The Netherlands has the lowest rate of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) in the EU, offering valuable lessons for the UK, where the number of 16- to 24-year-old Neets has risen above 1 million. Official UK statistics show roughly 13.5% of young people are not in work or college, rising to 15.8% among 18- to 24-year-olds. In contrast, the Dutch Neet rate has been below 5% for over a decade, standing at 5.3% last year according to Eurostat.
The Resolution Foundation concluded that if Britain matched the Dutch rate, 600,000 more 18- to 24-year-olds would be learning or earning. Former Labour minister Alan Milburn, who authored a government-backed report, said while Britain cannot copy the Netherlands directly due to different traditions and structures, “boy oh boy is there something to learn”.
The Dutch approach rests on three pillars: vocational education, a welfare safety net prioritising engagement, and financial incentives for businesses to hire young workers. Educational retention is key: in 2024, 67% of Dutch 18- to 24-year-olds were in education, compared with 43% in the UK. By age 24, twice as many young people are in education in the Netherlands (43%) as in the UK (21%).
Technical education is highly valued in the Netherlands, with nearly 70% of 16- to 19-year-olds in upper secondary education attending vocational secondary schools (MBO), often called “the foundation of the economy”. In the UK, only 22% of 18- to 21-year-olds were on vocational courses in 2024. Former Dutch education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said vocational education is crucial for helping people find their place in society and work, acting as both a vessel and a lifeboat.
Dutch vocational education is always combined with work-based learning or apprenticeships. By age 19, more than half of young Dutch people have workplace experience, creating a smooth transition to the labour market. In the UK, fewer than one in five have this experience. The second major driver is the welfare state: the 2004 Work and Social Assistance Act devolved welfare to municipalities, shifting from a centralised bureaucratic model to a personalised local system, particularly effective for mental health and long-term illness issues.
