Introduction
Ten years ago, employers and employees in the field of education decided to set up a centre of expertise concerning educational staff: the SBO (Sectorbestuur Onderwijsarbeidsmarkt). The purpose of the SBO is to survey the situation in the Dutch education labour market and to help resolve discrepancies in the supply and demand of labour. The SBO publishes research reports and essays, organises conferences and debates, and draws attention to staffing problems at the earliest possible stage. It also lobbies politicians to invest in education.

Current issues
One of the most pressing issues in Dutch education today is a potential staff shortage as the current generation of teachers and school managers grows older. Another issue is how to make the teaching profession more appealing.

Knowledge portal
Most of the information that can be accessed via the SBO’s knowledge portal is divided into different themes, each one related to the labour market. Some examples are ‘ageing’, ‘teaching staff shortages’, ‘organisational innovation’ and ‘HRM’. Each theme covers studies, trends, tips and tools, best practices, meetings and other interesting topics.

Agenda 2010
Every four years, the SBO publishes an ‘agenda for the education labour market’. The 2006 agenda (known as ‘Agenda 2010’) identified six priorities that should result in a satisfactory supply of well-trained staff. They cover the following areas:

1. Career and job mobility
Job mobility ensures that organisations are more dynamic and prepared to embark on change. There is relatively little job mobility in the field of education, but employers and employees are determined to change that. They intend to promote mobility within schools, between different types of schools, and between the education sector and trade and industry.

2. Age-aware personnel policy
Too few young teachers are taking jobs at schools nowadays, and many older teachers are already retiring at the age of 62. Employers and employees in education believe that older teachers can only be retained if they are offered incentives to continue working. Examples of such incentives are flexible pensions and more varied tasks, for example coaching younger teachers.

3. Focus on the professional
Employers and employees in education would like professionals to be given more leeway. While the school management should identify the school’s goals, it is up to the professionals to decide how those goals will be achieved. They should be given their own budget and hold one another accountable for the results.

4. Development-focused personnel policy
Staff shortages in education are increasing the importance of work-study programmes. Employers and employees wish to reinforce such programmes. It is also important for both pupils and their parents that educational teams are multicultural in nature. Employers and employees in education advocate a personnel policy in which cultural background plays a larger role.

5. Organisational matters and staff deployment
Teaching methods are changing throughout the entire field of education, but in many cases these innovations have not yet led to changes in working processes. Theory is often divorced from practice, and hierarchical management structures still prevail. Employers and employees therefore wish to redesign school organisations in a way that gives teachers more responsibility.

6. Lifelong learning
Given the demands that society places on teaching staff, it is important that teachers themselves continue to learn. In future, new teachers are likely to receive training in basic skills and continue learning so as to acquire more in-depth, specialist competencies.

If you would like more information, please send an e-mail to sbo@caop.nl.