Employers can fix Netherlands staff shortages by poaching workers in other EU states

Dutch employers are overlooking a large potential workforce by failing to recruit internationally, the Employee Insurance Agency UWV says. The statement follows a new analysis of European labor markets showing where occupations face either shortages or surpluses of workers.

The UWV says the research highlights substantial potential within Europe to help address staffing shortages in the Netherlands. It notes that for 95% of professions with shortages in the Dutch labour market, at least one other European country has a surplus of workers in the same field.

Michel van Smoorenburg, an international labour market expert at the UWV, says welders and metal cutters are in short supply in the Netherlands, while Finland has more than it needs. He also points to building connection electricians, with surpluses in Finland and Greece, and system administrators, where excess supply exists in countries such as the Czech Republic and Latvia.

The research also finds widespread shortages of healthcare workers across Europe. Still, the UWV notes that the Dutch healthcare sector has more job vacancies and shortage occupations than many other European countries.

At the same time, certain medical professions still show surpluses elsewhere, such as specialised nurses in Finland, physiotherapists in Cyprus, and veterinarians in Austria and Latvia.

According to the UWV, there are just nine professions in shortage in the Netherlands for which no surpluses are reported in any EU member state. These include, among others, doctors and laboratory technicians.