Moving from the UK

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

At the top of the page is a link to our Jobs section; keep checking that out and perhaps something will show up that's suitable.

If that doesn't work, then it's doable, what I mean by this is that with English only, your partner is really looking for a multi-national where English is the working language or some kind of low-level job where there are no language skills required.

I always put things like this; to get a decent job anywhere, you need:

Relevant experience
Relevant qualifications
Speak the local language
Luck

Without the language skills and a job that will maintain his skill-set and professional development, your partner's relevance in the marketplace will diminish, to the extent where his competitors for that special job will be more relevant than he is.

So, my advice is to start sounding out the multi-nationals now; look for agencies in Holland that work in his skill area; you say he has a degree in Broadcast Media; Hilversum used to be a significant area for media companies.  Don't rely on e-mails and speculative CV's; phone them, speak to the HR departments (speak to the HR department of your future company, see what they think).  If he's currently working in an unrelated field, then you need to consider that Holland is very big on qualifications and if his experience is not up there with his qualifications, he may struggle for that degree level job.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hi there!

I moved from the UK to the Netherlands in 2016.

I work in a company where I speak only English as it's an American company.

I would say from experience that it's more difficult to find work in an English only speaking role but it certainly can be done but you just have to look really hard/apply to American or British companies based here.  It is easier to find work of this type in Amsterdam and Den Haag!

Hi,

Obviously, finding work within an international company would be easier for your partner.

Because generally, it is going to be difficult to find work with your typical Dutch company if you don't speak any Dutch or have Dutch qualifications. For Dutch companies, It is a standard requirement here that you speak very good Dutch, written as well. It is also usual to see in job vacancies that it is expected that you speak one or two other languages as well (English/German, for example). There is also the subject of Dutch diplomas. These are needed for just about any job. When I came here almost 30 years ago, I was astounded that you needed diplomas to even work with flowers and plants.

Before I left the UK, I worked for BA at Gatwick. When I came here, I couldn't work in avaiation/tourism until I learnt Dutch and attained the relevant diplomas. It took me 5 years before I was back in tourism (working for an Arab airline in the centre of Amsterdam, and even then, the office language was English). in the years between, I was a cleaner and worked on production lines. I found gaining the relevant diplomas necessary for my particular field very hard going, as (which is to be expected!) the courses were all in Dutch, in which I was not proficient at the time.

So, if your partner can find work with an international company (I would certainly start applying now, before the relocation), that would be much easier.

Also, as you mentioned customer service, many call centres look for English Native speakers, and often Dutch is not required, but as I mentioned before, often you will need to speak other languages as well. But if your partner speaks some German (French?), this will help as well.

Succes (as they say in the NL)!