The National Alumni Survey is a nationwide survey performed each two years amongst Master’s graduates, roughly one to 2 years after they receive their levels. A complete of 1,216 alumni from Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, University of Twente and Wageningen University (WUR) accomplished the survey for the 2025 version. UT particularly, there have been 193 UT alumni who accomplished the survey. The gender breakdown was 57 per cent males and 43 per cent ladies. Most respondents had been aged 25 to 27 and had been in the beginning of their careers.
According to Silvia Blok of the Quality & Strategic Information workforce at WUR, who was concerned in analysing the figures, the outcomes recommend a shift. ‘The job market for graduates of the four technical universities has been exceptionally favourable for many years. We’re seeing that fall away a bit now. That’s additionally in step with the figures from Statistics Netherlands: the tight labour market is easing a bit.’
That doesn’t imply that prospects for graduates of the 4 technical universities are a trigger for concern; 92.4 per cent of respondents are in paid employment. For the UT alone, that share is barely greater and is 94 p.c.
‘There are rather fewer vacancies than during the peak,’ says Blok, ‘but we’re nonetheless in a superb place.’ The overwhelming majority of alumni nonetheless discover jobs comparatively shortly after graduating, in different phrases. UT alumni spend a median of two.7 months searching for their first job.
There is little change too within the kinds of contracts supplied by employers. Almost half of the folks in work now have everlasting contracts, with an extra 27 per cent on non permanent contracts with the prospect of a everlasting place. Only a fifth of alumni are on non permanent contracts with no prospect of a everlasting job.
That stability helps create satisfaction. For instance, 78 per cent of alumni say they’re pleased with their jobs. On common, UT alumni give a 4 (out of 5) when requested how glad they’re with their job. Looking purely on the content material of the work, that share is really even barely greater. The respondents had been additionally largely optimistic about profession prospects and improvement alternatives, with common scores effectively above the midpoint on a five-point scale.
The figures present that issues work out nice for many graduates ultimately
Silvia Blok
Graduates are extra essential of their salaries than they’re of different facets of their work. Around 65 per cent say they’re glad, however that determine is clearly decrease than the satisfaction scores for job content material and improvement alternatives, as an example. The common gross month-to-month wage is round 3,500 euros, however Blok thinks this is not all the time in step with what job market entrants anticipate beforehand.‘The gap between expectations and reality is an issue for some graduates,’ says Blok, ‘as you can see in their behaviour: they keep looking around.’ For occasion, 27 per cent of respondents are actively searching for a brand new job, with wage being one of many key causes – adopted by profession prospects after which the character of the work. ‘For a lot of new entrants to the job market, the first job isn’t the place they’ll find yourself.’
The match between training and employment is additionally a combined bag. Over three quarters of graduates really feel that their position is a superb match for his or her private qualities. However, that share is decrease when particular expertise acquired through the Master’s programme. Some alumni really feel there is a discrepancy there. According to Blok, that distinction is not essentially problematic. ‘You can see that graduates leave with a wide range of skills that can benefit them greatly. At the same time, they often still need to develop that further in their work, to apply specific knowledge. That’s a traditional course of within the early years of a profession.’ (Text continues under image)
The sectors that alumni discover jobs in exhibit simply how versatile science and know-how graduates are. The industrial sector (such because the meals, chemical or know-how industries) is by far the most important employer class, adopted by training and analysis, healthcare, the general public sector and the development trade. In brief, science and know-how graduates are nonetheless ending up in all kinds of jobs.
How shortly graduates discover employment varies by topic space, although. Some specialist fields, comparable to electrical engineering, civil engineering or the vitality transition, lead straight to particular roles, whereas others require an extended studying curve. ‘That may mean that graduates need longer to find a job that really suits them.’
Shortage
That search is completely regular too, in line with Blok. ‘People sometimes need time to find the right spot. The figures show that things work out fine for most graduates in the end. So the picture is actually much rosier than some job market entrants perhaps think when the search takes a bit longer.’
The survey’s fundamental conclusion subsequently stays intact. Despite a little bit of a slowdown within the job market, science and know-how specialists are nonetheless very a lot in demand. ‘There’s nonetheless a scarcity of pros in these fields,’ says Blok, ‘and that’s not anticipated to vary sooner or later.’
Text: Willem Andrée