Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA)

The Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) is a research institute attached to the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Maastricht University. ROA's chief activity is commissioned research. ROA has about 40 employees.

Most of ROA’s research is commissioned by ministries, but research contracts have also been received from lower-level authorities, the LDC Expertise Centre for Career Issues, the Council for Higher Vocational Education, Employment Services, businesses, educational institutions, the Organisation for Strategic Labour Market Research (OSA), and the European Commission. Fundamental research is partly funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the faculty research school METEOR.

ROA’s field of research concerns the match between education and the labour market. More in particular, the institute aims to enhance the understanding of the relationship between education and the labour market.

Our intention is to make a significant contribution to both academic and social discussions on the effects of knowledge and skills acquired in education and in other learning situations on:

The insight that ROA wishes to provide, consists not only of statistical data that increase the transparency of the labour market for those who need to take decisions on their education, but also includes knowledge of the way in which the labour market functions, and the choices that individuals, organisations and policy-makers can make with respect to education and the labour market. ROA’s research programme consists of three research lines, Dynamics of the Labour Market, Education and Occupational Careers, and Training and Work.

The Dynamics of the Labour Market research line focuses on the way in which the labour market functions, and more in particular on the role of education and training in this process. The emphasis is on the analysis of, on the one hand, the structure of the labour market, and on the other hand on current and future supply and demand developments in various labour market segments. Within this research line, we try to explain and forecast the developments in the labour market, classified by education and occupation. This may include an analysis of the effects of behavioural changes and policy effects.

One of the main pillars of this research line is the Education and the Labour Market Project. This project focuses in particular on the match between education and occupation, the substitution processes in the labour market, and the labour market perspectives of more than 100 education programmes and occupations. The project includes the collection of a large amount of topical data, trends, and indicators. For each of the types of education and occupational groups, forecasts are made of the medium-term developments of employment rates, replacement needs, and the influx of school-leavers into the labour market. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the National Employment Office, the National Career Guidance Information Centre (LDC), and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries. Every other year, the results of this research project are published in a widely available report: The Labour Market by Education and Occupation. The labour market data are used by the LDC for their information products for study and career advice.

The second research line focuses on the transition from school to work, and on subsequent occupational careers. Within this framework, ROA carries out a number of large-scale surveys that provide an up-to-date insight in the (initial) destinations and performance of school-leavers and graduates in the labour market. These school-leaver surveys cover the entire field of education. In secondary education (General Secondary Education, Preparatory Vocational Education, Intermediate Vocational Education (dual track and school track)), ROA is responsible for the overall project management of the RUBS (Registration of Flows and Destinations of School-leavers) survey, funded by the Ministries of Education, Culture and Science, Social Affairs and Employment, and Agriculture, Nature and Fisheries. In Higher Education, ROA carries out the Higher Vocational Education Monitor, on behalf of the HVE Council; at the request of the Association of Universities in the Netherlands, ROA has accepted the task of national co-ordinator of the University Education Monitor. Annual reports on these school-leaver surveys include: School-leavers between Education and the Labour Market; HVE Monitor, The Labour Market Position of Graduates of Higher Vocational Education; UE Monitor, The Labour Market Position of Graduates from Dutch Universities. In addition to the transition from school to work, this research line includes studies on the acquisition of competence within the education system and the development of later occupational careers.

The Training and Work research line focuses on the acquisition of qualifications and skill obsolescence in workers, job-seekers and non-participants, in relation to developments in the labour market. One of the main pillars of this research line is the observatory for the training of workers, developed on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. It shows which groups run the greatest risks of losing their jobs as a result of physically or mentally demanding employment conditions, decreasing employment, or skill obsolescence caused by a combination of rapid technological developments and low rates of participation in training. It also indicates in which direction such groups could improve their labour market perspectives by means of retraining or additional training. Every second year, an overview report is published with the title Employment and Training, including a statistical appendix that maps the main indicators with regard to this issue. Within this research line, studies are also conducted on the employability of workers and non-workers, and on the specific human resource policies implemented in various economic sectors. The results are reported in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment publication Towards an employability monitor.

Within the above-mentioned research lines, there are also studies on more specific themes.

Labour market forecasts for groups of higher educated graduates (clinical psychologists, R&D personnel, information technologists), dual-track education (pupils, learning-and-working places), and for occupational groups (nurses, chemist’s assistants, civil engineers, information technologists)

ROA’s research programmes are part of the research programme of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the UM as a whole. ROA publications are included in the faculty’s reports and also assessed as part of the official research audits. The links with the Economics faculty enables ROA to benefit from the knowledge that is available in this faculty and of the facilities of the METEOR research institute. This is achieved in particular by setting up more fundamental research projects, often in the form of Ph.D. studies and postdocs, supporting the subsidised and contract research carried out within the three research lines. On the basis of their scientific publications, several ROA staff members have been appointed as fellows of METEOR. For a number of Ph.D. studies, funding was obtained from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. Lastly, through two professorships, ROA contributes to the education programme in the field of education and the labour market, and the field of in-company and occupational training and the labour market, including the supervision of relevant M.A. theses and research traineeships.

EMP/SKILLS - Skills and Employability Department