Parents have been waiting for a place in childcare for years. This doesn’t just happen in Randstad, but everywhere in the Netherlands. And the waiting lists are only getting longer.
The waiting time for a place in out-of-school care (BSO) in Utrecht is currently nearly four years, says the Organization of Interest for Parents in Childcare (BOinK). This problem also occurs in provinces such as Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel and North Brabant due to a lack of staff.
“Many extracurricular care employees find early and late shifts (before and after school) annoying,” says Gjalt Jellesma, president of BOinK. “That’s why they choose a better-paying job, for example as a class assistant.” Due to the aging of the population, fewer people are available to work in childcare.
According to Jellesma, another reason for the long waiting lists is that so many people have never worked in the Netherlands before. “There are many parents who have to lose their children somewhere.”
Talk to parents that they would like to work harder but don’t do it because there is no care for their children. “In Eindhoven and Tilburg, people even had to quit their jobs because they didn’t get shelter.”
Who needs childcare the most?
The Childcare Branch Organization (BK) confirms that long waiting lists for a childcare place also occur outside Randstad and says this problem is only getting worse. “Childcare has become a scarce commodity due to staff shortages,” she says.
There is already a shortage of seven thousand people, according to data from Statistics Netherlands. This concerns out-of-school care for children aged four to twelve and day care for children aged zero to four.
In 2025, the government wants childcare to become almost free, in order to bring more people into the world of work. To make this possible, another 50,000 people are needed.
BK director Emmeline Bijlsma predicts that in the most extreme case 21,000 new employees could be hired, but then there are still 29,000 employees missing. And this is on top of the current shortage. “It’s no fun for anyone, but then we have to ask ourselves which families need childcare the most,” she says.
According to her, free childcare should be more available to children growing up in a vulnerable position. “Or, for example, children of parents who work in nursing professions, because there is already a great shortage of staff there.” In this way, the pressure on existing staff can be reduced.
Bijlsma also sees a possible solution in longer parental leave. This must apply to both fathers and mothers in order to maintain the same labor participation rate for both groups. “If children only go to daycare at an older age, that would make a huge difference in the employment of staff. Most people are needed for childcare.”
Group assistance and deployment of beneficiaries and refugees
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) has other ideas in this regard. Minister Karien van Gennip wrote in a letter on 5 September letter to parliament measures to address the staff shortage in childcare. He wants to do this by retaining current staff, attracting new employees, and encouraging more work hours.
For example, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment wants the administrative and domestic tasks of childcare staff to be entrusted as much as possible to group help. These are mainly people who do not have a pedagogical background. This leaves more time for the pedagogical staff to fully focus on the children.
The ministry is also considering sending Ukrainian status holders and refugees who do not yet speak the Dutch language. They can combine language learning with childcare work.
In addition, more people are put to work during their training and the ministry sees combined jobs as a solution. Childcare employees can therefore also work in youth care, for example.
System in which childcare becomes possible for everyone
However, it remains important to be open to different types of measures to keep childcare running, Bijlsma believes. “We would like to move to a system where everyone can use childcare. But we have to do it in very careful steps to make it feasible. And it will take time.”
The letter to parliament will be discussed in the House of Representatives on November 16.
