The recent surge in the Alternative Energy market’s innovation and subsequent celebration has been galvanised by the latest governmental incentives and general consensus on energy security. Without concerted efforts, however, to find qualified individuals, who are increasingly an exotic rarity, these hopes and aspirations promise no opportunity for realisation.

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The total Netherlands market for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) amounts to about 5 percent of the total European ICT market and is the sixth largest in Europe.  The Dutch ICT market amounted to USD 27.4 billion in 2001. The Information Technology (IT) market alone, consisting of hardware, software and computer services amounted to USD 13.1 billion in 2001. The telecommunications market, equipment (about 30 percent) and services (70 percent) amounted to USD 14.3 billion in 2001.

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In 2007 the Dutch economy remains firmly on the growth-path that started in 2004. This year it expects a growth of 2.75% (2006: 2.9%) This growth is driven mainly by exports and government spending. During 2007 the short-term interest rate has been raised by the ECB, to prevent overheating. Long-term interest rates have also responded to the stronger economic activity. Last year the long term interest rate was 3.8%, this year it is expected to increase to 4.25%. Also, a slight increase in the level of inflation is expected for this year and the next.
Construction Market output is growing at an even stronger rate than the overall economy and is fuelled mainly by growth in the residential sector, followed by infrastructure development. The non-residential construction industry has become in the last 2 years ever more fragmented with many small, family owned companies.
In connection to this, the real estate labour market in the Netherlands remains tight, unemployment figures are low (4.2%) and the number of vacant positions extremely high Problems in the labour market are worsening due to the extensive increase of the new projects and lack of the highly skilled staff. This lack of skilled staff is an increasing problem for such construction companies. Total staff take-up in the C&P in Netherlands was approximately 30.000 in 2007 and  we expect take-up for 2008 to be in line with last year’s figure.

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Despite few economic clouds on the horizon, such as increased interest rates and the concerns over sub prime lending in the US, audit recruitment market remains strong with few pockets of weakness.
There is still an acute shortage of candidates in Risk Management, though there are signs that the market may be reaching one of the highest points.
There is slightly better candidate availability in Internal Audit, Compliance and Information Security; however, there is exceptional competition for the best candidates, with an increasing trend towards paying a premium for specialist experience and skills.

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