Most In-Demand IT Skills in the Netherlands in 2025

The Netherlands is a pioneering country in digitalisation and innovation, resulting in more IT job vacancies than there are available experts.

This labour shortage has become a critical issue in recent years, impacting every sector across the country. Addressing this challenge is essential for companies to avoid missing out on growth opportunities.

What IT skills will be most crucial in the Netherlands in 2025, and how can companies bridge the skills gap?

The Dutch Economy and Labour Force

To understand the opportunities for IT professionals within the Netherlands, we have to first look at the current state of the country’s job market. 

Economy

With a projected GDP growth of 0.8% in 2024 and 1.5% in 2025, the economic future of the Netherlands looks promising. Moreover, the Netherlands has the third-largest GDP per capita in the European Union, at €48,900—significantly above the EU average of €37,600.

Inflation has also slowed down from a staggering 11.6% in 2022 to 3.2% in 2024. While this rate remains higher than in most EU countries, it marks a significant improvement compared to previous years.

The inflation rate is influenced by rising wages, increased rent prices, and higher taxes. However, as wages are growing faster than inflation, residents in the Netherlands have greater spending power, ultimately benefiting the economy and contributing to its accelerated growth.

Dutch Labour Force

Only 374,000 people, or 3.7%  of the labour force in the Netherlands, were unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2024, ranking among the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. Of these 374,000 people, 341,000 (or 84%) found a job within a year.

The demand for IT professionals has always been high in the Netherlands, resulting in fierce competition for talent. In 2024, there were approximately 583.000 IT professionals in the country, making up 6% of the labour force. While demand for IT professionals grew exponentially in previous years, it has stabilised in 2025. However, this trend is not uniform across all sectors. While industries like telecom are expected to stagnate, sub-sectors such as data centres and software development are set to grow significantly.

Despite the increasing number of IT professionals and a slowdown in demand, many sectors still struggle to find specialists due to digitalisation, the rise of AI, and economic growth. Sectors like healthcare and government institutions face particular challenges in recruiting IT professionals with the right skills to keep up with digital transformation and changing customer needs. 

The key issue in 2025 is therefore not the availability of IT professionals but the shortage of those with the right expertise and experience in niche areas.

The Most In-Demand IT Skills in 2025

Rapidly evolving technologies, an ageing population, globalisation, and digitalisation have widened the IT skills gap in the Netherlands. So, what IT skills will be most in demand in the Netherlands in 2025?

AI

According to Eurostat statistics, the Netherlands ranked sixth in the EU for AI adoption in 2024. 22.7% of companies with ten or more employees used at least one form of AI, marking a 9% increase compared to 2023. The most commonly used AI technologies were text mining and natural language generation.

Despite the growing adoption of AI, many companies remain hesitant due to security concerns and a lack of expertise. As a result, IT specialists with the following skills will be in high demand in 2025:

• Machine Learning
• Programming languages (Python, Java, Apache Spark, and others)
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• AI Ethics and Innovation

Data Engineering

Data makes the world go round, and that’s why companies, government organisations, and healthcare providers are collecting, storing, and analysing data as part of digitalisation and personalised services.

Data engineering is complex, which is why companies need specialists with a deep understanding of data science to gain insights and make business decisions based on unbiased and well-analysed information.
 The following skills are required in data engineering and will be in demand in the Netherlands in 2025:

• Programming
• Big data technologies
• ETL
• SQL and other database systems

Cybersecurity

A downside of a highly digitalised country like the Netherlands is the higher risk of cybersecurity threats. To combat cyberattacks and protect data, the country has established the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The NCSC has published a cybersecurity strategy for 2022-2028 to strengthen cybersecurity in the Netherlands, which includes their plan to protect the country and its residents from cybersecurity threats like phishing.

The likelihood of a cyberattack on a Dutch company is one in five, with an average damage of €300,000, which explains the higher demand for cybersecurity specialists. Here are the most important skills in cybersecurity according to Statista:

• Cloud Computing Security
• Security Engineering
• Risk assessment, analysis, and management
• Application security
• Security analysis
• Governance, risk management, and compliance
• AI/ML

Cloud Computing

The revenue of the public cloud market in the Netherlands is projected to reach 13.96 billion dollars in 2025 and will even increase to 25.81 billion dollars in 2029.

Cloud computing offers scalability and cost efficiency, allowing businesses to easily expand resources as needed while reducing upfront infrastructure costs. It also enhances collaboration and security, enabling remote access to data, real-time teamwork, and robust cybersecurity measures with built-in compliance features.

The main skills needed in cloud computing are:

• Knowledge of leading cloud platforms: AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP, etc.
• Cloud security implementation/infrastructure
• DevOps practices
• Serverless computing
• Containerisation and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)

Soft Skills

Besides hard skills, employers are also increasingly looking for specific soft skills to ensure that  IT specialists not only possess the right technical capabilities to do the job, but are also a good cultural fit for the company and team. The most in-demand soft skills that Netherlands employers are searching for are:

• Problem-solving
• Creativity
• Ethical decision-making
• Teamwork
• Critical thinking

Solutions for IT Shortages

To find the right experts and solve the IT skills gap, companies have a few options they can use.

Reskilling and Upskilling

Employers can already bridge the IT skills gap by offering upskilling and reskilling training. Popular themes include cybersecurity, AI, and data analytics. Through these training programmes, existing employees can better adapt to new technologies while expanding their skill sets. These trainings can be organised by internal L&D teams, online platforms like LinkedIn Learning, or external professionals.

Continuous learning is beneficial for both employers and employees. Employers become less reliant on external resources, minimise cybersecurity threats, and promote loyalty, creativity, and overall employee satisfaction. Employees, on the other hand, gain the opportunity to expand their skill sets and develop their careers within the company.

Freelancers

Permanent vacancies are hard to fill, especially with the increasing number of freelancers. Therefore, it’s beneficial for companies to look beyond traditional staffing solutions, such as hiring freelancers.

Freelancers don’t require lengthy recruitment processes and are cost-effective because they’re not part of the permanent workforce. Moreover, their expertise brings innovation and creative solutions to a project.

Hiring Specialised Recruitment Organisation

Finding an IT expert isn’t the problem in 2025; finding the right expert with the right skills is another story. This is where a specialist technology recruitment organisation like Amoria Bond, steps in.

Amoria Bond has more than 15 years of experience across STEM sectors, including Technology, which allows us to tap into a large and international talent pool of IT experts. Moreover, thanks to our award-winning training programmes, our recruiters possess a deep knowledge of IT sectors such as IT infrastructure, SAP, cybersecurity, data engineering, and many more.

We take time to fully understand your specific requirements and source the right professionals for your technical needs and workplace culture. 

Because we offer 360° staffing solutions worldwide, our recruiters can provide tailored solutions to meet companies’ staffing needs within strict deadlines. This enables companies to reallocate their internal HR costs to projects and growth opportunities, while our recruiters source the best candidates.

Do you have an IT staff shortage or expect one in the future? Contact me or my team today to discuss how we can help progress your company’s growth and success!