Local Solutions for Economic Integration of Refugees in The Netherlands

Many refugees have professional experience, qualifications, and strong motivation to work, but they often can’t use this in the countries where they live. Engineers drive taxis, teachers work in warehouses, and years can pass before people find work that matches their abilities. This gap between potential and practice is one of the challenges of refugee integration today. 

Economic integration is not only about providing jobs to refugees, but also about how labour markets, institutions, and employers recognise and make better use of existing skills. 

Eva Huson from The Refugee Talent Hub presenting how the organisation supports refugees in finding employment in the Netherlands to the Local Response to Migration and Refugees course participants in 2024.

Refugees often encounter structural barriers when entering the labour market. These include complex diploma recognition procedures, language requirements that exceed actual job needs, unfamiliar recruitment practices, and limited access to professional networks. When these barriers persist, refugees are more likely to work below their skill level, affecting both individual wellbeing and wider economic productivity.

During The Hague Academy’s 2025 open training Local Response to Migration and Refugees, migration researcher Özge Bilgili of the University of Utrecht, explored these dynamics in depth. Drawing on international research, she highlighted why policies that focus solely on rapid labour market entry risk missing the bigger picture.

“Getting refugees into work quickly is far better than trapping them in uncertainty. But simple employment isn’t a box to tick. Real integration means creating long-term pathways for career progression, recognition of skills, and opportunities to re-skill, so refugees can build sustainable futures for themselves and contribute to the wider society.”

Public institutions play an important role in creating access to the labour market through legal frameworks, employment services, and support programmes. Employers influence the successful integration of refugees in their organisations through recruitment practices, workplace culture, and openness to diverse career paths. Informal and professional networks often determine who hears about opportunities and who does not.

This means that economic integration of refugees is a shared responsibility. Effective approaches recognise the need for coordination between different levels of governments, employers, and civil society, rather than placing the burden solely on the individual refugees.

Best Practice in The Netherlands: The Refugee Talent Hub

A practical example is the Refugee Talent Hub in the Netherlands. The initiative focuses on connecting refugee talent with employers by starting from experience and ambitions, rather from what the refugees might be lacking in relation to Dutch requirements.

The Refugee Talent Hub works on both sides of the labour market. Refugees receive support in going through the recruitment processes and understanding workplace expectations, while employers are supported to adapt hiring practices, recognise international experience, and better understand existing legal frameworks. This approach helps translate policy is into concrete employment opportunities.

Local Governance at the Centre of Economic Integration           

Economic integration therefore sits at the heart of local governance. It requires municipalities to connect actors in employment, education, social services, and the private sector, and to adapt approaches based on what works on the ground. Initiatives such as the Refugee Talent Hub illustrate how local partnerships can create concrete pathways to work, while strengthening cooperation between institutions and communities.

For local practitioners, this is an important insight: successful economic integration depends on inclusive local governance, where municipalities enable collaboration, learn from practice, and align policies with local needs.

Learn more about how to develop strategies to deal with the local impact of migration and forced displacement in our open training,Local Response to Migration and Refugees.