Care sector still uses contested prior learning certificates despite fraud warnings
Employers in the Dutch healthcare and education sectors are still actively seeking candidates with EVC certificates, even after multiple ministers issued an urgent warning about fraud risks linked to the qualification system, Trouw reports, based on a review of job vacancy websites.
The issue appears to extend beyond recruitment listings. Several healthcare training institutions are also continuing to promote EVC-based certification routes, suggesting the government’s warning has not yet fully reached the labor market.
On Feb. 13, four ministers issued what they called an “urgent appeal” to the sector, urging organizations to stop using the certificates after “concerning signals” emerged about widespread fraud. They warned that the system represents a “serious risk” to the quality and safety of healthcare.
Despite that warning, job advertisements still explicitly request EVC certificates for roles such as pedagogical support worker and youth care worker, where the credential is treated as proof of professional competence.
EVC certificates are designed to validate prior practical experience, allowing students to convert workplace skills into academic credit, skip parts of their training, and graduate more quickly. However, authorities say the system has become vulnerable to abuse.
According to officials, private EVC providers have been found arranging exemptions for students who did not actually gain the required practical experience. The result, they warn, is that underqualified workers can enter sensitive professions, particularly in care settings involving vulnerable groups such as patients and young people.
At the time of reporting, individuals with completed EVC trajectories can still work as youth care workers in Zuidoost-Brabant. In Dronten, applicants may work as pedagogical support staff with expelled youth if they hold an MBO diploma supplemented with an EVC trajectory at the HBO level. In Eindhoven, after-school care centers accept candidates who are currently following or planning an EVC program.
The university also acknowledged variability in the quality of EVC providers, stating it only recognizes certificates from a fixed partner organization with formal cooperation agreements. It added that an inquiry by the Ministry of Education about 1.5 years ago confirmed “a valid and reliable process with solid safeguards through the examination committee.”
