Nowhere in the Netherlands do so many people with a distance to the labor market find a job as in North Holland North. More than 5,000 people found a job in this region last year. Why does this area in particular succeed so well?
According to the so-called jobs agreement, 125,000 additional jobs must be created in the Netherlands by the end of the year for people with disabilities.
Out figures from the UWV shows that after the second quarter of 2025, 91,667 people will have been helped into a job.
In North Holland North alone, roughly from Uitgeest to the north, more than five thousand jobs were created in the first six months, while the target for this year was 3,866.
That is not an incident, because every year the national leader produces approximately thirty percent more workers than other regions.
Family feeling in the region
In the North Holland North region, parties such as UWV, WerkSaam Westfriesland, various schools and employers work together.
Chris Ekkerman is the Employment Coaches team leader at WerkSaam and thinks he knows where the success comes from. “There are many family businesses in this area, which creates a real family feeling. It also helps that we focus on wage cost subsidies for employers.”
This makes it more attractive for companies to create jobs.
One of those employers is Evelien van den Bosch, owner of restaurant Casa 22 in Hoorn. She is happy to give these people the opportunity. “Everyone counts in society. This should be reflected in the workplace.”
16-year-old Djalina works at Casa 22.She ended up in a psychosis a year ago and now works a few hours each at the restaurant. She wants to become a private detective or detective via this route. “I hope that through my perseverance I will eventually get to where I want to be.”
Professionals in the right place
Besides the family feeling in the region, there are more reasons why things are going well. In this way, all persons are classified per category, which provides clarity. Elsewhere in the country, customization is lacking.
“We choose professionals in the right place,” says Krista Braak, Labor team leader at WerkSaam.
Good cooperation between the various organizations also pays off, according to regional manager UWV Noord-Holland Noord, Hans Tromp. Informing and continuity help enormously, he says.
“We ensure that employers are well informed and know where they stand. We have also built up a lot of knowledge and capacity over the past fifteen years.”
North Holland North does not have a waiting list for people looking for ‘adapted’ work, unlike other regions.
WerkSaam helps people find work and guarantees that they can get started right away. Even if there is no room for a while, such as with seasonal work. “We ensure that they still get suitable work. If there is room again, they will be deployed in a place where their talent can be better appreciated,” says Braak.
Tromp notices that things are different here than in other regions. “When someone qualifies for adapted work, we try to place them somewhere as quickly as possible. In other regions I hear that it takes longer, which sometimes means people stay in a benefit situation for longer.”
Double as much as the number two
Despite North Holland North’s leading position, improvements are always possible. Tromp mainly wants to focus on job retention. “Sometimes people fall back into a benefit situation. We can focus more on long-term placement instead of quickly filling places.”
Yet there is no reason to complain. Tromp: “The figures are twice as high as for number two. So things are well organised. Then I can say that we are doing quite well.”