The Dutch labor market is suffering from a persistent talent shortage, according to a new salary survey report.
The study also shows that when it comes to hiring in 2025, one of the hottest functional areas where companies are most likely to hire next year is expected to be artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning.
In line with this, a recent study by Indeed found that job postings mentioning generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) or related phrases have increased dramatically across the US and Europe over the past year.
For example, jobs requiring generative and collaborative AI skills increased 3.9x in Germany, 6.8x in France, and 4.6x in Ireland.
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These are not separate requests. Indeed’s research states that “GenAI was most likely to be mentioned in job descriptions in the data analytics field,” adding that “GenAI is also prominent in software development.”
Further information from BairesDev is of particular interest to software developers who may be looking for jobs in 2025. The company recently conducted a survey of more than 500 companies to understand what skills are most in demand by clients.
The results showed that machine learning was the fastest growing skill with a growth rate of 383%, followed by Angular, Flutter, Kotlin, and Terraform.
The growing interest in AI has also increased the need for core technical skills essential to building AI platforms and applications. These include technologies such as React, .NET, Python, Node, and Java.
The report also notes that demand for skills related to data infrastructure has increased by 77% this year.
“Over the past five years, we have seen a steady and sometimes exponential increase in demand for developers specializing in tools like Snowflake, MongoDB, and Databricks,” said Justice Eroticin, CTO of BairesDev.
“If AI is a gold rush and you’re a developer, you might want to sell your pickaxe. In this case, the pickaxe is your data-related skills, as a well-maintained data infrastructure is the driving force behind the success of your AI products.”
Skill gap has become apparent
All of this is useful information for software professionals looking to advance their careers in 2025. But along with these predictions comes a warning that the technology skills gap is emerging as a barrier and that the right talent is urgently needed to meet growing demand.
Alarmingly, in the EU, the European Digital Economy and Society Index found that one in three people lack basic digital skills. According to the European Center for Vocational Training and Development (Cedefop), the average future employment growth rate in the Netherlands from 2022 to 2035 is estimated at 0.3%, but when it comes to the role of ICT, this figure is much higher at 12.9%.
However, this number is likely to be hampered by a flurry of factors that create a gap in technical skills.
The need for technology talent has increased significantly as organizations are under pressure to modernize their operations to stay competitive, driven in part by rapid digital transformation.
When you combine this with the fact that around 40% of working adults in Europe lack basic digital skills, and that a third of employed individuals in Europe do not have appropriate digital competencies, the problem becomes even more worrying.
This shortage starts early with fewer young people taking up STEM subjects in schools and universities, and this problem impacts the workforce as there is a limited talent pool available to meet industry needs.
Despite these warnings, a recent report shows that 35% of Dutch companies expect to expand permanent roles in 2025, while 27% expect to hire in flexible roles. Regarding pay, the report notes that “pay adjustments in 2025 will be primarily driven by recognition of strong employee performance and retention of top talent.”
The outlook for people with the right skills generally looks positive. The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis predicts that the number of technical jobs will increase by 15% by next year. And, amid concerns about the technical skills gap, another piece of good news is that 30% of software engineers in the Netherlands have a master’s degree in a specialized field related to software engineering.
Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Rotterdam are just some of the cities where software developers can find work. That’s thanks to major domestic companies like Booking.com, ING Bank, Unilever, Philips and Heineken.
Additionally, many large technology companies are based in the Netherlands, including IBM, Microsoft, Netflix, and Amazon. If you’re a software engineer with the right skills, the Dutch job market is a rich and competitive field full of opportunities across cloud computing, data science, cybersecurity, AI and machine learning, full-stack development, and more.
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