Working as an instructor at secondary vocational education (MBO) institutes
Do you hold a diploma from an EEA member state Link opent externe pagina or Switzerland, and would you like to work indefinitely as an instructor at a Dutch MBO institute using your foreign diploma? In that case, you need to apply for recognition of your foreign professional qualification. If you would like to work in the Netherlands as an instructor either occasionally or for a specified period, you will need to register that intention.
Conditions
- You hold an EU residency permit.
- Your diploma was issued in an EEA member state or in Switzerland.
- Your level of expertise in your field is the same as or higher than that of the vocational training programme you intend to teach.
- You have teaching skills of at least the level of a specialist programme or middle-management training programme.
- You hold an EU residency permit.
- Your diploma was issued in an EEA member state or in Switzerland.
- You are eligible to work as an MBO instructor in the country where your diploma was issued.
Relevant teaching duties
Recognition or registration is intended for people who wish to work as instructors at MBO institutes. An instructor is a person who has obtained practical experience within the professional field the students are being prepared for. Instructors coach their students in acquiring practical skills.
If you would like to work as a teacher in the Netherlands, please visit the Working as a teacher page of this website.
Apply and register
- Use the 'Recognition of EU professional qualifications for senior secondary vocational education (mbo) instructors' form to apply for recognition of your professional qualification.
- Use the ‘Temporary or occasional services of EU professional qualifications for instructors in senior secondary vocational education (mbo)’ form if you wish to register temporary or occasional work.
You can send the form by post or scan it in and email it to diplomaservices@duo.nl (up to 5MB).
Free of charge
The recognition of your foreign professional qualification or the registration of temporary or occasional work as an instructor at an MBO institute will be handled free of charge.
What happens next
The procedure to recognize your foreign professional qualification is as follows:
- You submit a form requesting recognition of your professional qualification. The documentary evidence you need to include is specified on the form.
- DUO checks to make sure you have provided all the necessary evidence. If anything is missing, you will receive a letter asking you to send us the missing evidence.
- In relation to your diploma, DUO may consult the Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic Link opent externe pagina ) or make enquiries with the relevant authorities in the country where the diploma was issued.
- If the relevant authorities in the country where the diploma was issued are unable to verify your diploma, we require a statement from your educational institute confirming that you graduated successfully.
- You are informed of the decision. If you think our decision is wrong, you can lodge an objection.
The procedure to register temporary or occasional work is as follows:
- You submit the registration form. The documentary evidence you need to include is specified on the form.
- DUO checks to make sure you have provided all the necessary evidence. If anything is missing, you will receive a letter asking you to send us the missing evidence.
- DUO makes enquiries about your diploma with the relevant authorities in the country where the diploma was issued.
- If the relevant authorities in the country where the diploma was issued are unable to verify your diploma, we require a statement from your educational institute confirming that you graduated successfully.
- Once you have satisfied the conditions, you will receive a letter confirming the registration. You will then be eligible to work as an instructor at an MBO institute.
- If you do not satisfy the conditions, your application for registration will be rejected.
- If your application is rejected, you can lodge an objection.
Contact
Please contact the Diploma Services Department if you have any questions. You can call us on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on +31 50 599 77 78. Or send an email to diplomaservices@duo.nl.