International

Welcome to ROC Friesland College, a Regional Training Centre for secondary vocational education (VET) and adult education. Friesland College is situated in the north of the Netherlands, in the province of Friesland with its main locations in the towns of Leeuwarden and Heerenveen. Friesland College is an open educational institution with respect for all religions and cultures in society.

We offer a variety of fulltime and part-time training programmes to about 9,500 students and offer employment to more than 1200 members of staff (teachers, support and management).

Friesland College is divided into 7 schools; each focussed on a particular business sector. We offer more than a hundred training programmes for vocational education and training (level 1 to 4), in the fields of:

We also offer training programmes for adults from the age of 18 onwards. For example, second-chance secondary education, introductory courses for immigrants coming to the Netherlands, language and literacy courses at various levels.

To give you an idea of how the Dutch Educational system works, please check this information:

The importance of being internationally active

Friesland College encourages its students and staff to participate in international projects or to do an internship abroad. We feel that Internationalisation should be an integral part of education and that students should leave school ‘internationally competent’ in order to enable them to function effectively in a globalising society and in international contexts. After all, they increasingly encounter information in different languages and meet people from foreign countries and diverse backgrounds in their daily lives. 

International colleagues are most welcome to visit us and we are always interested to collaborate with (new) international partners in exchange or strategic projects. Please contact Ms Sabine Schroten, coordinator international affairs, for more information.

Erasmus+ Accreditation 2021 and Label of Excellence for international activities

Friesland College applies for an Erasmus+ subsidy (KA1) every year to make internships and projects abroad possible for both students and colleagues.

Friesland College has had the Erasmus+ VET Mobility Charter since 2016, which was converted into an Accreditation in 2021. Organisations with an Erasmus Accreditation have shown that they have clear and future-proof internationalisation plans. In addition, Friesland College was one of the few VET Colleges in the Netherlands to receive the Label of Excellence: the quality mark for VET Colleges that have embedded internationalisation in throughout their education policy and carry out mobility projects with the highest possible quality.

Our educational concept: Workplace-driven learning

Education begins in practice. That’s the premise of learning at Friesland College. We aim to provide contemporary and challenging education; education that encourages students’ initiative, curiosity, reflection and practical application of knowledge.

Friesland College uses a student-centred approach and coaches students to realize their career ambitions. We provide practical learning experience in real life settings to our students, and opportunities to develop professional skills and reflective powers. This will encourage them to take initiative and become effective learners. That is why we work closely together with companies.

Here you can see how Friesland College implements Work-place driven learning together with companies. 

We also participate in various strategic and innovative international European projects (such as Erasmus+ KA2 and KA3 and Centre of Vocational Excellence).

Our international projects