Source: Bain & Company and AmCham
Expatriates and immigrants alike have long flooded into the Netherlands to work, with many of them being highly skilled workers destined for industries like technology and finance. But if there is nowhere for them to live (or if housing is unaffordable), their moves becomes less attractive.
In particular the largest business hubs for expats, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven, face both housing issues and talent issues.
But it’s not just expats – the talent shortage spans across a wide range of occupations, from electrical engineers to nurses. The Bain & Company and AmCham study found around 100 key occupations that are facing talent shortages, with around two-thirds of those occupations facing ‘severe shortages’.
Source: Bain & Company and AmCham
Meanwhile, the authors highlight that changing demographics will exacerbate the situation in the coming decades. Currently, 8% of the workforce is in the 60-64 age bracket, as opposed to only ~5% ten years ago, meaning that around 700,000 workers will likely retire soon.
Clearly, addressing this talent shortage is a major imperative for the Netherlands going forward. There is currently a sort of ‘war for talent’ being waged between different European players for the best skilled talent – and that talent is now also being drawn further afield to places like the Middle East.
Source: Bain & Company and AmCham
Restoring labour market competitiveness
The report offers a number of interesting solutions that could help the Dutch overcome their talent problem. One approach would be for the Netherlands to create an overarching game plan, a vision for a future-proof economy to be achieved by a certain point, say 2050.
The Dutch can also decide to make bold commitments to certain shifts, for example devising policies that embrace innovative technologies like GenAI (a previous report found GenAI could add billions to the economy). This would include re-skilling a large number of workers, but the benefits would likely outweigh the costs in time and energy, as the country has the potential to position itself as a leader in innovation.
To put it simply, the report emphasizes the need for the Netherlands to make comprehensive, target-based plans going forward. Successful initiatives to address the talent shortage can boost the economy while also shoring up the FDI that has been drying up in recent years.
“Historically, FDI has been an important contributor to the Netherlands’ success,” the report notes. “Despite holding a large share of European FDI stock, the Netherlands has been progressively declining in its attractiveness to foreign investors. In order to maintain its current levels of prosperity, the Netherlands will need to proactively choose its future and pragmatically execute to unlock potential.”
Source link : https://www.consultancy.eu/news/10534/a-talent-shortage-is-hurting-dutch-attractiveness-to-foreign-investors
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-31 04:04:11
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
