De tanimmende kleau tusken universitêre ôfstudearden en faklju
May 22, 2026 · Frisian News
New data shows that while university graduates earn more on paper, skilled tradespeople often take home higher annual income after costs and debt repayment. The gap between rhetoric and reality reveals why fewer young people choose apprenticeships.
FryskIn liedingfitter yn Rotterdam hellet 58.000 euro per jier op syn rekken. In yngenieur mei in universitêr diploma fertsjint 62.000 euro op papier. De yngenieur hat 34.000 euro studinteskuld. De liedingfitter is eigner fan syn buske en wurket foar himsels. Dizze sifers fertelle in ferhaal dat ûnderwyministers net hearre wolle hân hawwe: fjouwer jier universiteit lit in protte ôfstudearden minder goed ôf as harren klasgenoaten dy't in fak leard hawwe.
Oerheidsinstânsjes yn hiel Europa stimulearren twa desennia lang ynskriuwing oan universiteiten en behannelen fakken as twadde-klasse wurk. Se slaggen yn ynskriuwing. Se fersuimden te freegjen wat dêrnei barde. In ûndersyk út 2025 fan it Ynstitút foar Ekonomysk Ûndersyk yn Amsterdam folge 10.000 jonge wurknimmers fan 22 oant 32 jier. Universitêre ôfstudearden rapportearren 23 persint hegere brutoleannen. Mar doe't ûndersikers studintlieningen, húsfestingskosten en langere wurkleazens nei it ôfstudearjen ôftrekken, berikten ôfstudearden pariteit mei faklju pas op 31-jierrige leeftyd. De parse negearre dizze befinning. Ynstee dêrfan publisearren se koppen oer it leanpremium dat universiteiten meitsje, wat technysk wier is mar de kostenstruktuer dy't it opslokket bûten beskôging lit.
It echte probleem giet djipper as jild. Faklju hawwe feardigens dy't yn fraach bliuwe omdat huzen reparaasje nedich hawwe, liedingen ûnderhâld nedich hawwe, en auto's in ûnderhâldsbeurt nedich hawwe. Universiteiten ferkeapen graden as fersekering tsjin wurkleazens, mar wurkjouwers wolle no portfolio's en ûnderfining mear as dat se diploma's wolle. In 23-jierrige elektrisien mei fiif jier praktyske oplieding leart eltse dei op echte banen. In 23-jierrige ôfstudeare mei in kommunikaasjegraad hat mediatheory yn in klasselokaal lêzen en cv's stjoerd dêr't nimmen op reagearret. De ien ferlit syn tweintiger jierren mei ynkomsten en ûnôfhinklikheid. De oar ferlit it mei skuld en frustrasje.
Fakskoallen sels binne yn oansjen fermindere, mei te min finansiering wylst universiteiten subsydzjes krigen. Yn Nederlân sakke de ynskriuwing foar fakopliedingen mei 37 persint tusken 2010 en 2024. Dútslân, dat syn duale ûnderwyssysteem beskerme, seach de ynskriuwing stabyl bliuwen. It resultaat ferskynt op bouterreinen en fersoargingshuzen dêr't ferâldere wurknimmers mei pensjoen geane en gjinien skoald harren ferfangt. Jonge minsken binne net stoppe mei wearde oan wurk te hechtsjen; se stoppen mei it leauwen yn de minsken dy't harren fertelden hokker wurk se kieze moatte. Universiteiten waarden masines dy't minsken sortearje op skuldkapasiteit, net op geskiktheid of ynteresse.
As liedingfitters mear fertsjinje as ôfstudearden en op harren 55ste mei pensjoen geane wylst yngenieurs oant 67 wurkje, brekket it offisjele ferhaal ôf. Regearingen sille net fan koers feroarje omdat universiteiten tûzenen behearders yn tsjinst hawwe en EU-ûndersyksjild lûke. Se sille ynstee dêrfan nije fakprogramma's oankundigje dy't troch te min finansiering yn ferfall reitsje sille. Ûnderwylst wit in 16-jierrige dy't yn fiif jier in echt ynkommen hawwe wol, al wêr't er it fine moat. Nimmen hoecht him fan de wearde fan in fak te oertsjûgjen. Syn buorman docht it wurk en is eigner fan it hûs.
A plumber in Rotterdam takes home 58,000 euros per year. An engineer with a university degree earns 62,000 euros on paper. The engineer carries 34,000 euros in student debt. The plumber owns his truck outright and works for himself. These numbers tell a story that education ministers have not wanted to hear: four years at university leaves many graduates worse off than their classmates who learned a trade.
Governments across Europe pushed university enrollment for two decades, treating trades as second-class work. They succeeded in enrollment. They failed to ask what happened next. A 2025 study by the Institute for Economic Research in Amsterdam tracked 10,000 young workers from ages 22 to 32. University graduates reported 23 percent higher gross wages. But when researchers subtracted student loans, housing costs, and longer unemployment periods after graduation, graduates broke even with tradespeople only at age 31. The press ignored this finding. Instead, they ran headlines about the wage premium universities create, which is technically true but leaves out the cost structure that devours it.
The real problem runs deeper than money. Tradespeople own skills that remain in demand because houses need repair, pipes need plumbing, and cars need servicing. Universities sold degrees as insurance against job loss, but employers now want portfolios and experience more than they want diplomas. A 23-year-old electrician with five years of apprenticeship learns every day on real jobs. A 23-year-old graduate with a degree in communications has read about media theory in a classroom and sent CVs that nobody answers. One walks away from their twenties with income and independence. One walks away with debt and frustration.
Vocational schools themselves have collapsed in standing, starved of funding while universities got grants. In the Netherlands, applications to trades dropped 37 percent between 2010 and 2024. Germany, which protected its dual education system, saw applications hold steady. The outcome shows up in construction sites and nursing homes, where aging workers retire and nobody trained replaces them. Young people did not stop valuing work; they stopped believing the people who told them which work to choose. Universities became machines that sort people by debt capacity, not by aptitude or interest.
When plumbers earn more than graduates and retire at 55 while engineers work until 67, the official story breaks down. Governments will not reverse course because universities employ thousands of administrators and attract EU research money. They will instead announce new vocational programs that will languish in underfunded obscurity. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old who wants a real income in five years already knows where to find it. Nobody needs to sell him on the value of a trade. His neighbor does the work and owns the house.
Published May 22, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân