Chapter 8

Vocational Education

in theNetherlands

Prof. dr, Marc van der Meer

Tiburg University
 oter 8-Vocational Education in the Netherlands

ntroduction

Dutch vocational education has been developed alongside general education with relatively
litt interconnection. It is made up of three more or less autonomous domains, each with
hoir own rules, facilities and administrative considerations: preparatory vocational secondary
education(VMBO),upper or senior secondary vocational education and training (MBO) and higher
professional education (HBO). Yet international research indicates that this collective system of
skill formation attainment has resulted in an innovative, high-quality professional population,
as it has in German-speaking and Scandinavian countries. Vocational education and training is
constantly developing, creating new balances partly in response to upcoming changes in the
eld of labour. This chapter focuses primarily on MBO, but also explains its relationship with the
student-supplying VMBO schools and the HBO schools where these students may continue their
school careers.

The ThreeLevels of Dutch Vocational Education

Pre-vocational Education (VMBO)

VMBO is the result of a merger in 1999 between what was known as junior vocational education
(LBO) and junior general secondary education (MAVO). Of all pupils aged 12 to 16, about 609%
attend VMBO, which makes it the largest form of secondary education in the Netherlands.
VMBOis often part ofa comprehensive school community, although there are also independent
schools for preparatory practical or theoretical education. In August 2016, the number of
subject clusters was reduced from 35 to 10. Pupils are also able to take elective courses. Recent
years have seen an upward pressure in VMBO: the practically oriented learning pathways
attract fewer students and theoretical learning pathways are becoming more popular. Due to
these developments, the progression to general and vocational education is currently under
revision.
oitacbogo
Senior Secondary Vocational Education (MBO)
The present MBO dates from the 1990s. It is an extended form of education, with great
signi cance for the Dutch labour market. It provides education and training to the backbone
of the Dutch workforce: construction sector workers, professional drivers, ICT workers, media
specialists, metal sector operators, police of cers, care-givers, general nurses and so on. The
482,000MBO students generally come from pre-vocational education (VMBO) or senior general
secondary education (HAVO). MBO provides them with a starting quali cation to enter the
labour market, which helps them to nd a job or continue their studies elsewhere. Students
follow one of two equivalent, parallel learning pathways: the school-based route (BOL) with
20-60% practical instruction, or the dual or work-based route, that consists of apprenticeships
with 20-40% theoretical explanation (BBL). In MBO, the national umbrella associations
representing employers and employees still have signi cant responsibility, on the one hand

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in theNetherlands

for the establishment of the quali cation structure and on the other hand for providing a high.
quality network of companies offering practical on-the-job training.

Higher Professional Education (HBO)

The current form of HBO dates from the 1980s and is aimed at students who have completed
senior general secondary education (HAVO), pre-university secondary education (WO) orupper
secondary vocational education (MBO). Unlike in MBO, there is no systematic cooperation with
trade and industry; internships are more dependent on market forces than on arrangements
made at institution level. In recent years, HBO has been reshaped, following the Veerman
Committee's recommendations for clearer differentiation, internationalization and more
selective admissions in higher education (2010). Education is increasingly tailored as closely
as possible to society's pro les for the future of e.g. work, energy, health care and technology.

History and Development of MBO

Under the Dutch Constitution, educational institutions are free to decide their educational set-
up. This means that the government determines the educational objectives that are set and
the schools decide how to achieve these objectives. In designing their education programmes,
educational institutions therefore have signi cant freedom; they are at liberty to makechoices
about educational and teaching forms on the basis of the institution's fundamental principles
and educational vision (see Chapter 1). This separation of responsibilities offers teaching
professionals and management signi cant scope to decide how to organize the education they
provide. Students are then able to choose the type of education that suits them.

A legal basis for MBO was rst created in 1921 by the commencement of the Nijverheidswet (the
Industrial, Technical and Domestic Education Act), four years after the establishment of the
Ministry of Education in 1917. The current MBO institutions were created twenty years ago on
the introduction of the Wet Educatie en Beroepsonderwijs (WEB, Adult and Vocational Education
Act) in 1996. Until then, vocational education was divided into two systems, day schools and
apprenticeship training, which were accordingly combined. One of the aims of this Act was to
enhance the opportunities for institutions to develop and to enhance educational innovation.
All types of upper secondary vocational education were brought under one roof of so-calledVET-
colleges, resulting in an increase in scale, new forms of management, and competition between
institutions. At present, there are 44 regional training centres or colleges that offer all types of
vocational education with a threefold ambition: quali cation for the labour market, socialization
and preparation for further learning. Education is organized by sector (administration,
construction, economics, health care, logistics, technology, welfare, and so on), by level (entry
level, MB0 2, MBO 3, MBO 4), by pathway (BOL and BBL) and by study year (1, 2, 3, 4). There are
also 12 specialist institutions (specialist VET-colleges, vakscholen) specializing in a single area

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 or 8-VocationalEducation in the Netherlands
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creative craftsmanship,
(euchas creative craftsmanship.
IT & media, furniture, technology etc.) and 12 agricultural VET
nesfocused on agriculture, horticulture and other 'green' sector areas.

the government published its 'Focus on craftsmanship' Action Programme, expressing

ombition to make MBO more attractive and challenging (De Bruijn et al, 2017; Chin-a-Fat et
al 016).Study programmes were made more intensive and shorter (three years instead of four),
bo nyali cation structure was extensively revised and a new operational model with strong
coformanceincentives was implemented. With the introduction of national examinations for
pe
omesubiects (Dutch, basic
Some
mathematics and English), the curriculum became more general.
the same time, the government initiated a different approach to industrial policy with the
introductionof a top sector policy' (strengthening the high value added sectors of production)
andbycreating market conditions for the allocation of innovation grants. All these initiatives
haveled to increased quality awareness among the various regional training centres, working
togetherin networks to take measures to ensure they are 'in control' (Douma et al., 2012).

Acordingto the most recent 'State of Education' report (Dutch Inspectorate of Education, 2016),
theeducationclimate in MBO is steadily improving: graduation rates are rising, drop-out rates are
furtherreduced and MBO graduates are attaining higher success rates in higher-level education.
The number of students obtaining a diploma at MBO 4 level is increasing. There are a few

programmesthat are not up to standard and according to the Inspectorate, examination quality
isnotyet at the expected level but improvements can be seen in these areas too. The Inspectorate
alsorightlyexpresses its concerns about the issue of (un)equal opportunities, especially between
higherand lower quali ed persons, though it is often commented in international literature
thatyouth unemployment levels and the number of young people in the NEET category (Not in
employment,education or training) in the Netherlands compare very favourably with those in
mostEuropean countries, at least once they have obtained a basic quali cation.

Figure&.1sketches the position of vocational education within the larger education structure in
theNetherlands, with primary education at the basis and doctorate degree in the top. VMBO is
picturedat the bottom-right, MBO in the right-upper corner and HBO at the left.

See PBT(2016),Van der Meer et al. (2017).

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 Chapter 8 - Vocational Education in the Netherrlands

DOCTORATE

HIGHER SPECIALIST TRAINING

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION LEVEL4 SENIOR SECONDARY
EDUCATION 1 year VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
ACADEMIC HIGHER
(HBO MASTER) (MBO) L
EDUCATION
1-3 years T
(UNIVERSITY/WO
MASTER)
1-3 years
MIDDLE D
7

...
ACADEMIC HIGHER
HIGHER
PROFESSIONAL
MANAGE-
MENT
PROFES-
SIONAL
TRAINING
BASIC
VOCATIONAL
TRAINING
ENTRY
TRAINING C
ASSOCIATE TRAINING quali cation
EDUCATION EDUCATION quali cation quali cation
(UNIVERSITY/WO
DEGREE quali cation LEVEL 3 LEVEL 2
LEVEL 1
(HBO
BACHELOR) BACHELOR)
2 years LEVEL 4
3 years 2 years
l year
5 3-4 years
3 years 4 years
6 N

PRE-UNIVERSITY SENIOR
SECONDARY ADVANCED BASIC
EDUCATION THEORETICAL COMBINED
GENERAL VOCATIONALVOCATIONAL
(Vwo) PROGRAMMEPROGRAMME
EDUCATION PROGRAMMEPROGRAMME
6 years
age12-18 (HAVO)
5 years
2 2
age 12-17 PREPARATORY SECONDARY VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION (VMBO)
4 years, age 12-16

BASIC CURRICULUM

-EQF level
PRIMARY EDUCATION
& years, age 4-12

Figure 8.1 Overview Dutch educational system. Source: SBB (2017).

Dutch vocational education comprises both publicly-funded and a well-developed system of

privately-funded institutions. In 'Skills beyond school' (2014) the Organisation for EconomicCo-
operation and Development (OECD) comments positively on this inclusive Dutch system. They
state that a hybrid form has been created with a role for the various organizations in society
(educational institutions, business and employee representatives), which operates to reducethe
risks posed by government failures (excessive government intervention) and market failures (an
inadequately trained labour force) as much as possible. The report does advise the Netherlands
that VMB0-MBO alignment, and that ofMBO with associate degrees, higher professionaleducation
(HBO) and university, needs to be improved signi cantly and that much more emphasis needs
to be placed on lifelong learning. Naturally, this puts demands on teaching staff (OECD,2014).

At the same time, it is dif cult to establish whether the education provided is a success in terms
of its crafts-based, vocational character. After obtaining a basic quali cation, students are
certainly not in a bad position in the labour market, but the general impression is that the results
in terms of practical vocational training leave room for improvement, certainly given the fact that
general subjects have received more attention in the curriculum. As we shall see, the challenge
for the future is to further improve learning results through cooperation and boundary-crossing
between vocational education and local businesses.

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in the Netherlands

In the remainder of this chapter, we will outline the challenges MBO is facing. First we discuss
the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of the teachers' agenda, then we focus on student
pathways through the system, shifts in the economic structure, the quali cation structure,
innovation policy, and life-long learning. The nal section concludes with three key questions
for the future.

Internal and External Challenges

Teachers' Agenda
Inrecentyears the issue of the role of teachers has gained priority in the national policy agenda.
Followingadvice from many commissions, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (2013)
publishedthe 'Lerarenagenda 2013-2020' (Teachers' Agenda 2013-2020) and negotiated with the
socialpartners in education the Nationaal Onderwijsakkoord 'De route naar geweldig onderwijs'
(NationalEducation Agreement The road to great education') (Ministry of Education, Culture
andScience and Foundation of Education, 2013), referring to the fundamental principle that
goodeducation can only be provided by teachers who understand their job. To achieve this, it is
considerednecessary to raise professional standards, to improve teacher training and induction,
and to ensure teachers facilities and time to meet the required standards. For vOcational
education (both VMBO and MBO), these ambitions present extra challenges as the impact of
speci c aspects are not always taken into account, such as workplace learning in authentic
workenvironments, lateral entry to the teaching profession and the role of workplace trainers
and supervisors. Moreover, the teaching staff in VET has to deal with a heavy administrative
burdenand more or less permanent political intervention in education.? This gives rise to various
quantitative and qualitative issues.

Basedon quantitative extrapolations, clear trends in education participation can be identi ed.
TheNetherlands is experiencing population shrinkage in outlying areas and growth in large cities,
where the population today is super-diverse (Crul e.a., 2012, see also Chapter 7). Signi cant
shifts are occurring within the various sections of education: the number of VMBO pupils is
decreasing,in particular the volume of those taking the two most practical learning routes; at
thesame time, an upward pressure towards senior general secondary education (HAVO) can be
noted (Westerhuis & De Bruijn, 2015). The consequence of this educational race is that in time,
the proportion of students attending MBO will also decrease. Indexed to participation in 1995 (=
100),a peak occurred in 2010 (= 116) which will gradually decrease to 92 in 2030. Participation in
higherprofessional education (HBO) and university education, on the other hand, will continue
torisein the next few years. The index gure for higher education is currently 165 (1995 = 100). It
will rise to 169 in 2020 and then gradually decrease.

On theshortcomings in the teachers' agenda and the need for quality-improvement in VET, see Van der Meer (2014)
Source:Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Referentieraming 2015 (Reference forecast 2015).

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in theNetherlands

The demographic shifts in student orientation therefore also have consequences for teacher
requirements in quantitative terms, even more so given the signi cantly ageing teaching
population. Twenty years ago, too few students studied technical subjects; now - a generation
later - not enough of them have gone into teaching. The continuity of technical education in
VMBO and MBO schools is under serious threat due to the reduction in teachers and facilities.
According to an exploratory study commissioned by the MBO Raad (0ckam/IPS, 2015), the
shortage of technology teachers may rise to 1500 teachers and 900 education assistants in the
next ve years. As the baby boom generation retires, the profession will need more new entrants,
current teachers will have to work longer (retirement age has already gone up to 67) or the
number of students per class must increase (which would increase productivity in quantitative
terms).

In qualitative terms, there are more uncertainties, given that teacher training programmes are
often insuf ciently tailored to V(MBO). The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science's recent
establishment of specializations and minors in vocational education in teacher training is a rst
positive step. Other adjustment mechanisms also play a role in the quality of teaching staff. How
attractive is teaching as a profession? What prior education level is required? And how is the work
remunerated and valued? A persistent problem is that approximately half of all new teachers leave
the education sector within ve years. Apparently, the profession is not suf ciently attractive
to them, wage are relatively moderate and working conditions are challenging, whereas many
starting teachers simply do not survive in the demanding educational (V)MB0 environment.

Prospects
Traditionally, vocational education has made signi cant use of lateral entrants to the teaching
profession. To empower this group, even different solutions are needed. In line with the recent
proposal by the Platform Bèta Techniek (National Platform Science & Technology) regarding
'circular careers' (2016), dual appointments with both an educational institution and a company
could become possible. Such hybrid combinations are currently in the experimental phase. The
development of a common pedagogical and educational repertoire makes new forms of team
teaching possible. Later on, VMBO-MBO teacher exchanges could be introduced, with mutual
supervision and coaching. This would immediately lead to a modernization of employment
relationships in educational establishments and in business.

Another signi cant challenge for MBO institutions is improving the effects of the educational
teams and giving them a more external, labour market-focused orientation. In accordance with
the applicable Professional Statute (2009), and unlike the situation in other educational sectors,
the educational teams in MBO are the main actors in the internal educational system. Each team
has a team leader, and this also establishes the line of authority. The regulations stipulate that
all members of the team should engage in professional development. The challenging task the
team leader faces is to combine the professionalization of team members and the provision of

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 chapter 8- Vocational Education in the Netherlands

ness to them with the attainment of good education results (see Chapter 4). Diverse
meaningfulness
ompetencies, task variation and focus points come together in a team (for example, teachers
ir roleaspedagogues, didacticians or mentors). In the basic pro le for teachers, having
in
vell as practical knowledge and creating a good climate for learning are
su cientttheoretical as well
leant. In recent years, more attention has been given to differentiation of roles, such as
ively shaping curriculum development (subject clusters and elective subjects) and carrying
outindependent research in class.

Muchis expected of teachers' investigative capacity. The road is long but it is worth persevering,
Giuenthe defective knowledge infrastructure in MBO. The rst generation of teachers is now
receivingin-service training to attain a master-degree; if they can take the lead in educational
innovation in regional training centres then a great deal can be achieved. Recently many VET-
centresare initiating small centres for expertise and inquiry under the label 'practoraten' to
strengthen practical investigation and re exive capacities. Available tools such as Learning
onalyticscan also contribute to student capabilities analysis and provide infrastructural support
fortailor-madeprogrammes (using individual portfolios).

If in the coming period even more differentiation arises in the educational pathways of the
alreadydiverse student population, this will also require more exibility from teachers with
respectto assessing, evaluating and supervising cognitive and practical differences between
students,diference that often represent strong sociocultural orientations. Alongside teaching
andexamining, a number of indirect functions play an important role in vocational education:
suchascareer counselling and supervision during the work-based learning period (Meijers et al.,
2014).

Anotherrelevant development is the growing availability of information technology, making the

interpretation of online information and social media increasingly important (cf. Kennisnet, a
publicorganization for Education & ICT, 2016). This places a great responsibility on educational
teams,and not just in the context of civic education, which is a compulsory part of the MBO
curriculum.In the practice-oriented (V)MBO education, aspects such as reading and reproducing,
butalso combining, analysing, recognizing patterns and structures, discussing, philosophizing
andlistening, converge uniquely within the context of the educational institution, as social
aspectsof the learning process. In addition, we can expect that new teaching methods and
learningtools will increasingly become available online and that e-learning (focused on very
speci cskills and actions) will more easily be developed in business companies. Apparently, ICT
will likely act as information carrier and network structure rather than as a form of education

replacing
theeducationalinstitution. inuo ho

SeeVan der Meer and Verheijen (publication in progress).

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 Chapter 8- VocationalEducationin theNetherlands

Easier Pathways to the Next Level of Education

The purpose of VMB0 is to offer pupils a suf cient basis for further learning including a
practical orientation to work processes, that of MBO0 is to give them quali cations enabling
them to start a career. Yet in management and organizational terms, VMBO and MBO are two
quite different worlds. This is evidenced by the fact that in recent years they have revised their
curricula completely independently of one another, even though 85% of pupils completingVMBO
continues its education in MBO. These students often struggle to adapt to the different learning
context in MBO, which involves stronger autonomy and self-responsibility with more demanding
requirements.o ne

It appears that students are particularly vulnerable at this pivotal point and thesechangeover
times form the bottleneck for progression from one level of education to the next (Klatter,2014;
Elfers, 2011). For this reason, the topic of career orientation and supervision has been included
in the new curriculum for VMBO. This requires a new, quite different approach from teaching
staff, who need to take a more re ective attitude when discussing the pupils' educational choices
and career opportunities. Student need to ʻcome into the world, as Pols (2015) puts it.

This is also important in MBO, which needs to better consider the intake and entry of students
from the levels of education that precede it. And, of course, the progression and transfer of
students to higher professional education (HBO) also contains signi cant alignment issues,
particularly in view of the high drop-out rate among MBO graduates during the early years of
HBO programmes.

Prospects
These topics are now on the government's agenda, as it aims to promote seamless progression
from one level of education to the next (see Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2017).
Educational institutions are also seeking bottom-up solutions to this problem. Within the
'Consortium Beroepsonderwijs' (Vocational Education Consortium), an association of secondary
education and MBO institutions, a continuous learning line from VMBO to MBO has been developed
entitled"The Metal Pivot!. There are now connected curricula in Production, Installation, Energy'
(PIE) and 'Nursing, Health, Welfare and Social Care, which are also recognized and utilized by
the relevant sectors themselves (Klatter, 2014). The government has also taken a number of
initiatives to create programmes supporting progression to the next level of education. Initially,
it experimented with progression programmes from VMBO up to MBO 2. More recently, new
specialised 'craftsmanship' and technology routes' have been developed linking VMBO with
MBO that aim at a better alignment based on content. Where VMBO and MBO are housed in the
same building, this improves coordination. It also helps if there is local pressure. For example,
in areas where the population is shrinking, such as the provinces of Groningen, Limburg and
Zeeland, efforts are now being made to create an integrated curriculum. This for example has

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 Vocational Education in the Netherlands
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resultedin Arcus
Ar College and Leeuwenborgh Regional Training Centre developing programmes
ochanical operators at MBO 2 level. Based on analysis by car company Nedcar-VDL of core
for med
and work processes, new practical assignments are being developed, which form the basis
tasks
of a new curriculum.

shifts in the Economic Structure

In the Netherlands, quali cations are important; they have signi cant signalling value as
indicators of pro ciency, certainly for people entering the labour market. More than in other
education sectors, MBO works from a direct connection between education and the eld of
employment. For this reason, the Dutch system is sometimes regarded as the best of both worlds,
having a full-time version (the school-based route or BOL) as in Belgium and Scandinavia, and a
dualversion (the work-based route or BBL) as in Germany, which gives the system the exibility
to respond to the economic climate. Through this, vocational education can enhance the
competitiveness and degree of innovation of businesses and institutions (De Bruijn, e.a. 2017;
Busemeijer& Trampusch, 2012; Busemeijer, 2016).os

Atthe same time, the international economic crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in
2008has affected the labour market much more profoundly than was generally expected. Due to
technological developments, more jobs are at risk than initially predicted.5 MBO institutions have
noticed the effects of these events on the number of students taking each of the MBO learning
pathways: during the crisis, the number of students opting for the school-based pathway rose
to 381,000 but the number choosing the work-based pathway declined from 167,000 (2008-9)
to95,000 (2015-16), with a particularly sharp drop in the number of adults enrolling. Now that
the economic climate is improving, BBL- enrolments have gradually increased again to 101,000

students
(seeTable 8.1).bod acbole

In 2008,the Bakker Committee still predicted signi cant employment market shortages due to the ageing labour force.
Then the nancial crisis occurred and the retirement age was raised, which forces people to work longer.

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in the Netherlands

Year of study Dual pathway (BBL) School-based pathway (BOL) Total

2009/2010 167,091 348,457 515,548

2010/2011 164,894 354,623 519,517

2011/2012 154,404 354,457 508,861

2012/2013 143,062 357,262 500,324

2013/2014 120,718 368,175 488,893

2014/2015 100,434 375,676 476,110

2015/2016 95,772 376,111 471,883

2016/2017 100,946 380,950 481,896

Table 8.1 Study routes in Dutch MBO. Source: DUO/SBB.

This pattern is reinforced by the in uence of new technologies in production processes, which is
likely to result in many routinejobs disappearing. The mid-segments of the economy appearsto be
under particular pressure, although interpretations of the signi cance of international (primarily
Anglo-Saxon) research outcomes for the Netherlands vary. Some consultancy companies blindly
predict the erosion of the mid-section of the labour market and the disappearance of two to
three million jobs (Deloitte, 2016). Based on research into wage-data and working tasks by the
Centraal Planbureau (Economic Policy Analysis, CPB, 2015), learning and working (Social and
Cultural Planning Of ce, SCP, 2016) and allocation of students (Bol & Van de Werfhorst, 2016), it
is also concluded that the labour market is becoming polarized, though data differ signi cantly
for the various sectors. It should be added that a feature of Dutch vocational training is that
(in the Rhineland tradition) MB0 institutions give students a 'broad' training, not just for the
performance of an isolated, single task (as in Anglo-Saxon countries) but to qualify them fora
broaderjob territory (with an added focus on socialization and lifelong learning), so that they also
have better career opportunities. The Researchcentrum voor Onderwijs en Arbeidsmarkt (ROA,
Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market) is much more cautious in its predictions
on the future of jobs and occupations. It points at the signi cant ageing of the work force and
thus needs for replacements in the labour market and the fact that more is being required of
workers (ROA, 2016). In summary, the best approach is therefore to point out the underlying
trend of upgrading and exibilization of occupations and jobs, which naturally has a variety of
characteristics.

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Prospects
aricultural sector, diversi cation and internationalisation of production processes
with the emergence of new forms of sustainable energy production and technology-
oCCurs,
od food enhancement, leading to a need for further training in jobs. Industrial companies,
based
their turn, have largely become integrated into international production chains. Due to
on
bstization and automation, traditional production work has diminished in scale. Dutch
hranchof ces are often specialized in research and design, marketing and sales. This means

hatemployment opportunities with many industrial rms have become more tertiary in nature.
t thesametime, there are vacancies for craftsmen in the mid-segments of the labour market,
suchas construction workers, installation engineers, ICT specialists and logistics workers, due
to insu cient investment in training for these workers during the crisis years. In nancial and
eConomicservices, there is signi cant pressure on jobs due to automation. In related industries
suchas the healthcare and welfare sector, signi cant rationalization and separation of tasks in
productionprocesses is notable. In local growth sectors such as the creative industry, hospitality
andtourism, speci c organizational processes are being developed with their own particular
methodsof standardizing and increasing exibility of work processes. In the hospitality sector,
forinstance, long-term permanent contracts occur but also a great deal of short-term cyclical

employment.

Thegeneral expectation is that in the ' at world' (Friedman, 2005) of the open, global economy,
local occupations, such as hairdressers, chefs, mechanics and other service providers, will
continue to exist, but these can also be carried out in informal employment relationships. In
addition, as a result of ICT applications, there is a trend towards more generalist occupations

(insurance, application management) because employees have access to more information

(expertsystems et cetera). There is also an emerging entertainment industry in the broadest
senseof the word, which is to some extent creating its own demand. This leads to signi cant
interaction between industries and sectors (for example, 3D printing, electronic cars and new
logistic requirements).

The position of work for youngsters is becoming more exible in all dimensions: numerical,
qualitative and functional. The substantial uctuations in consumer demand have added to
this.Besides this, we see both simpli cation and upgrading of the demands placed on workers,
dependingon the sector or eld of work. Work is generally becoming more complex. While the
optometristmay be disappearing, the optician's profession will become broader in scope.

Theincreasing exibility of the labour market means that people can have several jobs at the
Sametime. Young people will want to build up a portfolio of relevant learning experiences in
certain occupational elds, in which changing job opportunities and new career paths arise
dependingon the competencies and expertise they have developed. Moreover, self-employment
andindependent work forms are on the rise, which requires more focus on entrepreneurial skills

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in theNetherlands

in education. The looser collaborative associations that professionals (and partnerships) are
adopting, offer opportunities for shared workspaces and new forms of organization. In all this,
it is not yet clear how the increasing exibility of employment contracts, on entry and on exit,
will be compensated with facilities for retraining and in-service training as new forms of social
security. At the same time, the decentralization and de-collectivization of social security policies
from the central government in The Hague to local municipal level, are raising new issues for the
development of on-the-job training arrangements for unemployed target groups.

Signi cance of the Quali cation Structure

In the light of these external changes, the social partners have repeatedly revised the quali cation
structure in MBO, although this never resulted in full dualization of vocational education. As of
2008, a transition was made from education focused on nal attainment targets to 'competency
based' education, formally referred to since 2012 as 'occupation-focused education'. During the
most recent revision since 2011, the quali cation structure has been simpli ed and 700 elective
options are currently being introduced. To start with, advice on this is being provided by the eight
sector chambers of the newly-established national Samenwerkingsorganisatie Beroepsonderwijs
Bedrijfsleven (SBB, Cooperation Organization for Vocational Education, Training and the Labour
Market). In technical terms, the pro les and elective options that are now being introduced in
MBO, offer signi cant opportunities for educational innovation at a local level. Institutions are
not required to offer all the elective options, they can be selective in this, both for organizational
and logistic reasons and in response to regional needs.

Unlike VMBO and HBO, MBO has a close-knit network of relationships with local SMEbusinesses.
Expressed in gures, this amounts to more than 230,000 work placement companies, with
relationships varying in intensity. SMES constitute the principal market for MBOSstudentsand,
looked at from the opposite angle, MBO is the main supplier of entry-level professionals (novices)
forSMES.The main challenge is tailoring the national quali cation structure to regional variations
in employment even more closely, so that suf cient young people obtain the right quali cations.
Alongside all these issues, the topic of macro-ef ciency has also been placed on the agenda.
The intention is that regional training colleges serve their own region, rather than (as was
previously the case) compete with one another for students. For this, SBB is providing improved
information les and developing new tools with labour market information (0pportunities for
work; opportunities for traineeships), to stimulate students to choose MBO programmes that offer
them better access to work. The future will tell whether this will be successful and responsibility
for success cannot be exclusively left to the regional organizations, for the simple reason that
changes to healthcare or technology branches are not con ned to a single region but occur
throughout the country. Moreover, the national government has a duty to protect the validity
and recognition of quali cations (civiel effect') to guarantee access to work.

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 e MocationalEducation in the Netherlands
Chapter 8- VocationalEduc:

Prospects
orefore needs to adapt to this new reality. To equip students for the labour market
MBOthere
-Weeret al., 2014), it is important to have not only outstanding general and vocational
Van
eon ('stock'), but also the institutional mechanisms for the transition (" ow) from school
onl school to work, work to further learning and work to work and a suitable combination
toschool,
a thecare for family members. Such transition routes' are key intervention points from
the of socioeconomic policy. Finally, there needs to be customized reintegration
hufer) to nd solutions for drop-outs (young people not switching studies but dropping out
eudving entirely and recorded as NEETS). At a local level, refugees and asylum seekers add to
theproblems,because it is often at regional training centres that they can try to build up their

lives again.

In this context, the MBO-2 certi cate is an important benchmark in Dutch education policy,
ronstitutingthe threshold for a long-term future in the labour market. The MBO-2 programmes
arecurrently broadened, as aspects such as communication, working together, entrepreneurship
andnetworking skills become important in working environments, but these are also learned on
theiob. At the same time, the value attached to this MBO-2 certi cate is shifting. As a general
rule,the higher the level of education completed, the more senior the position a student can
expectto obtain in a rm. The opportunities in the labour market to workers with MBO-l and -2
certi catesand those available to MBO-3 and -4 and HBO graduates differ signi cantly. In other
words,the 'threshold' is shifting from MBO-2 to MBO-3.

Innovation Policy

In the Netherlands, there has been a signi cant reassessment of the idea of 'embedded

capitalism'in recent years. Cooperation in the multiple helix' between companies, government
bodiesand knowledge organizations (R&D-institutes and schools) is regarded as essential in
achievingan innovative employment market climate. Regional production chains are embedded
inlocal and regional networks in which supplying and purchasing companies cooperate with
authoritiesand educational and research institutions. The awareness that regional development
canbe reinforced by cooperation between government and local businesses has been strongly
promoted'in the last ten years; rst in Limburg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam-Rijnmond-Drecht Cities,
BrainportEindhoven and Twente, later joined by North-Holland-North, Flevoland, Groningen-
Eemsdeltaand the Gelderland Valley with its leading agricultural university in Wageningen,
whichoperates in a worldwide network.

Prospects

0 Whatis the result of these innovations? Unlike HBO, which was awarded lectureships in
00 to support the professionalization of its teaching staff and forge links with universities,

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in theNetherlande

MBO institutions were not strengthened by any alliance between their staff and academicor
research institutions. From 2003-2004 onwards, the content development of MBOinstitutions
was supported by an innovation programme, 'Het Platform Beroepsonderwijs' (TheVocational
Education Platform or HPBO), that was launched by the national Stichting van de Arbeid(Labour
Foundation, representing employers and employees). This programme involved innovation at
the basis, and in the width and depth of MBO in its totality. It laid the foundations for regionalco-
makership programmes in MBO, for effective learning and innovation within the institution, for
learning in the workplace and for professionalization. Evaluations of these programmesreveal
that innovation management within the institutions was often lacking or poorly organized,with
the result that innovative projects sometimes produced little or no result. Thebreakthrough
projects launched in that period aimed to improve areas such workplace learning, onward
progression of students and effective organization. By placing these projects on the agenda
at various education institutions at the same time, the participating institutions had to learn
to work together and take a common approach. According to those involved, this created the
basis for co-makership and hybrid working environments in their current form.$ In Figure 8.2 is
portrayed how VET and companies can join their educational and organizational resourcesto
initiate a new learning environment, that accordingly can be placed within the school or in a

company location.

Resources Resources

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

VET institute Companies

Figure 8.2 Anew entity. Linking education and business. (Source: Smulders e.a. 2012)

6
See for example the nal publication "lnnovisier' by HPBO (2016). For other overviews, see Smulders et al. (2012),Van der
Meer (2014) and Bakker et al. (2016).

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 e.Vocational Education in the Netherlands
chapter8-Vocational

the government, pressed by several captains of industry, initiated a different course in

In2010,
ial policyby supporting the Top Sectors policy' in severalleadingeconomicsectors in
industr
stherlands such as agrifood, chemicals, creative sector and ICT, water management). This
the
na differentuse of innovation funds in vocational education, which becameallocated via the
eyof EconomicAffairs. Since then, more than 100Centres for InnovativeCraftsmanshiphave
mcet up in MBO and Centres of Expertise in HBO. These are partnerships between educational
been s
citutions and companies aimed at improving technological and educational innovation. In
arentyears, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science added a Regional Investment Fund,
athat other sectors can also pro t from these resources. A Healthcare Pact was also created
forregional innovation between educational institutions and health and welfare organizations.

Thephilosophy is not merely working together but placing vocational education at the heart of
theregional ecosystem, according to Platform Bèta Techniek (PBT) (National Platform Science &
Technology)as 'producer' and 'accelerator' and not just as a 'system supplier' (PBT, 2016). The
substantialinvestments in these forms of co-makership have a powerful effect in agenda-setting,
all the more so given that funds are available in these programmes for targeted exploratory
studies into the future. The evaluations available to date primarily discuss the quantitative
growthof the number of participants in these programmes and the sustainability of the many
newforms of cooperation in the Centres for Innovative Craftsmanship and Centres of Expertise,
butdo not (yet) provide systematic analysis in a qualitative sense of the requirements for speci c
educational improvements to vocational programmes. Moreover, a lot more attention should be
givenin coming years to knowledge dissemination about the added value of regional economic
cooperation.

Post-Initial Education

With the creation of regional training centres, adult education was also placed under the
auspicesof vocational education. The 1996 act had the explicit aim of 'creating more cohesion in
the eld of adult education, though ever since a striking number of statutory and consequently
organizational shifts have occurred. In recent years, the eld of (adult) education has been
subject to strong market forces, whereas, on the other hand, the second-chance general
secondaryeducation for adults (VAVO, Voortgezet Algemeen Volwassenen Onderwijs) has been
broughtback to the regional training centres.

Inaddition to the publicly- nanced MBO institutions, there is also an extensive market of private,
ie. not state-funded institutions for vocational education. These institutions generally serve a
different target group which tends to be older and require training tailored to a speci c job. In
Somecases,they also develop programmes jointly with publicly nanced MBO institutions, such
astheVAPRO programme in the processing industry, which exists for sixty years. Generally it

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 Chapter 8-Vocational Education in theNetherlande

can be said that private education has a signi cant market share in providing courses for life.
long learning (approximately 85% for private education as compared to 15% for MB0, higher
professional education and universities; see Buisman & Van Wijk, 2012).

Prospects
The public VET-schools value their commercial activities, as they allow them to innovate their
curriculums, teaching methods and equipment and enter into new organizational ties with
companies. That is no simple matter for educational institutions. Tailor-made programmes,
targeted at lifelong learning by employees in regional businesses, are not always compatible
with the organization of full-time initial VET-programmes, since innovation is not based on
student numbers and individual competency objectives. Investments in and knowledgeexchange
between networks of private and public parties are needed to achieve this, even if the outcome
is by no means certain.

The Future

Internationally, Dutch vocational education has a good reputation. One aspect of this success
comes from the double supply of learning routes (school-based and work-based), which
increasingly develop in combinations. Youth unemployment is also relatively low by European
standards and signi cant opportunities are available in the labour market for young people who
complete a vocational training programme. At the same time, considerable challenges exist in
view of the technological and organizational changes in the labour market and shifts in student
population. In view of these potentially far-reaching changes, collaboration in innovative
arrangements combining school-based learning and workplace learning (forming a connective
learning architecture') provides the model for the future. This presupposes that vocational
education and rms are able to articulate their interests and develop a joint vocabulary at local
level. Educational institutions need to bring their students' future work eld within their walls,as
it were, whilst trade and industry might bene t from the educational institutions' pedagogical,
didactical and educational knowledge. From an administrative point of view, that also requires
cooperation between secondary education (pre-vocational education (VMBO) and senior general
secondary education (HAVO), MBO and higher professional education, in order to better use the
regional infrastructure and equipment of schools and companies.

To achieve this, it is not necessary to change everything at the same time; in recent years
repeated policy reforms have been enacted. Instead, a period of relative stability and stepwise
improvement is needed: the issue is the 'speed of change'. Due to all policy changes in recent
years education teams have underestimated the importance of a good pedagogical and didactic
basis for vocational education for too long. Teams should be given, and make use of, the scope
to develop their own vision on education, to better understand one another while applying

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 -tor 8-Vocational Education in the Netherlands
Chapter

hrating didactical methods attuned to developments in real work processes. What then
new ad
intes good and effective vocational education undisputedly remains a normative issue.
const
afore it should be asked: effective for whom, and effective for what? In "The Craftsman, the
The
iologist Richard Sennett (2009) rightly argues that competencies are not a kind of tricks':
1 centuryskills do not deliver a recipe for exible, omnipotent employees. Therefore, school
onasement must express 'conscious trust' in the professionalism of teaching teams to create
for anincreasinglydiverse student population - the right balance in the curriculum between
neneralskills, occupation-speci c skills and personal skills of students that have unique value in

the labour market.

It would be incorrect to conclude in this context that a national policy is no longer required.
Thedevelopment of tasks and positions in the labour market, the changes in occupations and
thenew variety in career paths should not be left up to the market alone, but requires social
investmentsin a capacitation approach directed to training and lifelong learning, good facilities
for the transition from school to work and speci c tailor-made reintegration for vulnerable
groups.At least, this asks for a meticulous national evaluation and policy feedback, uniform
qualitystandards, markedly valid quali cation les for the labour market, and coordinated
agenda of research and development to facilitate youngsters proper progression within
professions.We should be aiming to further expand the social signi cance, the 'outcome', of
Vocationaleducation. This requires cooperation at local level between educational institutions
andcompanies, supported by knowledge centres and teacher training programmes (both HBO
and universities). Since many of the challenges ahead are 'wicked policy issues, relatively
intensivecontent supervision is required, and targeted local experiments to achieve innovation
and development.

Forthe near future, it is therefore relevant to ask how political parties de ne the task assigned
to vocational education. The MB0 institution as a leading regional knowledge centre with a
signi cant research and development role focussing on developing the regional economy,
alignedwith VMBO and HBO and supported by strategic partnership with companies, provides
adifferent organizational model from the MBO institution as an organizer of simple education
services.For the target group of young people aged 16 to 23, the linked triple of quali cation,
socializationand preparation for further training, has signi cant added value for their personal
developmentinto young adults and the creation of a professional identity.

Itremains to be seen how lifelong learning programmes will be given further impulse in the
comingyears. It is conceivable that the government will invest - more than is presently the case
- inemployees' skills, with help of individual learning vouchers and thus expanding the role of
publicMBO.It is also conceivable that public vocational education will join forces with regional
businessesto ful l certain key tasks, with other areas being developed within general education
or by private parties (topics such as project leadership and entrepreneurship, for which the

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 Chapter 8- VocationalEducation in theNetherlands

infrastructure investments are limited). Following this reasoning, core skills such as the Dutch
language and basic mathematics could be taught by a different type of teacher, certainly when it
comes to 'catch-up facilities, given the problems that schools experience in meeting the national
standards in line with all that pupils are required to learn in primary and secondary education.

In general terms, we can expect that - in an overall shrinking student market - institutions will
wish to distinct themselves and that the relationship between vocational education andgeneral
education will grow stronger, certainly at education programme level. In recent years, a growing
variety of educational institutions have developed - the networking school, specialist VET-
schools, the neighbourhood school, the associate degree-colleges - though not all have metwith
success. Finally, we see the signi cant rise of the private sector in vocational education and the
growth of company schools. If the business world believes in the importance of a strong public
vocational education sector in the long term, then it will need to be prepared to invest in high-
quality public education programmes too.

Key Questions
• How should regional arrangements between vocational education, related school
providers, national and local government and local industry be designed in order to
enhance regional VET-colleges to develop into recognized and leading knowledge
centres in their region?
What factors determine the pedagogical and didactical repertoire of teaching,
strengthening the learning processes of students and employees in a context of a
exible and upgrading labour market?
• Under what nancial and organizational conditions can the new generation of recently
trained teachers induce a coherent climate of inquiry and stepwise improvement of
learning within the regionalVET-centres?

About the author

Prof. dr. Marc van der Meer is endowed professor for the labour market in the education sector,
associated with Re ect/Tilburg Law School and CAOP in The Hague since 2013. He is also an
independent academic advisor to the Samenwerkingsorganisatie BeroepsonderwijsBedrijfsleven
(SBB, Cooperation Organization for Vocational Education, Training and the Labour Market).
Recently he has contributed to various exploratory studies including Skills beyond school in the
Netherlands (OECD, 2014); MBO naar 2025 (2015); Leren en opleiden in de ambachtseconomie
2020 [Learning and training in the craft economy 2020] (2016); and a series of position papers on
the future of MBO, commissioned by the Ministry of OCW (2017), on which this chapter is based.

Contact: marc.vandermeer@uvt.nl.

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Chapter8-

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HELMA VAN
DER HOORN
CHAIRMAN

NEW-STYLE EDUCATION STILL

NEEDS TO BE INVENTED

one of her most powerful motivations is to make Dutch education focus on

the future. Helma van derHoorn, chairman of the governingboard of prinary
school foundationSakS, isConvinced that theeducation system is due for a
transformation. Andifyou askher, we're in the middle of it right now.
 MEETTHE DUTCH

education is all about

"A child bene ts from
of
The future
ation, technological advances and optimum development ofa
Bloba economies. This places very different
wide range of talents so that
demandson today's children and future children.
old days, you became a farmer or a doctor
it can hold its own in the
Intheold
andyou trained
to do
c this. These days, we don't new world"
what kind of professions we are
knowexactly
. children for. Because most of the future different. The objective's form and location are
trainingch
orofessionsaren't known to us yet.' still unknown. New-style education still needs to
be invented. By teachers, working together with
INVENTINGNEW-STYLE EDUCATION pupils. It develops organically and should only
Educ needs to be personalized and be adjusted where necessary. That requires a
Eausedon the 21 century. We shouldn't just whole new management philosophy:
be teaching basic
Wedon't know mathematics and AUTONOMY AT ALL LEVELS
Dutch, we need We need to create autonomy at all levels, in
poctly what we
to give lessons in which we all take responsibility for our own
oretraining our critical thought, particular roles. This is asking a lot of people.

childrenfor. Their cooperation As a school governing body, we help by giving

and ICT literacy. teachers enough space and focusing on personal
tureprofession We need to development. For example, we no longer have
oobably doesn't get children to assessment interviews; instead we conduct
discover who they motivation interviews and development
evistyet" are and stimulate interviews, asking 'Where does your passion lie?'
theirtalents so that they can develop them in and What do you still want to learn?"
thebest possible way. That way, they will have
theresourcesto hold their own later in the new, As governors, we can optimize educational gains
unknown world. And this is a very different by focusing on development rather than output.
propositionfrom the current education system, Each pupil will be in charge of his own learning
inwhichwe are primarily concerned with results process, the teacher will give him the resources
ratherthan strengthening talents. and guidance to develop his talents and school
management will provide the space and freedom
IthinkDutch education is ideally suited to turn to do this. This will lead to intrinsic motivation
myvision into reality. It has its foundation in the at all levels, which is an essential requirement
autonomyof the school governing body. And for learning and development. This approach
Inotice that many school governors share my founded on trust will undoubtedly contribute to
beliefthatchange is needed. Despite this, we are optimum total development of the child, making
allstilsearchingfor the right way. Normally, you it the best possible preparation for the unknown
markout a speci c objective for the future and future of our country. And it is my view that we
olow a plan to achieve it, but this situation is can't go far enough in achieving this.

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