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Reform Support
Labour market inclusion of newcomers in the Netherlands banner

Supporting reforms to strengthen labour markets, social protection systems and migration management

Funding Programme
Technical Support Instrument (TSI)
Year
2022

LEARN: Labour market inclusion of newcomers in the Netherlands through work and study

The Commission is supporting the Netherlands in ensuring the sustainable inclusion of migrants in the labour market. Technical support is provided for establishing and building capacity for a learning network, as well as for the setting up and scaling up of effective labour market interventions that are a combination of work and study (work-study programmes) addressed to newcomer migrants specifically. 

Context

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately negatively affected the socio-economic situation of newcomer migrants in the Netherlands. These people lag behind in terms of labour market participation, despite the skills shortages across several sectors.  

Closing this gap and including migrants in the labour market is a priority in the European Partnership for Integration (2017) of the European Commission. At national level, the Netherlands has included this priority under Pillar 6 of the Integral Migration Agenda, as well in its related Civic Integration and Labour Market Participation policies. 

Support delivered

The Commission, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) provides content for the meetings of a Learning Network that is sustainable and consists of implementers of labour market interventions in the Netherlands (i.e. local and national government, educational institutions, and employers). Moreover, IOM will create a manual to make insights about effective work-study programmes applicable for implementers and formulate evidence-based policy recommendations regarding the creation of favourable conditions in the Netherlands for the setting up and scaling up of work-study programmes for newcomer migrants. 

As a main result, the project will produce policy recommendations and an implementation guideline in line with EU good practices. It will set up a sustainable learning network, to exchange practices amongst employers and other key stakeholders, and to assist them in their efforts to tap into the skills of migrants to fill labour market vacancies. Such a leaning network provides a solid basis for future developments, considering the labour market inclusion of migrants as a process of continuous transformation. 

Results achieved

The project will contribute to reform the Dutch employment policies to be more inclusive and make a more efficient use of existing resources. Migrants will be better equipped to participate in Dutch economy and employers will be able to tap into the pool of migrants established in the country to respond to staff shortages.

More about the project

More information about the LEARN project on the website of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Communications about the project on Linkedin.