News item | 11-28-2022 | 8:30 pm
Until 2027, the WeConnect foundation receives an annual subsidy for the support of Caribbean students and starters on the labor market. In 2023, this will amount to approximately 200,000 euros. The Netherlands makes this amount available through the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations to help students and starters get a job in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom after their studies. This is badly needed because there is a great need for professionals on the islands.
Students from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom face major challenges. Both socially, financially and culturally. After their studies, Caribbean starters on the labor market often continue to work in the Netherlands. This is often more attractive, partly because wages in the Caribbean are relatively low, while starters often have a high student debt.
Moreover, it is often difficult for employers and potential employees to find each other due to the perceived distance between the European Netherlands and the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. As a result, it is often difficult for starters to enter the Caribbean labor market. The latter is an important cause of the capacity problems faced by the governments in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.
State Secretary for the Interior, Alexandra van Huffelen: “It is important that we keep an eye on this group of students and newcomers. For their own future, but also for strengthening the islands. During my visits to the islands I have seen that the governments have a great need for good professionals. And that is why we want to make it more attractive for people to go back and dedicate themselves to their native island.”
The WeConnect Foundation aims to connect the Caribbean with the European Netherlands through, among other things, educational projects. They are committed to promoting study success and well-being of Caribbean students in the Netherlands. They do this by, among other things, offering them a network, providing budget training, holding meetings and providing information at schools in the Caribbean. The foundation also encourages newcomers to work in the Caribbean and thus strengthen the administrative implementation power of the islands in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom.