Guidance System in the Netherlands

OVERVIEW 

In the Netherlands, career guidance is offered by various private and public institutions. The main guidance services are being offered in the areas of the educational system, governmental bodies, employers and trade unions and private-sector organizations. 

In the Netherlands there is a strong base for career management skills in the educational system. The theoretical base is the five career management skills identified by Prof. Dr. Marinka Kuijpers: (1) reflection on capacities, (2) reflection on motives, (3) work exploration, (4) career directedness, (5) networking. The education of these skills is legally binding for secondary education, pre-vocational and VET institutes.

Career guidance in the public sector is commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. It primarily focuses on young people and adults in vulnerable positions. The Dutch labour market is undergoing a transition in 2025 and requires flexible and resilient workers. Therefore, national support for career guidance is being adjusted. On the initiative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Work Centres are being established in all 35 labour market regions. The formal start date for the Work Centres is 1 January 2026, but some regions have already begun operations. Work Centres are physical or digital locations where jobseekers, employees, and employers can access career-related services, career advice, information about education and training, and personnel-related matters.

The Work Centres serve as an accessible gateway to a network of various partners. These include both public and private partners such as the Public Employment Service (UWV), municipalities, employer organisations, trade unions, the Foundation for Cooperation on Vocational Education, Training and Labour Market (SBB), and educational institutions.

The key objectives of the Work Centres are:

• Improving labour market infrastructure: Creating a central hub for all career-related queries.
• Increasing labour market participation: Helping more people find employment.
• Promoting retraining and career progression: Creating new opportunities through education and training.
• Strengthening collaboration between stakeholders: Enabling a comprehensive and integrated range of services.
• Implementing a one-stop-shop approach: Establishing an accessible and customer-friendly system.

Career guidance provided by private organisations is available to almost all citizens. Many organisations in the Netherlands offer career guidance or similar services, often tailored to specific target groups. This type of career guidance is frequently (partially) subsidised by the government. The guidance activities of the government focus on setting an Ambition Agenda with the diverse actors and monitor the progress. This will be explained further in the section ‘policy’. 

POLICY

The Ministries of Social Affairs and Employment set minimum national standards for career guidance and study choice activities across secondary, upper secondary vocational, and tertiary education. Career education and guidance are legally embedded in the curricula of pre-vocational and VET colleges.

Since July 2018, the Dutch Secondary Education Council and the Netherlands Association of VET Colleges have operated the Career Education and Guidance Centre of Expertise (https://www.expertisepuntlob.nl/). The Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences joined in January 2020. This Centre, funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, supports quality improvement in career guidance.

Schools and educational institutions organize various activities, including study choice checks, to help students choose suitable education or career paths. The Ministry of Education has observed increased regional collaboration among schools, VET colleges, and tertiary institutions to support student transitions. National Cohort Research (NRCO) provides data on student performance to help schools improve their policies.

In recent years, efforts by education institutions, teachers, career counselors, sector councils, student organizations, and the government have raised awareness of career education and guidance.

Sector councils for secondary, tertiary, and senior secondary vocational education, along with student and career teacher associations, have developed an Ambition Agenda to improve career education and guidance quality. These agendas specify the requirements for schools' CEG policies and the study choice check agreements, tailored to the needs of different school types. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science facilitated these discussions. Together with the Career Education and Guidance Centre of Expertise, the sector councils are working towards a future in which career guidance optimally prepares our young people for their choices and opportunities. Read the full vision document here.

Career guidance in the public sector is commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. On the initiative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Work Centres are being established in all 35 labour market regions. The formal start date for the Work Centres is 1 January 2026, but some regions have already begun operations.

SERVICES AND PRACTICE

The career guidance system in the Netherlands is decentralised and involves a diversity of public and private career providers.

Guidance activities within the educational system

Career guidance in secondary schools is regulated by the Secondary Education Act and in VET by Wet Educatie en Beroepsonderwijs (education law for VET). Supervision by the Inspectorate is done on the basis of regulations by law. In higher education career guidance is regulated differently and supervision is done by the NVAO (Nederlands en Vlaams accreditatie organisatie).

In November 2017 schools in further education, VET and higher education committed themselves to ambitious goals to improve career guidance.

With regard to the guidance activities within the educational system guidance is targeted at students and pupils in secondary, vocational and higher education and is provided by:

• Teachers/mentors (first line support)
• Career teachers/coordinator (second line support)
• Remedial teachers (second/third line support)
• External private parties (third line support)

Educational institutions are legally bound to deliver support in career guidance to students, to develop career competences and to prepare students for the labour market or further education. A lot of improvements have been made in the last years. Schools are free in the way in which Career orientation and guidance in education (‘Leer en Loopbaanbegeleiding’ in Dutch) is organised in schools and it depends largely on the governance of the schools and the school counsellors. Contents vary also substantially as the schools determine themselves which objectives they aim to achieve. These objectives can cover a wide spectrum, such as socio-emotional guidance, tutoring, reflection on their own abilities and motivation, training and work exploration programmes. 

Guidance activities within the labour market

In each labour market region a ‘Work Centre’ will be established (see section ‘overview’). This Work Centre is the first entry for people with education and work-related questions. The Work Centres serve as an accessible gateway to a network of various partners. These include both public and private partners such as the Public Employment Service (UWV), municipalities, employer organisations, trade unions, the Foundation for Cooperation on Vocational Education, Training and Labour Market (SBB), and educational institutions. They act as a link in the region between labour market and education. Each labour market region has its own regional page with labour market information. Here you can find national, sector and occupational information and other important labour market information per region.

TRAINING

In parallel with the implementation of Duisenberg’s motion, Euroguidance, at the behest of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, has developed a framework for career counsellors in 2017. This framework outlines what career education and guidance counsellors at differing levels within schools should ideally know and be able to do. The framework is a helpful document that allows secondary schools and VET colleges to give effect to their ambitions with regard to expert career counselling. Moreover, in 2024 Euroguidance developed a e-module for guidance counselors, equipping them with tools and knowledge to effectively guide VET students on their international journeys, including internships, exchanges, and other international projects.

There is a wide variety of courses available to career counsellors. Both the overview of training courses and the framework can be found on the website of the Career Education and Guidance Centre of Expertise. The Centre of Expertise raises schools’ awareness of these courses. In collaboration with the Netherlands Association of School Guidance Practitioners, the Association of Career Guidance Practitioners in Secondary Education and other parties, the Centre of Expertise will develop products that will help schools and encourage them to discuss the quality of their career-counselling activities. 

Dutch Universities include courses on human resources, job placement and career guidance. In 2017 Euroguidance Netherlands produced an overview of education possibilities on career guidance or related topics. For the bachelor degree in Human Resource Management (HRM) and Applied Psychology only a few schools offer the option of career counsellor specialisation. Teachers, career teachers and career professionals have access to part time training with duration of two years in four training centers.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

In the Ambition Agenda on Career Guidance Education (CGE) of the Ministry of Education (2016 and 2017) quality assurance of CGE is addressed specifically. The quality of CGE in secondary education and VET sectors is legally monitored by the Educational Inspectorate. This results in a yearly publicized educational report. Apart from this schools do have their own monitoring of the quality of CGE, which can to a great extent differ between schools. In 2021, an addendum was incorporated into the existing Ambition Agenda for CGE. This addendum focuses on three key areas: providing information about the labour market and offering guidance on further education in higher professional education (hbo), enhancing career guidance within vocational contexts, and involving alumni in the career guidance process.

The Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) is a research institute of the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics. Through its research, the institute aims to improve the understanding of the relationship between education and the labour market. The overarching research theme of ROA is the acquisition and depreciation of human capital over the life course in relation to the dynamics of the labour market. One of the research lines is Education and occupational careers. The focus of this programme is twofold. It studies the development of competences during education and the transition from school to work, as well as the subsequent occupational careers. Results are published yearly.

The Job Monitor is an instrument of the VET student interest organisation (JOB). It is a biannual monitor which measures student satisfaction. CGE is also being measured.

The UWV (PES) service pays special attention to the quality and outcomes of their services. Various instruments are used to measure and improve the services, such as a customer panel.

ETHICS

Educational institutions publish their regulations regarding ethics available on their websites, such as an integrity code, a privacy regalement and a regulation of unwanted behaviour.

The lack of dedicated bachelor/master education is related to the fact that the occupation of career guidance professional, counsellor or other career related titles are not legally formalized. Therefore, most professionals register themselves in the professional register of  Noloc. Noloc, the Dutch Association for Career Professionals, has a membership of around 2,700 people. The Noloc members work as career coaches, outplacement consultants, re-integration specialists or vocational counsellors. More than 50% of them are independent or entrepreneurs, while the other members are employees working in internal career centres of companies, (semi) public organizations (e.g. schools) or in consulting firms.

If a VET guidance counsellor is a member of the Dutch association for career professional (Noloc), they are obliged to respect the Noloc Code of Ethics in their practice and to submit themselves to an independent Complaints Council in the event of a complaint being lodged by a client. 

For the people who work at UWV (PES) a Code of Conduct is applicable regarding confidential information and their position and role. 'Respectful, open, responsible, professional' are the key words in the UWV Code of Conduct in which the agreements and rules of play for integrity behaviour at UWV are included.

For more details, you can consult: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/country-reports/inventory-lifelong-guidance-systems-and-practices-netherlands-0

Update march 2025