Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid SDG-Challenge Spring 2026

The Challenge The Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) is committed to promoting fair, healthy, and safe work in the Netherlands, as well as ensuring income security for everyone. The Ministry addresses a wide range of social and labour market issues, including debt reduction, poverty alleviation, and the improvement of working conditions. Key policy areas include social security, childcare, pensions, collective labour agreements (CLAs), and labour market regulation. A distinctive feature of SZW policy is its strong focus on people. Policies are designed not only around economic performance but also around human well-being, fairness, and long-term security.

Your Assignment and Expected Outcome

You are asked to investigate at least two sectors and explore how students, recent graduates, labour market entrants, employees, and/or employers perceive the future of work within those sectors. Because employers’ preferences and sectoral business culture appear to play a significant role in the use of flexible labour, it is particularly interesting to compare:

A sector with a high share of flexible workers (e.g., hospitality), and
A sector with a relatively low share of flexible workers (e.g., construction).

Such a comparison may provide valuable insights into:

Employers’ motivations for using flexible contracts
The influence of sector culture on employment practices
The needs and expectations of (starting) employees regarding contract types

The challenge aims to generate insights into the tension between flexibility, security, and practical feasibility in the labour market.

Income, Work and Schedule Security

What factors make people feel secure or insecure in their work?
When is flexibility experienced as freedom, and when does it create uncertainty or instability?
What role do working conditions such as workload, autonomy and career prospects play in people’s sense of security?
How satisfied are workers with:
- Their income
- Their job security
- The predictability of their work schedule

Trends and Developments

What positive and negative labour market trends are visible within the selected sectors?
What concrete challenges or tensions do these developments create for:
- Starting employees
- Existing employees
- Employers
Will working in this sector remain attractive in the future?
- Why or why not?
What potential solutions or strategies could help address emerging challenges?

Roles and Responsibilities

What agreements should employers and employees make about the future organisation of work?
What role should the government play in shaping and regulating future work?
What responsibilities do sector organisations or industry associations have?
What do new labour market entrants perceive as “fair security”?
What forms of protection or support are appropriate for:
- Hybrid careers
- Flexible work arrangements
- Task-based or platform-based work

Why This Matters

People are living longer and staying healthy for longer.
Increased life expectancy makes longer working lives and a gradual increase in the retirement age possible.

This raises important questions:

How can we ensure people can work in a healthy and sustainable way throughout longer careers?
What should the ideal job of the future look like?
How will the structure and organisation of work continue to evolve?

Understanding the balance between flexibility and security is essential to creating a labour market that is both dynamic and socially sustainable.

About Ministerie van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid

The mission of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment is to foster a socially and economically vigorous position for the Netherlands in Europe, with work and income security for everyone. The Minister and State Secretary are responsible for labour market policy, including migration and the free movement of workers, benefits and re-integration, income policy, work-life balance, and policy on working conditions and inspection.