Report Warns: Without action islands risk losing a generation

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten, like its Dutch Caribbean neighbors, is facing a defining question: how to transform persistent braindrain into sustainable braingain. A new advisory paper, Braingain: Een Integrale Aanpak (Braingain: An Integral Approach), published in June 2025 by the Strategic Education Alliance (SEA) and presented in Curacao on Thursday, warns that the Kingdom’s islands risk undermining their own development unless they adopt structural, coordinated measures to keep young professionals connected to their communities.

The issue is particularly pressing for St. Maarten, where education choices, migration incentives, and labor market realities continue to funnel talent toward the Netherlands. Many never return. For those who do, debt, lack of job opportunities, and frustration with local working conditions often cut short their ambitions.

The report does not mince words: “The uncomfortable truth is that many of the signals we now send – through our policies and employment conditions – encourage braindrain rather than contribute to braingain.”

𝐀 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚

For decades, young St. Maarteners have looked to the Netherlands for higher education. SEA acknowledges that studying abroad can be enriching, but it also exposes students to cultural and financial barriers. Many drop out saddled with debt, while others succeed academically only to stay in Europe, drawn by higher wages and broader career prospects.

This creates what SEA calls the “success paradox”: the more support Caribbean students receive in the Netherlands, the more likely they are to integrate there permanently. For St. Maarten, this paradox is costly. Without a steady inflow of skilled professionals, the island’s institutions, economy, and social fabric are left struggling to catch up.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡

SEA’s report lays out a roadmap built around seven pillars. Each is as relevant to St. Maarten as to its Kingdom peers:

• Reduce the pressure to study abroad. Students should feel pride in St. Maarten’s accredited institutions. More balanced counseling and limiting government funding to programs not offered locally would prevent an automatic “one-way ticket” mentality to the Netherlands.

• Catch students who drop out in the Netherlands. A “Come Home” program could allow them to continue their education locally with credit transfers, helping them avoid crushing debt and stigma.

• Strengthen local education infrastructure. Expanding programs that meet labor market needs—tourism, data science, healthcare, maritime studies—would make St. Maarten a more attractive base for higher learning. SEA emphasizes education as an investment, not an expense.

• Support the return of recent graduates. Incentives like study-debt forgiveness, relocation aid, housing support, and leadership programs could make coming back to St. Maarten a realistic choice rather than a sacrifice.

• Encourage working professionals abroad to return. Beyond physical relocation, options like remote work, alumni networks, and job-matching services would keep connections alive. St. Maarten could adapt successful Dutch-style trainee programs to create pathways for young professionals.

• Modernize the workplace. Employers must offer more than a paycheck. Young professionals expect autonomy, mentorship, inclusive environments, and transparent hiring. A modern work culture is as important as salary in keeping talent home.

• Coordinate regionally and within the Kingdom. Partnerships with Dutch universities, joint programs, and the expanded use of Kingdom scholarships could create pathways that serve both academic ambitions and island development.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧

The SEA paper highlights both personal and structural reasons why many young people hesitate to return.

• Personal factors include family ties, cultural identity, or the desire for adventure abroad.

• Structural factors weigh even heavier: student debt, lower local salaries compared to euros, limited career options, and perceptions of weak professional environments.

As one participant in a recent diaspora discussion put it: “In the Netherlands you earn in euros, which makes it easier to pay off your student debt.”

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧

SEA emphasizes that St. Maarten must see education not as a cost, but as an investment. The island’s institutions, though accredited to Dutch and international standards, often operate under financial strain and with shortages of qualified staff. Strategic partnerships – for example, co-developed minors, associate degrees, and joint research with Dutch or American universities – could enhance both quality and reputation.

At the same time, the private sector on St. Maarten cannot be passive. Employers must provide modern, inclusive workplaces that welcome young professionals rather than treat them as outsiders or “overqualified.” The report is blunt: even the simple courtesy of responding to applications matters in convincing talent that they belong.

𝐀 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦-𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞

St. Maarten is not alone. Aruba and Curaçao face similar patterns, and research by universities in the Netherlands confirms that without targeted measures, most students will not return immediately after graduation. SEA notes promising initiatives, such as housing programs, job placement schemes, and study debt forgiveness for returnees, but stresses that these need to be implemented consistently and across all islands.

A major new Utrecht University study, now in development, aims to map the precise causes of Caribbean braindrain and identify policies that could reverse it. SEA is urging that St. Maarten and the BES islands be included, not just Aruba and Curaçao.

For St. Maarten, the stakes are high. With a small labor market but heavy reliance on tourism and international services, the island cannot afford to lose its best-trained minds. In practice, that means linking scholarships to return commitments, creating attractive local career paths, and embedding braingain in long-term national strategy.

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