Looking for work is always a difficult task, but when you’re an international student in a foreign country, finding a job is all that much harder. Last week TU Delft’s International Office and Delft Engineering Services organized an event called ‘Finding you a job’ to inform the TU’s international students about employment opportunities in the Netherlands.
The ‘Finding you a job’ event featured a presentation about the current rules and regulations for foreign students, and also focused on the changes in regulations that internationals need to know. This was followed by a Delft Engineering Services (DES) presentation about the job and company prospects for internationals.
The three-hour event, which was attended by more than 90 students, also included a networking session after the presentations were over: food and drinks were served, and those attending the event were able to mix and mingle. “It was a very successful event,” says Anoeshka Ishwardat, of the TU’s International Office. “We were surprised with the large interest we got from foreign students and hopefully we will be organizing more such events in the future”.
International students from both BSc and MSc programs attended the event, which proved to be informative for many people, as Vivek Vitaldev, 21, from India pointed out: “It was certainly full of important information that I didn’t know about before, and it has now helped me structure my thoughts about finding a job in the Netherlands.”
There are currently several rules governing the employment of foreign students while studying, and they depend on your country of origin. European Union citizens (except Romania and Bulgaria) are free work in the Netherlands without the need for working permits; however, everyone else requires a permit. Dutch immigration laws restrict the number of hours foreign students may work, as either seasonal full-time work (only in June, July and August), or part-time work throughout the year (no more than 10 hours a week). They may not do both. Moreover, the employer is responsible for issuing a working permit for the student, so therefore a willing employer needs to be found first, and then, together with a valid residence permit and health insurance, the working permit could be issued in approximately 4 weeks.
Although no significant changes to the rules for part-time employment were announced, foreign students need to know that if they take up a part-time job, regardless of the number of hours, they must change their health insurance into the basisverzekering, or ‘basic healthcare insurance policy’, offered to Dutch citizens. This is different than the IPS international student insurance most foreigners at the TU Delft have, and the basic insurance is available from any health insurance company.
For full-time work after graduation, the procedures are somewhat different. Upon graduation, foreign students are required to change their permits from student to verblijf gedurende zoekjaar afgestudeerde (seeking work after graduation), which is meant to allow students to look for a job. During this period, students are allowed to work freely, and when an employer is found, the student can then change the permit from ‘searching for work’ status to a permanent residence permit. What is important however is that the Dutch Naturalization Department (IND) has decided to prolong the search period from 3 months to 12 months, which is a significant boost aimed at allowing foreign skilled employees time to find a job in the Netherlands.
Most international students point out that the most difficult part of finding a job part-time or full-time is the willingness of the employer to hire them. Companies like Philips and Shell pose the least resistance to international graduates, but many smaller companies prefer not to go through the additional effort. Moreover, the language barrier is significant as well, since most companies do prefer that the prospective foreign-born employee speaks Dutch. Such difficulties were addressed during the event in the DES presentation.
Skilled
DES, founded in 2007, is an engineering job agency with the ambition to find more international students jobs on the highly skilled Dutch labor market. DES, which is located in Delft and has close ties with TU Delft, is always enthusiastic about the prospects of engineers wanting to stay in Holland after graduation. Alexandro Mancusi, the co-founder of DES, explains: “What we appreciate most about international students is their ambition and international exposure. They come to the Netherlands with a will to achieve and already have experience in adapting to different cultures and surroundings.”
This drive for hard work, Mancusi further explains, is undermined in the Dutch job market and should be emphasized by putting more internationals to work. “We are working hard on building a network of companies that are genuinely willing to hire international students,” he says, “and that is what differentiates us from other job agencies.”
DES offers international students a very attractive employment package. This package includes most importantly the willingness to endure the administrative paperwork required for working permits for both part-time and full-time jobs, and Dutch language lessons as an integrated part of their jobs. Students can send their resumes to DES, and then DES gets to work finding them a position via its large network of corporate contacts throughout the Netherlands.
www.delftes.com
The ‘Finding you a job’ event featured a presentation about the current rules and regulations for foreign students, and also focused on the changes in regulations that internationals need to know. This was followed by a Delft Engineering Services (DES) presentation about the job and company prospects for internationals.
The three-hour event, which was attended by more than 90 students, also included a networking session after the presentations were over: food and drinks were served, and those attending the event were able to mix and mingle. “It was a very successful event,” says Anoeshka Ishwardat, of the TU’s International Office. “We were surprised with the large interest we got from foreign students and hopefully we will be organizing more such events in the future”.
International students from both BSc and MSc programs attended the event, which proved to be informative for many people, as Vivek Vitaldev, 21, from India pointed out: “It was certainly full of important information that I didn’t know about before, and it has now helped me structure my thoughts about finding a job in the Netherlands.”
There are currently several rules governing the employment of foreign students while studying, and they depend on your country of origin. European Union citizens (except Romania and Bulgaria) are free work in the Netherlands without the need for working permits; however, everyone else requires a permit. Dutch immigration laws restrict the number of hours foreign students may work, as either seasonal full-time work (only in June, July and August), or part-time work throughout the year (no more than 10 hours a week). They may not do both. Moreover, the employer is responsible for issuing a working permit for the student, so therefore a willing employer needs to be found first, and then, together with a valid residence permit and health insurance, the working permit could be issued in approximately 4 weeks.
Although no significant changes to the rules for part-time employment were announced, foreign students need to know that if they take up a part-time job, regardless of the number of hours, they must change their health insurance into the basisverzekering, or ‘basic healthcare insurance policy’, offered to Dutch citizens. This is different than the IPS international student insurance most foreigners at the TU Delft have, and the basic insurance is available from any health insurance company.
For full-time work after graduation, the procedures are somewhat different. Upon graduation, foreign students are required to change their permits from student to verblijf gedurende zoekjaar afgestudeerde (seeking work after graduation), which is meant to allow students to look for a job. During this period, students are allowed to work freely, and when an employer is found, the student can then change the permit from ‘searching for work’ status to a permanent residence permit. What is important however is that the Dutch Naturalization Department (IND) has decided to prolong the search period from 3 months to 12 months, which is a significant boost aimed at allowing foreign skilled employees time to find a job in the Netherlands.
Most international students point out that the most difficult part of finding a job part-time or full-time is the willingness of the employer to hire them. Companies like Philips and Shell pose the least resistance to international graduates, but many smaller companies prefer not to go through the additional effort. Moreover, the language barrier is significant as well, since most companies do prefer that the prospective foreign-born employee speaks Dutch. Such difficulties were addressed during the event in the DES presentation.
Skilled
DES, founded in 2007, is an engineering job agency with the ambition to find more international students jobs on the highly skilled Dutch labor market. DES, which is located in Delft and has close ties with TU Delft, is always enthusiastic about the prospects of engineers wanting to stay in Holland after graduation. Alexandro Mancusi, the co-founder of DES, explains: “What we appreciate most about international students is their ambition and international exposure. They come to the Netherlands with a will to achieve and already have experience in adapting to different cultures and surroundings.”
This drive for hard work, Mancusi further explains, is undermined in the Dutch job market and should be emphasized by putting more internationals to work. “We are working hard on building a network of companies that are genuinely willing to hire international students,” he says, “and that is what differentiates us from other job agencies.”
DES offers international students a very attractive employment package. This package includes most importantly the willingness to endure the administrative paperwork required for working permits for both part-time and full-time jobs, and Dutch language lessons as an integrated part of their jobs. Students can send their resumes to DES, and then DES gets to work finding them a position via its large network of corporate contacts throughout the Netherlands.
www.delftes.com
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