While the Randstad (Amsterdam and its surrounding areas) is dominated by large service-based corporations, many of which are multinationals with rapid staff turnover, the North is home to smaller, local companies that export specialised goods, foods, and expertise internationally. Because many of these companies are smaller, your application won’t be machine-processed or AI-scanned. Instead, a real person will be reading your CV and cover letter, so it’s important to focus less on buzzwords and more on what genuinely interests you about the company or job!

There are several industries that have a relatively large amount of English-language opportuntites — and a few industries where Dutch will (always) be required. The numbers below are based on all jobs on our platform from Q1 2023 - Q1 2025. These are jobs in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe combined. The majority of jobs is in Groningen.

A decade ago, almost all international-friendly jobs (i.e. jobs that allowed you to start in English, Dutch not required) were in research and academia. This is still the top field (most Lifescience & Health jobs above are research positions), but IT & Data has exploded and is rapidly catching up. We also see solid growth in Engineering & Tech, and in hands-on jobs: services, hospitality and operations.

NB: the above are only jobs that are posted on the platform. We don't catch every single international-friendly job (we try, though). More importantly: you can always try to create your own opportunities! Many internationals and Dutchies create a job opportunity for themselves by networking and sending open applications.

Certain fields, such as marketing and communication in particular, are highly competitive. Many internationals follow communications programmes in the Netherlands, and Dutchies often also speak fluent English, so you're up against many international and local applicants. This means your CV and letter need to be above excellent to snatch such job opportunities. Also, because there are so many candidates (Dutch and European), it tends to be very difficult to get a visa-sponsored job in this area, unless you already bring exceptional expertise or experience.

Each year, the Dutch governmental employment bureau (UWV) publishes a report on "high-opportunity professions": jobs for which there are more openings than applicants. While many of these positions require Dutch, it’s good to keep an eye on them if you're planning to make the Netherlands your home. Current examples include security expert, truck driver, catering employee, audiologist, logistical planner, forestry maintenance worker, recruiter, travel consultant, lawyer, mortgage consultant, police officer, swimming instructor, and many, many more.

Check out the full report (in Dutch) here. Over the long term, the healthcare, IT, and technology industries are expected to continue experiencing significant shortages.

The information below is based on the companies on Make it in the North in 2025 Q1, and the jobs on Make it in the North from 2023 Q1 - 2025 Q1.

Nearly all sectors do something with internationalization (exporting, research, cross-border collaboration), but some sectors have many more companies that work with internationals than others. Above, we can see Digital & IT as the sector with most employers that hire English-speaking, non-Dutch speaking jobseekers. Even if most jobs are in Education & Academia, there are not nearly as many employers: the majority of those jobs comes from the University of Groningen.

There are always exceptions... but you can assume that the absolute majority of jobs in the following fields will require Dutch at a professional level.

DID YOU KNOW? - The Netherlands, like much of Europe, is shifting towards a skill-based labour market. Employers are placing more emphasis on experience and transferable skills, rather than just degrees. (Though degrees ARE still important in the Netherlands!) This means that volunteer work or university projects can demonstrate your capabilities just as well as paid positions. When applying for jobs, be sure to highlight the skills most relevant to the role and have concrete examples ready to showcase your expertise.

The numbers below are based on internationals who studied in the Netherlands between 2014/15-2018/19. How many of them still live in the Netherlands now, in 2024/25?

While many internationals wish to stay in the Netherlands after their studies have completed, or look for jobs in the Netherlands from abroad, not everyone succeeds. Almost 26% of international graduates still lives in the Netherlands 5 years after graduation, and 80% of them has a paid work.

In terms of absolute numbers, most internationals who are still in the Netherlands 5 years after graduation did a study program related to economics, technology, language & culture, behaviour and society, and natural sciences.

Did you know: of those internationals with who stay in the Netherlands after completing a language & culture degree at HBO-level (applied university), many become freelancer (35%).

Of internationals who studied in Groningen, the stayrate in the Netherlands is about 22% (20% for EER-graduates, and 29% for non-EER graduates).

Interested in more stayrate information? Check out Nuffic's report linked at the bottom of this page (report is in Dutch).

We've got some figures for you on the local job market, but these other numbers may also be interesting for you!

There are a total of 201,000 company locations (including freelancers) in the North:

1.8 million people live in the North (about 10% of the whole country’s population) in total, of which 72,000 are internationals (that's 4%). The international community is built up in the following way:

The main countries of origin for internationals differs per group. For example, the majority of highly-skilled migrants are from Germany in all Northern provinces (25-35%) while Friesland and Drenthe also have many from Poland (23-26%).