Skip to content

Expanding Across Europe

The Allen RC team is growing! We’ve just expanded to provide our full set of services in the Netherlands, giving us an even larger footprint across Europe. From day one, our mission has been to change the way recruitment is done – both for our clients and the candidates we deal with.

We prioritise this by adopting a data-driven approach to recruiting, fuelled by technological innovation, automation and an appreciation for efficiency. This has allowed us to source top candidates across Europe, delivering great results for the companies we work with.

How we operate

The Allen Recruitment Consulting process involves the use of intelligent automation and data analysis. In this way, we can drastically cut down on the time it takes to identify potential candidates, create a viable candidate shortlist, and sift out those not interested. The result is highly targeted engagement and tangible results.

All this starts with reliable research, concrete data, and in-depth market analysis.

Read on for a detailed breakdown of the Dutch market, how it compares to talent pools in the UK, Ireland, and Poland, and how the Allen RC offering can get you ahead.

If you want even more detail, then be sure to read our comprehensive guide to hiring in the Netherlands.

The Dutch market

Our approach to talent is particularly helpful in the dynamic Dutch market, where 880 000 of the country’s 7.3 million professionals have changed jobs in the past year. That’s a turnover rate of 12% – high compared to the EU’s most recent data of 7.4% for women and 6.7% for men.

At the moment, there are more than 360 000 active job ads in the Netherlands, but how many of those are targeting the right people and being seen by viable candidates? In our experience, not many at all.

By accessing on-the-ground, up-to-date and relevant data, we’re able to identify not only the headline demographics of professionals in the country, but delve deeper to explore top competing employers, the most popular skills, and even which universities are producing the top graduates.

Top regions

As would be expected, we’re seeing the majority of talent concentrated around The Randstad (over 3 million professionals), followed by Brabantine City Row (just under 600 000) and the Greater Enschede Area (just under 400 000). These figures correlate to the top employers in the country, as their headquarters are located within these regions.

Top universities and fields of study

In line with population trends, we see the universities producing the most talent also located in Amsterdam and Utrecht. The largest of these is Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, followed by the University of Amsterdam, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, and Utrecht University.

Economics is a popular field of study, with close to 430 000 professionals citing this in their education history. Business and Commerce is also prevalent, at 230 000. Communication, Engineering, and Business Administration and Management round out the top 5 and indicate a workforce well-versed in professional skills.

Women in the professional space

Gender diversity is a growing point of concern for companies around the world. The Dutch market is no different, with low levels of female representation in fields like IT, sales management, and engineering. Instead, women are largely found working in traditionally female roles, such as hospitals and healthcare, retail, and education.

There’s a clear business case to be made for more inclusive workplace culture, especially when considering the current skills landscape in the country.

Job types

When analysing the most common titles listed by professionals, ‘Associate’ and ‘Director’ are both popular, listed by just under 130 000 people each.

What’s interesting is that ‘Owner’ is the most prevalent job title with over 490 000 people listing this as their role – but only 31% are female!

Other significant titles are rather industry-specific, with ‘Teacher’, ‘Accompanist’, and ‘Advisor’ included in the top 10. ‘Project Manager’ and ‘Admin Assistant’ also make the top 10.

There are also many coaches in the Netherlands: 64 000, in fact. That’s a lot of coaching going on!

The skills situation

The top skill listed by professionals is a mix of IT, Management, Sales, Operations and Finance. That’s to be expected, as many jobs will apply at least some of these in their day-to-day operations.

When looking at the top non-general skills listed by professionals, we see Engineering, Adobe Photoshop and Personal Development come out on top.

As a whole, Engineering doesn’t make the top 5 in terms of overall top skills, but it is the most in-demand at the moment. The skill is listed in more than 36 000 active job ads!

In line with a more information-driven future, analytical skills are growing in demand, with close to 19 000 job ads. This skill has seen a 26% growth over the past year.

Other fast-growing skills include an interesting list of hard and soft skills. Notable mentions are the programming language, Python, Accounting, Finance, and Cooperation. These speak to many of the business challenges that have arisen throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and indicate a need for a more balanced workforce.

There’s a clear opportunity, when comparing skills in demand and skills traditionally dominated by men, to include more women in these roles. This is much more possible with today’s access to remote and hybrid working models, as employers have access to a wider talent pool.

Up-and-coming locations

We’ve noticed three areas that are showing potential in terms of candidate numbers versus job opportunities. These are the Greater Enschede Area, Arnhem-Nijmegen Region, and Greater Groningen Area. Further afield, candidate pools in the UK, Ireland and Poland can also pose interesting possibilities.

How does the Dutch market compare?

We’ve worked extensively across Europe, giving us the distinct advantage of being able to spot opportunities across the region much faster than our competitors.

The Netherlands is attractive to candidates in terms of growth, talent enablement, and staff retention. There are also more growth opportunities in the country, as many industries are ramping up quickly.

Top industries across the UK, Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands are similar. Hospitals, healthcare, IT and services, construction and retail are the predominant industries in these countries. In-demand skills, too, would be familiar to those recruiting in the Dutch market. The UK and Ireland, as well as Poland, are facing strong demand for skills in finance, recruiting and engineering.

In terms of gender diversity, the Netherlands especially lags in the marketing and advertising field, with our other markets showing a stronger level of female representation within these sectors.

Dutch companies looking to bring in UK or Irish-based talent would be well-served looking in the Greater Leeds area and Glasgow, with both offering a strong talent pool. Law, analytical skills, and Python are particularly fast-growing skillsets, tying in well with local demand.

How we can help

Our expertise in both recruitment and recruitment data analytics enables us to offer you an intelligent, practical talent solution. We’re able to identify top opportunities, skills and locations faster than our competitors, thanks to our embracing of automation and data science.

We’re committed to treating the recruitment process like the personal, tailored experience it is. We respect the trust you put in us to find you a winning solution and pride ourselves on the top results we’ve offered our clients and candidates. Learn more about our work here.

Get in touch to discuss how our solution applies to you.

 

 

Posted in: Allen Agency / Allen Consulting / Allen Embedded / Allen Outsource / Allen Senior Appointments / Netherlands

Unlock your recruitment potential

You’re only a step away from accessing our expertise