Until 2020, young students of universities of applied sciences have a ‘reasonable’ chance of finding a job, predicts the Maastricht Research Centre for Education and Employment (ROA) in its biennial report on graduate employment possibilities. For a quarter of students of universities of applied sciences, the prospects are even deemed good. The job market is ‘over the hump,’ according to the ROA.

Pedagogical academy for primary education
Over the next few years, many teachers will retire, so positions will be opening up in education in particular, the ROA expects. There are, however, great differences. For graduates of the pedagogical academy for primary education, it shall, for the time being, remain difficult to find a job, while in secondary schools many new staff will be needed over the coming years.

Employee Insurances Implementing Agency, UWV, had some better news for students of the pedagogical academy for primary education recently. It predicts that, as of 2017, there will be a shortage of teachers, particularly in the Randstad region of the Netherlands.

According to the ROA, technical degree programmes shall continue to be a good choice: electro-technicians and chemistry graduates in particular will have plenty of jobs to choose from. This is not so much the result of many people going into retirement, but rather that the number of jobs is increasing. Even during the crisis years, employment for technicians was better than average and, because construction is gradually growing once again, the situation will only improve.

Cuts
Graduate nurses and physiotherapists will be facing some difficulties. Within the health care sector, the number of jobs shall increase very little by 2020 and few people will retire.
Two years ago, the ROA predicted that a care degree programme would be a safe choice, given the ageing population and increasing life expectancy. ‘A stark contrast,’ the ROA itself claims. ‘This clearly shows that cuts in the care and welfare sectors have immense consequences on job prospects.’

Interestingly, students of universities of applied sciences with a medical degree under their belt earn relatively well. Their monthly salary is higher than that of technicians and teachers. Students of universities of applied sciences with a language and cultural degree earn the least.

Continuing your studies
Despite the less-than-ideal job market, it is still worth completing a degree programme, the ROA figures indicate. Over the past few years, university graduates and students of universities of applied sciences have suffered less from the crisis and it will also be easier for them to find a job in the coming years than those with a technical and vocational diploma.

Moreover, highly educated employees generally earn more; they are more likely to have a fixed contract and are promoted more often than colleagues with a lower level of education.

HOP, Petra Vissers