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IPMERC Research

Engineering

2 papers

Engineering and technical occupations: from grid technicians to mechanics.

Who leaves decides the shortage

August 2026

7 min read

In the fourth quarter of 2024, 34 of the 93 scored Dutch occupation groups were tight and 56 very tight; 2 were average and 1 was loose. For 32 of the 112 groups, ROA forecasts further tightening to 2030. What sets those groups apart is rarely job growth and usually departure: on average 2.8% of workers must be replaced each year, among butchers 8.1%, the highest of all occupation groups, and among advisers in marketing, public relations, and sales 1.1%. Butchers see almost no job growth and stay tight anyway; the advisers ease slightly. Representatives and buyers shrink by 1,900 workers and still stay on the tight side. The three scored ICT groups, together 518,400 workers, were all very tight at the end of 2024 and all ease slightly to 2030; for ICT user support that was already visible in the third quarter of 2025. For five technical occupation groups, the forecast easing was not yet visible in the Spanningsindicator in that same quarter.

Near the bottom on STEM

September 2026

5 min read

The Dutch economy runs on technology, but its working population is thinly educated in it. In 2025, 9.0% of employed people held a completed tertiary degree in the STEM fields of science, engineering or ICT, against 11.1% on average in the EU. That puts the Netherlands 22nd of the 30 measured countries; Lithuania leads with 15.1%. The stock is growing, from 748,700 workers in 2021 to 869,500 in 2025, a rise of 16%. Of them, 65% work as professionals and some 12% outside the knowledge occupations.