Netherlands: preventing internship discrimination in VET

Internships are an important part of the upper secondary VET programmes. At least a quarter of the training time of every Dutch VET programme has to be spent on the work floor, and students cannot graduate without a positive assessment of the internship.

VET students are expected to apply for an internship themselves, as this will challenge them to think about what kind of work they are looking for. Internship positions can be found on company websites and national websites such as leerbanenmarkt and stagemarkt. Students can ask for support from their school in their search; the law states that VET schools must ensure the availability of internship positions.

Internship Discrimination: A lingering Challenge

Internship discrimination is a persistent problem. Research from 2014 already showed that 21% of the upper secondary VET (MBO) students with a non-Western background face difficulties in finding an internship, compared to 15% of native students. The fact that they have to search longer and apply more often was already known in 2015.

It is worrying that 3/4 of students still avoid discussing their internship discrimination experiences with their teachers.

Internship pact against discrimination

Combating internship discrimination is therefore high on the VET policy agenda. In 2023, an Internship Pact was concluded among 16 organisations (social partners, ministries, the VET Council, teacher unions, student organisations), in which parties committed themselves to recognizing, preventing and eliminating internship discrimination (Internship Pact 2023-2027).

Everyone involved in Dutch VET agrees on the importance of this issue, but also finds it difficult to identify internship discrimination. According to the VET schools, discrimination is rarely registered because complaints often cannot be traced back to discrimination. In addition, students have little confidence that their complaints will be handled properly, and are afraid that a formal complaint will affect their (internship or study) career, or do not know who to address to report discrimination experiences safely.

Still much to do

The Education inspectorate concluded that school policy on internship discrimination is still in its infancy. Open discussions on this issue have just started. Some managers deny that internship discrimination occurs in their school or region, claiming that no targeted policy is needed. As this is a sensitive topic in schools, discussions are often avoided, which makes finding solutions difficult. The Inspectorate advises VET schools to be explicit in their communication with training companies if internship discrimination occurs. Schools must ensure that students feel safe to report internship discrimination, and must be able to choose from several qualified people to share their experience and seek advice.

Read more

• Huijnk, W., Gijsberts, M., & Dagevos, J. (2014). Jaarrapport integratie 2013, Participatie van migranten op de arbeidsmarkt. [Annual report Integration 2013, Participation of migrants in the labour market]. Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.
• Sijbers, E., Huijgen, T., Meng, C., & Verhagen, A. (2015). Schoolverlaters tussen onderwijs en arbeidsmarkt 2014 [School leavers between Education and the Labour Market 2014]. Maastricht: ROA.
• Wat is er bekend over discriminatie van mbo-studenten bij toegang tot de stagemarkt? [What is known about discrimination against VET-students in obtaining an internship?]
• Inspectie van het Onderwijs (2023). Beleid van mbo-instellingen rond stagediscriminatie. [VET-school policies regarding student internship discrimination]
• Hoe kan ik stage op het mbo vinden? [How to find an internship for a VET-course?]
• Stagepact mbo 2023-2027  [Pact for internships in VET 2023-2027]