, 70 percent of childcare centers have a waiting list for one or more days. One in three even have a waiting list for all days of the week. The situation is slightly less tense in after-school care, where around 60 percent have waiting lists. According to the National Vacancy Bank, there are currently 7,500 vacancies throughout the country in this sector.

The staff shortages are dire and very difficult to solve, Suzanne Malsen of the National Vacancy Bank told AD. “We want people to work more to solve this, but the sector that makes this possible - the sector that cares for our children - is also the sector that is struggling with shortages. In short, it is a kind of chicken-and-egg story in childcare. As a result, we remain stuck, so to speak.”

Last week, trade union CNV said it feared that childcare will become a kind of lottery if the government goes through with its plans to make childcare almost free. That will increase the demand for childcare, and that demand is already too high to meet with the available staff. The union fears that free childcare will result in 275,000 children not having a place within a decade.

The National Vacancy Bank shares that concern. “The plan to make childcare free is, of course, a nice idea. But it only increases demand for childcare - and therefore the staff shortages become even more urgent. You have to be able to offer all those children a place, and that is already impossible,” Malsen said.