Holland Compared

Well-educated
working population
Education level: upper secondary education (2012)
United States 89
Sweden 88
Switzerland 86
Germany 86
Finland 85
Austria 83
United Kingdom 78
Denmark 78
Ireland 73
Netherlands 73
Measured as percentage of population (25-64 years old)
that has attained upper secondary education.
0Source: 10OECD, 20
2014.
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
The internationally-oriented working population of the Netherlands is well
educated, with many people able to speak more than one foreign language
(European Commission, 2012). According to the EF English Proficiency
Index, the Netherlands ranks third out of 54 countries. In addition to
English, and in comparison with neighbouring countries, a good proportion
of the population also speak German and French. According to the
European Commission, the Netherlands has a world-class vocational
education and training (VET) system, with built-in mechanisms to adapt to
current and future skills needs so that training is more demand-driven.
Furthermore, compared to many other EU member states, life-long learning
is commonplace in the Netherlands: adults regularly engage in further
education in order to continually improve their skills and knowledge levels.
68 Human capital and innovation