According to the Limburgse Werkgeversvereniging (LWV), the Limburg employers’ association, the province is struggling with an increasing demand for workers. Figures from a recent LWV survey show that 36 percent of the employers surveyed already employ foreign workers who attended one of the Limburg education institutions. “If the intake of students goes down, that would be a huge risk for us,” said one employer.
Minister Bruins is therefore urged to tailor his policy and cuts “to the specific characteristics and needs of our border region and contracting rural areas”. The fact that this is a border region already facing shortages on the regional labour market is seen as “a sufficient enough reason to allow for foreign-language education”.
The signatories of the letter – including six Limburg mayors, healthcare institutions and President of Maastricht University Rianne Letschert – say they are eager to enter into talks with the minister to discuss options for the growth of the Limburg economy, with the educational institutions as important partners. They are “crucial to the innovative power in the region”, such as the arrival of the Einstein Telescope.
It is not the first time that the province of Limburg and the educational institutions have raised their voices in the debate about the budget cuts. In March, they wrote two urgent letters to The Hague stating that a decrease in foreign students would have disastrous consequences for the region. Last summer, all universities warned Minister Bruins of Education in a letter about the consequences of his planned cuts.