Despite the economic downturn, The Netherlands as a market for IT recruitment is still showing several positive signs for future growth. The research findings show that whilst Q2 will show negative growth in job vacancies, the industry still foresees a significant shortage of IT professionals in the market. In addition to this the ICT industry is also lacking appeal to younger professionals entering the workforce, which is something local industry bodies are trying to improve. As a result, it is important for clients to continue to actively improve their employer brand and work hard to attract the best talent in the industry.

1. The State Of The Netherlands
IT Recruitment Market
www.ITjobboard.nl
T: + 31 (0)20 522 2304

2. Report Background
The purpose of the report is to summarise the current state of the IT recruitment market in The Netherlands.
This report has been created through analysis of current and historical IT vacancies on the IT Job Board.nl site
as well as primary research gathered through candidate surveys and secondary research available online.
This report covers the following topics;
• The IT Market in The Netherlands
• Demand for IT Professionals in The Netherlands including;
- Vacancy trends
- Demand by location & skill
- Future Skill Predictions
• Other key IT recruitment trends
• Companies Recruiting in The Netherlands
• Future Challenges For The Dutch IT Recruitment Industry
1.0 The IT Market in The Netherlands
According to a report released by heliviwe.nl in April 2009, the overall ICT market in The Netherlands grew by
2.7% in 2008 and is expected to grow by 1.1% in 2009. When comparing 2008 statistics with the European
ICT market, which grew by 3%, The Netherlands accomplished solid growth for the last financial year.
However in 2009, the European ICT sector is expected to grow by 2.2%, whilst The Netherlands will only
grow by 1.1% - demonstrating the effect of the economic climate on the sector. Refer to the industry
growth by sub sector table below for more information on sector growth.
Despite limited growth in 2009, the total value of the ICT industry in The Netherlands equates to 30.9
billion Euros in 2008, thus is a significant contributor to The Netherlands GDP. However it isn’t just the size
of the market that demonstrates The Netherlands’ strength in the ICT sector. In the latest Global Information
Technology Report 2008-2009, The Netherlands was ranked 9th in the world when it comes to networked
readiness. This demonstrates The Netherlands’ active investment and effective use of technology within the
political, social and economic system.
Industry Growth By Sub Sector rowth By Sub-Sector
Growth 2008 Growth 2009
NL EU NL EU
Total ICT sector 2.7 (antal.com) 3% (eito.com) 1.1 2.2%
Total IT sector 6.1 4.2% (eito.com) 2.6 4.2%
Hardware 4.1 0.3% (eito.com) 0.1 -1.4% (feei.at)
Software 8.1 5.3% (eito.com) 5.0 2.8% (feei.at)
Services 7.4 6% (eito.com) 4.0 2.8% (feei.at)
Telecom -0.2 -0.2 (eito.com) -0.2 1.5%

3. 2.0 Demand for IT Professionals in The Netherlands
2.1 IT Vacancy Trends
Despite the recession the number of IT jobs offered in The Netherlands has demonstrated a degree of
resilience when compared to other European markets. In March 2009, The Netherlands saw a 27% decline
in the number of vacancies advertised online, whilst in the UK the decline was 38%. That said there has
been further contraction in April and May in the number of IT jobs on offer year on year which will result in a
larger decline year on year for Q2 of 2009.
Although the statistics reveal short term decline, The Netherlands ICT sector is still faced with a shortage of
ICT professionals, which is depicted below;
2008 2010 2012
Shortage of ICT Professionals 5,958 8,137 11,714
Total No of Professionals Employed In ICT 152,008 160,639 169,761
According to the ‘Marktmonitor 2008’ report The Netherlands will be faced with a shortage of 11,700 IT
professionals by 2012. This issue will leave many companies with no solution but to relocate global talent to
fill immediate positions. However as many organisations in The Netherlands prefer to recruit local talent,
local recruitment agencies and job boards will play a vital role in the recruitment process.
2.2 Demand By Location
Diagram 1 demonstrates the demand for IT professionals in The Netherlands by region.
As depicted in diagram 1, the majority of IT
opportunities are concentrated in the regions that
are home to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague &
Utrecht, known as the Randstad area.
The Randstad is typically known as an economic hub
home to many industries such as technology, gas &
oil, manufacturing, communications, finance,
business services, trade and logistics.
In addition there is also a significant portion of IT
opportunities in North Brabant. This region and
its major cities Eindhoven and Den Bosch are also
known for industries covering technology, logistics,
electronics and chemicals.
As the North of the country is characterised by
agriculture and energy, The Northern Netherlands
region only accounts for 0.8% of IT jobs.
Whilst the South, is known for being manufacturing
and tourism thus does not provide a high concentra-
tion of IT jobs.

4. 2.3 Demand by Skill
April 2008 - IT Vacancies in The Netherlands April 2009 - IT Vacancies in The Netherlands
Other Developer
Developer Business
Other 31% 15%
18% Analyst
29% Business
Analyst 9%
4% Security
4%
Project Project
Testing Manager Manager
6.5% 14% 9%
Testing
Support Networking
Networking 9% Support
23% 4%
5.5% 19%
Based on the IT vacancies data, it is evident that the market growth in the software sector has fuelled
demand for ICT professionals with software positions such as developers, testers, business analysts and
project managers equating to 43% of jobs onsite alone.
From the jobs on site statistics it is however obvious that the recession is having an impact on the demand for
IT professionals within the software market. In April 2009, the overall proportion of developer and project
manager roles onsite decreased by 3% and 5% respectively. However there is some positive news for the
software sector as testing roles over the same period represented a higher portion of jobs on site -
demonstrating steady demand for testing professionals year on year. It is although important to note that the
demand for testing continues to be strong as software projects commissioned in 2008 are moving towards
completion thus require vigorous testing. As a result the decrease in demand for developers and project
managers signals fewer software investments in 2009 which will possibly have a knock on effect for testing
positions in 2010.
Networking is another skill in decline which is a direct result of IT departments cutting back on hardware
during the recession.
It is also interesting to note that whilst other roles are experiencing decline in the downturn, professionals
such as those with IT security experience are increasing in demand. Security professionals are increasingly
sought after as organisations need to contend with new challenges posed by the Web 2.0 world and wireless
devices and new security risks evolving from Cloud Computing and SaaS.
Future Skill Predictions
Despite the current/historical skills in demand there are several key sectors and skills that IT Job Board believe
will be in high demand for 2009 and 2010 which both recruiters and IT professionals to be aware of.
According to a global survey conducted by Computerworld, the 9 skills that will be in demand in 2009 and
beyond are;
1. Help Desk/Technical Support
2. Programming/Application Development
3. Project Management
4. Networking
5. Business Intelligence
6. Security
7. Web 2.0
8. Data Center
9. Telecommunications

5. On the programming and development front it is important to note that developers with experience in open
source will also increase in demand – as it is believed that 40% of IT jobs will be linked with open source by
2020.
In addition, to the skills identified by ComputerWeek, Antal International News sees Infrastructure Analysts
as well as Business Analyst & Consultants to be in high demand both now and in the future within The
Netherlands ICT sector. Infrastructure specialists in particular are is increasing in importance because of the
growing trend towards SaaS and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) as well as ‘Green Computing’.
2.4 Other key IT recruitment trends
Contact vs Permanent Demand
Inline with popular belief that contract IT roles increase in demand during the recession, IT Job Board.nl
statistics demonstrate this very different scenario. In April 2008 the split between contract and permanent
positions on IT Job Board site in The Netherlands was 90% of roles were permanent and 10% were contract.
In April 2009 however the ratio of permanent jobs declined to 75% with contract now representing 25%.
3.0 Candidate Market Confidence
The IT Job Board conducted research in May 2009 to determine how candidates felt the current market was
affecting their employment opportunities. Of the 175 respondents, 93% stated that the current economic
climate was making the process of looking for a job more difficult. As a result 57% of candidates stated
that they have become less selective in their job search. In particular 56% of those who are becoming less
selective stated that they would consider both permanent and contract roles whilst 24% stated they are
willing to accept a lower salary.
It is also important to note that as the market is now more favourable to attract high calibre candidates,
organisations that consider recruiting in the near future could benefit from the low competition in the
market for highly skilled professionals.
As a result of market conditions, many IT professionals are therefore going the extra mile to improve their
employability in the recession. In particular 33% are spending more time gathering knowledge about IT
industry trends whilst an additional 35% are investing in gaining additional IT qualifications.
4.0 Companies appetite for IT recruitment in The Netherlands
In March, IT Job Board.nl conducted research to determine the demand for IT recruitment of 50 Dutch
companies in 2009.
When asked if companies were planning to recruit IT professionals in 2009, 56.2% of employers stated they
were anticipating to recruit. Moreover, 81.3% of respondents in the survey stated in 2009 they would make
the same investment or more in new IT projects compared with 2008. This figure demonstrates that the IT
sector should still have a relatively strong year compared to many other industry sectors as organisations
understand the value of IT projects to maintain competitive advantage in their respective marketplace.

6. 5.0 Future Challenges For The Netherlands IT Recruitment Industry
A report published by Gartner (news.antal.com) suggests there is a risk of staff shortages in the IT industry
with the coming generation showing little interest in the ICT because of its perceived bad reputation for hard
work and austerity. Over the past 7 years, this has resulted in a decline in the number of students enrolling in
ICT studies in The Netherlands. In 2008 however, the number of new 1st year university students has grown
by 9.4% and numbers enrolling in HBO courses increased by 6.2%. Despite the short-term uplift, this will
remain a key issue for the ICT sector for years to come. As a result at the end of 2009, the ICT office will
commence an action program which will improve the perception of the industry to increase the number of
enrolments in ICT courses.
Conclusion & Feedback
Despite the economic downturn, The Netherlands as a market for IT recruitment is still showing several
positive signs for future growth. The research findings show that whilst Q2 will show negative growth in job
vacancies, the industry still foresees a significant shortage of IT professionals in the market. In addition to this
the ICT industry is also lacking appeal to younger professionals entering the workforce, which is something
local industry bodies are trying to improve. As a result, it is important for clients to continue to actively
improve their employer brand and work hard to attract the best talent in the industry.
We hope you enjoyed our report on the state of The Netherlands IT recruitment market. If you would like to
provide feedback on the contents on this document please email t.decock@theitjobboard.com

7. References
• ICT-branche blijft groeien in 2009, Jan 2009:
http://www.heliview.nl/Applications/Heliview.nsf/Nieuws/ID=236
• EITO, European ICT Market Overview, Sept 2008:
www.eito.com/reposi/FreeDataSheets/ICT-MarketOverview-EU25
• The Financial Crisis and the ICT Markets in Europe: Results of New EITO Research, EITO, Oct 2008:
http://www.feei.at/img/db/docs/3196.pdf
• Buoyant Dutch ICT market, Sept 2008: http://news.antal.com/2008/09/buoyant-dutch-ict-market/
• The Digital Economy 2008: http://www.cbs.nl/NR/rdonlyres/6B7FB67D-9213-4BB0-B9E6-4-
B32A3EAC6EA/0/2008p38pub.pdf
• How can we estimate the dynamics of the supply of e-skills in Europe?, March 2009:
http://www.eskills-monitor.eu/
• OECD Information Technology Outlook 2008: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/37/26/41895578.pdf
• Marktmonitor 2008: http://www.nederlandict.nl/Files/TER/ICT_Marktmonitor_2008.pdf