Having procured headhunted candidates in the Dutch ICT Market for several years, the feedback I am continually getting from clients is that the sector is undergoing an increasing shortage of skilled commercial and technical talent and that this is impacting their business more so now then at any other time since the dot com era.
Businesses are being urged to take a tough line on late payment, after fresh figures revealed huge impacts on revenue streams.
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.
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.
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.
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. The number of engineering graduates continues to dwindle year-by-year, despite a conspicuous offering for a solid and secure career path working with the most technologically advanced processes and equipment. With massive injections of funds and admirable expectations of power generation through sustainable means, job and revenue numbers are set to skyrocket over the next 25 years, resulting in up to 40 million jobs and $4.5 trillion in revenues in this market alone, according to the Green Energy Ohio Institute. The question that begs to be answered is from where the drive of human capital can be sourced. Searching locally has proved to be increasingly worrisome, so much so, that firms now feel the only solution is to reach further afield where talent pools are awash with hungry, disciplined and visionary individuals.
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.
De groei van personeelsadvertenties vlakt af, zowel op papier als op internet. Dat bleek uit woensdag gepubliceerde cijfers van onderzoeksbureau Nielsen Media Research.
De jeugd heeft de toekomst. Dat weet de jeugd soms op het arrogante af ook heel goed. Ik dacht als 18-jarige: wacht maar, het is een kwestie van tijd en mijn tijd komt wel! En dat bleek ook.
Werkzoekenden die ouder zijn dan 45 hebben weinig perspectief op een nieuwe baan, al is de arbeidsmarkt nog zo krap.
AMSTERDAM - Parttime werken is voor de meeste vrouwen de oplossing als zij ook nog voor een gezin moeten zorgen. Ook de vader voelt zich daar het beste bij, zo blijkt uit een onderzoek van Motivaction onder ruim duizend mensen.
VOORBURG - Nederlanders die werk zoeken, doen dat het liefst op eigen houtje. Het Centrum voor Werk en Inkomen, dat kan bemiddelen tussen deze mensen en werkgevers, is niet populair.