The PvdA and GroenLinks want to focus on better integration of the partners of knowledge workers who come to live in Eindhoven. To achieve this, higher demands must be made on the work of Holland Expat Center South (HECS), where many new Eindhoven residents end up for the first time. The city executive board says it understands the concerns of the council.
The HECS was set up to accommodate expats who are new to the region and to help them find their way in the Netherlands. However, discussions that the PvdA and GroenLinks have had with those involved in the programme show that there is criticism about the content of the programme.
The board of mayor and aldermen states that they share the concerns of the factions. For example, the expat centre must better record the results of its activities. Until 2024, this monitoring was not done accurately – that was not a requirement either. From this year onwards, the monitoring of the results must be done ‘more firmly and formally’, the board reports.
GroenLinks and PvdA also want to see more explicit stimulation of deploying expat partners in professional groups that are in high demand, such as education and care. The factions want people with experience in care and education to be helped to find a job more quickly.
Care and education
The board then states that this is not so easy because, for jobs in education and care, mastery of the Dutch language is important. Eindhoven states that there are discussions between HECS and ASML, among others, to bring Dutch in particular and integration in general to the attention of international employees. The municipality also states that it is working on a tender for Dutch lessons for newcomers.
The Hague
However, Eindhoven does not influence the extent to which partners of internationals can enter healthcare or education. After all, the requirements for this are not set by the municipality but by the national government. The municipality does try to encourage The Hague to relax regulations where possible, as has happened in childcare, where international employees have filled the staff shortage.
Source: Studio040
