There are over 21 million Dutch speakers in the world. Most of them live in the Netherlands and Flanders, two of the world’s most advanced manufacturing and trading areas. The Benelux countries are Britain’s third largest trading partner in Europe, and a major economic force. The European headquarters of several multinational companies and the political heart of the European Union are located in the Benelux countries. A knowledge of Dutch gives access to two similar but intriguingly different societies and cultures.

Dutch graduates have gone on to all kinds of careers. A significant number use their Dutch in a variety of contexts such as banking, insurance, public relations (often for multinational companies), or teaching and translating, whether freelance or for an employer. In an English-speaking context, a university graduate with a good command of Dutch is rare indeed, giving the graduate in Dutch a major asset. If you are thinking either of a career or of gaining work experience in the Netherlands or Belgium, it may be good to remember that while many people there have a basic working knowledge of English, the English native speaker who is also fluent in Dutch has a tremendous advantage!

There is demand at present for graduates who can help overcome the shortage of teachers of Dutch and translators from Dutch into English. The demand for teachers is from adult education institutes and increasingly from higher and secondary education; in the case of translators it comes from Dutch, Belgian and European institutions, from translation agencies and from business. Graduate training in teaching or in translating and interpreting is now available specifically for graduates of Dutch. The department offers a range of specialisms including literary translation from Dutch.

Research students have in the main taken up academic posts, but others have entered professional occupations, such as the civil service.

General advice on careers is available throughout the programme and seminars are held in the department by advisers from the UCL Careers Service. Openings for graduates in Dutch are regularly brought to the department’s notice and communicated to students by the Careers Service.

Why not visit UCL's Careers Service site?

From a recent e-mail to the department (March 2009):

I am writing to let you know that: * despite the recession, the demand for English native-speaker translators in the Netherlands remains strong; * we have recently opened a new website for our translation workshops and courses, including a special section for English-speaking job-seekers. Current vacancies for native speakers of English include openings for: (...) Whilst the above are the most urgent vacancies, please note that there is a more or less constant demand for junior English translators working for translation companies in various parts of the country.

This page was last modified on 11-Jan-2010 01:34 by Webmaster.

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Related links

Careers Service

UCL – Department of Dutch – Gower Street – London WC1E 6BT –