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Jobs on the Rise Hub > Netherlands
Netherlands
Jobs on the Rise
After the major disruption to the global economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, everyone’s wondering what 2021 will bring. While the shifting landscape over the past year has resulted in significant job losses, we’ve also seen a rise in job categories in direct response to changing business needs.
In this special edition Jobs on the Rise report that is informed by LinkedIn data, we have identified the top 15 job categories that have emerged as a result of the pandemic, as well as pandemic-proof jobs that have continued to rise in 2020. We’ll take a look at the skills needed, where the jobs are located, and insights into career paths.
This will help talent professionals, job seekers, and employers get ready for what comes next, whether it’s forming a hiring strategy for the year ahead, or learning new skills to pivot into a new profession.
When we look at the top job categories in the Netherlands in 2020, it’s clear that most were directly impacted by the pandemic. For example, we saw three health-related categories top the list, spanning nurses and health support staff to mental health professionals. We saw a greater demand for freelance talent to support businesses on a project basis, from digital content to creative freelancers. And finally, we saw the impact of E-commerce on the jobs landscape, creating a higher demand for other top categories such as Operations and Customer Services.
In 2020, healthcare was one of the job categories with a majority of female hires, who filled 90% of the Doctor Assistant roles. On the other hand, financial services and operations had the highest level of male hires, with 87% of Equity Trader and Logistic Team Lead roles being filled by male professionals.
01. Education
In 2020 we saw the top companies hiring in the Netherlands were universities, possibly to facilitate the transition to online learning as a result of universities and schools being forced to close. This is one category that places a higher value on transferable skills. For example, we saw Research Instructors transition to Professor roles, Musicians transition into Youth Counselor roles, and Salespeople transition into Teaching Assistant roles.
Top skills:
Teaching, Coaching, Educational Leadership, Chemistry, Art Education, Science, Physics
Top locations hiring:
Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven
Common job titles:
Physical Education Teacher, Mathematics Teacher, Professor, Elementary School Teacher, Teaching Assistant
02. Specialised Medical Professionals
The global health crisis of 2020 naturally called for an increased demand of specialised medical professionals. Intensive Care Nurses, in particular, saw a 112% growth rate in 2020 to deal with the surge of COVID-19 cases in hospitals across the country. The top companies hiring were indeed hospitals, such as the Amsterdam UMC and UMC Utrecht and spanned Radiologists to Licenced Nurses.
Top skills:
Nursing, Radiology, Dentistry, Anesthesiology, Medical Education
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hagues, Nijmegen
Common job titles:
Medical Doctor, Licensed Practical Nurse, Intensive Care Nurse, Radiologist, Dentist
03. Customer Service
Travel restrictions, lockdowns and curfews have pushed businesses to find new ways to serve their customers, which led to a 31% growth in Customer Service related hires, with Teleperformance and UWV being amongst the top companies hiring for these positions in 2020. As other industries were impacted by COVID-19, we saw Food and Beverage Servers, Salespersons and Cashiers transition into Customer Service related roles.
Top skills:
Customer Experience, Time Management, Customer Service, Communication
Top locations hiring:
Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, The Hague, Nijmegen
Common job titles:
Customer Contact Representative, Customer Service Representative, Client Service Representative
04. E-commerce
To fulfil the surge in demand for online products as a result of the pandemic, companies onboarded thousands of E-commerce workers – from Logistics roles through to Online Marketing Specialists – to help get products into the hands of customers. Hiring for these roles grew 40% year-on-year. The top transitions into these roles were from Salesperson roles, possibly from all the stores that were forced to close during lockdown.
Top skills:
E-commerce, Warehouse Operations, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Supply Chain Management
Top locations hiring:
Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Nijmegen, Tilburg
Common job titles:
Order Picker, E-Commerce Coordinator, Supply Chain Associate, Warehouse Team Lead
05. Healthcare Supporting Staff
Inside and outside of hospitals, the demand for Healthcare Support staff grew - with a particular need for those who could look after vulnerable people in their homes. As with E-commerce roles, we saw a high number of Salespeople transition into Healthcare Support Staff, particularly Home Health Aide and Home Care Specialist. The average age of total hires was 28 and mostly female (82%).
Top skills:
Appointment Scheduling, Dental Assisting, Healthcare, Medicine, Dentistry
Top locations hiring:
The Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Nijmegen
Common job titles:
Home Health Aide, Home Care Specialist, Healthcare Assistant, Dental Assistant, Doctor Assistant, Physician Assistant
06. Operations
With the rise in E-commerce as a result of the pandemic, there has been a higher demand for Operations and Logistics roles to ensure products reach their destinations on time. The top companies hiring for these roles in the Netherlands were DHL, IKEA, and Jumbo Supermarkten. Only 60% of hires held a known degree with some top transitions including Customer Service and Administrative roles.
Top skills:
SQL, Interim Management, Analytical Skills
Top locations hiring:
Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Nijmegen, The Hague, Tilburg
Common job titles:
Business Operations Analyst, Logistics Officer, Logistics Supervisor, Logistics Team Lead, Operations Representative
07. Creative Freelancers
Many companies were challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic to find new ways to connect with customers to keep their businesses afloat. It’s no surprise that they focused on building a strong digital presence. As hiring budgets were tight, they relied on project-based freelancers, including graphic artists and musicians. There are currently over 5,000 job openings on LinkedIn for Graphic Artists.
Top skills:
Videography, Film Production
Top locations hiring:
Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Apeldoom, Eindhoven
Common job titles:
Videographer, Filmmaker, Writer, Graphic Artist, Musician
08. Professional and Personal Coaches
The opportunity for people to transition from demanding jobs like Business Owner to roles in which they could use their skills to help others has been one positive outcome of the gloomy jobs landscape in 2020. The majority of people hired into coaching roles were female (63%) and were self-employed or freelancers. The top transition was from Fitness Instructor to Health and Wellness Coach (11%), possibly relating to the closure of gyms and fitness clubs across the country.
Top skills:
Business Coaching, Life Coaching, Executive Coaching, Lifestyle Coaching
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Tilburg
Common job titles:
Life Coach, Leadership Coach, Business Coach, Health And Wellness Coach
09. Digital Content Freelancers
With the global pandemic resulting in many offices being closed, people discovered they didn’t need to be tied down to one location. This resulted in a rise in freelancers looking to take advantage of this remote set up. Digital content freelancers, in particular, grew by 34% in 2020, with more companies looking to push out content online. Content Coordinators and Video Editors were in the most demand and saw the highest number of hires.
Top skills:
Podcasting, Blogging, Writing, Video Editing
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Enschede, Utrecht, Tilburg
Common job titles:
Blogger, Podcaster, Content Coordinator, Video Editor
10. Sales and Business Development
The rise in E-commerce over the past year as a result of shops being closed and more remote working has contributed to a 22% growth in sales and business development roles, such as Business Development Specialist and Sales Consultant, to handle the sheer volume of enquiries. From the total hires in 2020, the average age was 31 and 31% were female.
Top skills:
Salesforce.com, Business Development, Coaching, Account Management
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Nijmegen
Common job titles:
Business Development Representative, Business Development Specialist, Sales Trainer, Business Development Consultant, Sales Executive
11. Financial Services
With turbulence in the economy and uncertainty in financial markets, it’s not surprising that the expertise of financial professionals, from mortgage professionals to investment specialists, was highly sought after in 2020. This category has seen a 24% growth, with 41% of the roles being filled by women.
Top skills:
Commercial Banking, CDD, Mortgage Lending, Financial Markets
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Eindhoven
Common job titles:
Mortgage Loan Officer, Funding Manager, Anti-Money Laundering Analyst, Mortgage Advisor, Investment Analyst
12. Social Media and Digital Marketing
With online usage increasing year on year it’s understandable that roles for social media and digital marketing are also growing. This category had the highest percentage of remote-job openings, with top hiring companies including Crowd Media and bol.com. We also saw this category attracted a younger demographic with an average age of 28, and 65% of the total hires in 2020 were female.
Top skills:
Influencer Marketing, Google Analytics, Product Marketing
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Rotterdam
Common job titles:
Social Media Marketing Manager, Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Manager, Marketing Assistant, Marketing Executive
13. AI & Data Science
Considering the Netherlands is one of the countries leading in automation, it’s not surprising that AI and Data Science roles are amongst the top 15 job categories on the rise in 2020. These roles attract highly-educated candidates, evidenced by the fact that 82% of hires held an MA degree or higher.
Top skills:
TensorFlow, Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Data Science
Top locations hiring:
Amsterdam, Eindhoven, The Hague, Utrecht, Rotterdam
Common job titles:
Machine Learning Engineer, Data Science Specialist
14. Science & Research
As the COVID-19 vaccine was top of mind this year, it’s not surprising that renowned universities such as Technische Universiteit Delft and Utrecht University opened up thousands of research-related roles. It’s worth mentioning that 73% of the Clinical Research Associate roles were filled by women.
Top skills:
Research, Clinical Research, Life Sciences, Quantitative Research, Statistics
Top locations hiring:
Utrecht, Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Enschede
Common job titles:
Science Specialist, Clinical Research Associate, Scientific Officer, Research Instructor
15. Mental Health Professionals
COVID-19 has caused an enormous psychological burden for most people. From the total hires in 2020, the average age was 36 and 71% were female. Taking this into account, and that 55% held an MA degree or higher, this data points to mental health being a popular career path for female graduates in the Netherlands.
Top skills:
Psychotherapy, Psychiatry
Top locations hiring:
Rotterdam, Utrecht, Enschede, Apeldoom, Amsterdam
Common job titles:
Clinical Psychologist, Psychiatric Nurse
Conclusion
This is a special edition of the LinkedIn Emerging Jobs report that more closely represents the rapidly-changing world we’re living in as a result of COVID-19. Instead of looking at how the jobs landscape has changed over the past 5 years - as we have done in years past - this year, we’re focusing only on the past 12 months to isolate what has truly changed and where people can find work now.
If you’re a talent professional or an employer already using LinkedIn Talent Solutions, here are some product features that can help you adapt your strategies to the current talent landscape:
• A new filter in New Recruiter & Jobs to easily find candidates who are interested in working remotely.
• A simpler way to post remote jobs that stands out clearly to job seekers looking for remote opportunities.
• Video Intros to allow candidates to virtually share an introduction of themselves as part of the job application process. Video intros are also a great way of assessing soft skills, helping you save time on the interview process.
You can also discover more about LinkedIn solutions that will help you create and implement an agile talent strategy, such as:
• LinkedIn Learning to help you develop a learning and development programme that enables employees to grow their skills.
• LinkedIn Recruiter, the all-encompassing hiring platform, that allows you to find, connect with and manage candidates.
• LinkedIn Jobs to post your open roles and attract the most relevant candidates with personalised targeting.
• LinkedIn Talent Insights to identify skill gaps by gaining visibility into your workforce’s strengths and the top skills in the market.
Methodology
Jobs on the Rise are defined as the career categories that have seen the highest year-on-year growth rates in hiring, looking at the April 2020 to October 2020 timeframe. LinkedIn’s Economic Graph data scientists looked across 15,000+ job titles to uncover the jobs that have grown the most compared to 2019 levels, those titles were then grouped into overarching career trends that capture as many as 25 job titles within each category. Career trends are ranked using a combination of year-over-year growth rate combined with the raw size of the job demand.
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