New international talent plan gets multi-sectoral backing

An open letter signed by 30 representatives of startups, established industry and the higher education and science sectors in the Netherlands calls on the government to ensure it swiftly develops a “coherent, future-proof talent strategy” that will further expand the attainment, training and retaining of international talent.

“The Netherlands has a knowledge-intensive, internationally orientated economy, in which companies and educational institutions contribute to a strong innovation climate and high productivity. However, this position cannot be taken for granted.

“To remain a significant factor in the current geopolitical arena, the Netherlands must maintain and strengthen this knowledge and innovation power,” the open letter published on 26 February said.

The call comes in the wake of an agreement from the minority coalition government – made up of the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66), the centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the centre-right Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and led by the D66’s Rob Jetten – in which it undertakes to develop a suitable talent strategy for the country.

Eager to contribute

The signatories of the open letter say they are “eager to contribute to the concrete implementation” of the strategy.

“As innovative start-ups and scale-ups, established companies, knowledge institutions, and science sectors, we call on the government to proactively develop a coherent, future-proof talent strategy.

“This strategic challenge requires an integrated approach focused on (i) training, (ii) attracting, and (iii) retaining the broad spectrum of talent that the Netherlands needs to safeguard its innovative strength and earning capacity.

“A successful strategy requires a long-term horizon with stable and predictable policies, an eye for the diversity of talent, and the speed of technological and economic developments,” the signatories state.

They argue that regardless of the field in which young people are trained, they should acquire sufficient skills in digitalisation, AI, entrepreneurship, and citizenship.

“And after initial education, lifelong development (LLD) remains essential, through further training in the current role or retraining for a profession in a shortage sector, for example. LLD not only strengthens the employability of people but also the productivity and broad prosperity of our country.”

The signatories call on the government to maintain “the international character of higher education” in order to attract and retain international students and academic top talent and to give universities more control over student recruitment.

“International students contribute to our growth and productivity – they add billions of euros in value to our economy. Moreover, talents with non-technical backgrounds also contribute significantly to societal and technological issues, and they too flow into sectors with shortages.

“Therefore, give universities more autonomy and control over the influx of students, so they can recruit international talent in a targeted and responsible manner,” they write.

The signatories argue that attracting international talent “requires the right preconditions, not government direction”.

“Due to the speed of emerging technologies such as AI and the cross-sector nature of innovation, the government should be very reluctant in prescribing which type of talent may come to the Netherlands,” they caution.

“Remaining competitive globally requires agility from companies and thus the ability to quickly attract the right talent: unpredictable and one-sided political direction of specific shortage sectors is a limiting factor in this regard and results in businesses suddenly losing access to crucial international talent.”

The signatories say talent should be encouraged to settle in the Netherlands long-term “so that knowledge and experience are not lost abroad” and call for the government to maintain “the reduced salary criterion of the knowledge migrant scheme” which, they say, offers young talent the opportunity to come to the Netherlands, “and then also to change jobs and move on to other companies and organisations in the Netherlands”.

“This way, their knowledge and experience remain available to the Dutch ecosystem, including start-ups and scale-ups,” they argue.

Universities’ endorsement

Universities Netherlands (UNL), a signatory to the open letter, has previously welcomed the government’s plans for further investment in higher education and research to the tune of €1.5 billion (US$1.736 billion).

In a recent statement, UNL said the coalition parties’ plan to invest heavily in education, research, and innovation would reverse the previous government's cuts to education.

Caspar van den Berg, president of Universities of the Netherlands, said: “It is excellent news that the coalition parties fully endorse the fact that investing in education, research, and innovation is crucial for the future of the Netherlands. These investments will enable universities to make a significant contribution to solving the major societal challenges facing the Netherlands.”

“In addition, the coalition will abolish the mandatory exam for non-Dutch-language education and intends to maintain the current range of non-Dutch-language programmes. This means that the non-Dutch-language bachelor programmes in psychology, economics, and business administration will not need to be converted into Dutch,” it said in a statement on 6 February.

“The coalition is thus opting for a forward-looking and practical approach to international talent and international science. Universities have recently demonstrated their commitment to managing international student intake and strengthening the position of Dutch within the university.”

Van den Berg said: “Universities will continue to assume responsibility for balanced internationalisation, with targeted management of intake and continued attention to language proficiency and retention rates. This ensures that internationalisation will continue to contribute to education, research, and the labour market in the future. In that light, we are pleased that this coalition agreement eliminates the need to convert the language of instruction for degree programmes.”

Support from science council

Jennifer Bendsneijder, spokesperson for the Dutch Research Council (NWO), another signatory to the open letter, told University World News the council was hopeful about the new plans for research and innovation from the Jetten cabinet, as described in the coalition agreement.

“The new cabinet wants to work towards the 3% standard for R&D investments, which is crucial to keeping the Netherlands resilient and prosperous. According to the cabinet, most of these investments will have to come from the business community, but the government can also stimulate private investment with public investment.

“NWO is therefore looking forward to seeing how the measures will be implemented. Economists have repeatedly shown that investing in knowledge and innovation pays off handsomely. According to many studies, every euro invested in research yields an average return of around three euros.

“It is not just about the bottom line, but above all about how science is presented,” said Bendsneijder.

“Research plays a key role in major social issues. Think of energy, climate, health and housing. The Netherlands is currently doing well in Europe in the field of science. It is therefore positive that the new government is explicitly committed to strengthening research and innovation. Investing in science is investing in how the Netherlands will fare in 10 or 20 years' time. With the extra €1.5 billion, our country can catch up and rejoin the European elite.”

Bendsneijder said the NWO was pleased that the cabinet is coming up with a talent strategy “to ensure that we select the right talent in a targeted manner and retain it for the Netherlands.

“This will ensure that we have enough professionals in the sectors where the challenges are greatest and that we attract the top scientific talent needed for groundbreaking research and innovation. It is important that knowledge institutions are given more opportunities to attract top international talent and retain their own talent if the Netherlands wants to remain a leader in research and science,” she said.

Practically trained citizens

Independent higher education strategist Peter van der Hijden told University World News it was important for the government not to forget to connect with the large section of more practically trained citizen-voters.

“They also benefit (maybe more – read AI) from many ancillary jobs created by an internationally orientated knowledge economy. They also need lifelong development,” Van der Hijden said.

“Also for them, our education system – in the broad sense – should break open the degree-locked learning offer (for example, through micro-credentials) so that certified citizen-learners become allies and feel part of the local and national education and innovation community,” Van der Hijden said.