Themes

In an aging and tight labor market, no one should have to be or become unemployed. After all, everyone continues to be needed. How do we organize the labor market and HR policies in an inclusive manner, so that people can always and timely make a move to other work if necessary or desirable? What works and what does not? How can employers work together even more in this regard? To this end, we are also working on new private-public arrangements.

It is crucial that work is rewarding and that everyone outside the labor market can make the transition to sustainable employment. This concerns both people already living in the Netherlands and newcomers, such as refugees. We contribute to creating better pathways and interventions for the benefit of vulnerable groups. We also help develop strategies that counteract prejudice, stigmatization, unequal treatment, discrimination, exclusion, and exploitation in the labor market, in all phases of the employment process.

For the purpose of promoting an inclusive labor market on the above issues, we contribute to forms of smarter practices within labor organizations, inclusive or enabling technology and social innovations that help people enter and remain in the workforce, improve work, and increase productivity. It is also crucial to make the labor market more transparent and informative. In concrete terms, we are working on shaping a skills-driven labor market and economy based on articulating both the demand for work (from employers and clients), the labor supply (people offering work), and the skills-based range of education offered.

Dealing with an aging population and fewer young people available go hand in hand in the coming decades. The cohorts of young people will become smaller. While the youth signifies the future, it is imperative that we offer young people a promising future. We are developing future labor market policy for and by young people by examining how young people view work and what they expect from work and employers/clients. In doing so, we examine how work can contribute even more to a sense of purpose and personal development, and how to prevent dropouts and discouragement within the workforce. We are committed to developing interventions that will significantly reduce the number of young people excluded from employment and education.