Graduates with a migrant background less likely to find a job

Almost 95 per cent of graduates find a job within a year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). On average, graduates from universities of applied sciences are slightly more successful in finding a job within a year than their counterparts with a research university diploma: 95 per cent of the former do so, compared to 94 per cent of the latter. The figures relate to people who obtained their degree in 2022.

Graduates with one or both parents born abroad take a little longer to find a job than those whose parents were both born in the Netherlands. 92 per cent of people with a migration background find a job within a year after graduation. These figures relate to graduates who were born in the Netherlands, not international students.

Persistent
Although the difference between the two groups is relatively small, it appears to be persistent. Little has changed over the past fifteen years. It doesn't make much difference whether their parents were born in Europe or outside of Europe.

In vocational education, the difference between graduates with and without a migrant background is much greater. Ninety-four per cent of graduates with Dutch parents found a job within a year. Among those with a European (but not Dutch) parent, this percentage was much lower, at 89 per cent. Among graduates with a non-European father or mother, it was only 85 per cent.

Internships
Discrimination in the labour market often starts with the search for an internship. Students with a migrant background generally have more difficulty finding an internship. In 2023, employers, universities, student organisations and the former Minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, signed a manifesto to tackle internship discrimination.