On January 17th, this article in the NRC about the big deficit to teachers and health care workers in the Netherlands. Thousands of highly educated migrants can help solve this shortage. In practice, they have to overcome many obstacles.
Mirjam Huisman, director and manager of the UAF, was interviewed for this article.
The above article is part 2 of the two-part series on this topic in response to a year and a half long research by the investigative journalism collective Lighthouse Reports. On January 9, NRC about this in this article. Out of there it turns out that hIn the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, highly educated migrants often have to overcome many obstacles before they can start working in a full-time job at their educational level. Migrants in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe often work below their level, for a lower salary and, especially in the Netherlands, much more often with a temporary position than people born in the country of arrival.
Some figures mentioned in the article regarding the situation in the Netherlands and which support the urgency of the UAF:
Unequal pay
If migrant workers were paid the same as comparable employees born in the Netherlands, the Dutch economy would grow by 1,4 billion euros.
Unemployment
Unemployment among highly educated migrants is twice as high as among people born in the Netherlands.
Even with a recognized diploma in the Netherlands, a migrant is more often unemployed than an employee born in the Netherlands. This gap is only larger in Sweden than in the Netherlands
Temporary employment contracts
Highly educated migrants most often work with a temporary employment contract: more than 24% compared to more than 15% among people born in the Netherlands
Overqualification
Qualified migrant workers often work below standard. Highly educated migrant workers with a recognised foreign diploma are more often overqualified for the job in the Netherlands than someone born in the Netherlands.
In 2024, the UAF assisted 4.146 refugee students, professionals and scientists.
For The UAF offers a customized guidance program to refugee healthcare professionals. This includes a course in medical jargon, training, personal guidance and financial support. In total, we supported around 2024 refugee healthcare professionals in 446, many of whom were doctors and dentists. The UAF also provides support for the medical assessment. We do this by linking them to medical mentors, so that refugee healthcare professionals can gain practical experience before they have their BIG registration. The network of medical mentors connects employers in healthcare with refugee healthcare professionals and promotes labour market opportunities and guidance on the work floor.
There is also a podcast appeared in response to this diptych. Rummy comes in there speaking, he was accompanied by the UAF.
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