Some 20% of young people (aged 15 to 26) in the Netherlands that were not in school or university as of Q2 2024 had no basic qualification from secondary education, new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has found.
According to the data, this is up from 17% three years ago.
As of the second quarter of this year, around 176,000 young people had left school with no basic qualification (a diploma from secondary education, such as HAVO, VWO or MBO-2), a 50,000 increase on the same quarter in 2021.
At the same time, the number of young people in the Netherlands who left school and obtained a qualification increased by around 72,000 in the same period, to around 697,000.
Basic qualification
Statistics Netherlands’ data shows that young people with a basic qualification are more likely to be employed. As of the second quarter of this year, some 90% of those with a qualification and not in education were employed, compared to only 69% of those without one.
At the same time, around 54,000 young people without a qualification were neither in education nor employment, with 39,000 not actively seeking work, often due to illness or incapacity. The remaining 15,000 were unemployed but actively job hunting.
In contrast, 67,000 qualified young people were neither in education nor employment in 2024, with 32,000 unemployed and 35,000 part of the unemployed labour force.
Permanent employment
The data also showed that while young people with a basic qualification are more likely to secure permanent employment, the gap has narrowed.
In Q2 2024, 46% of those with a qualification had permanent jobs, compared to 31% for those without.
Despite this, young people without qualifications were more likely to be self-employed, with 12% in self-employment compared to 8% among those with a qualification. Read more here.
