The Netherlands has dropped from fourth to eighth place in the latest edition of the World Economic Forum’s Human Capital Index.

The index ranks countries on skills and education and looks at how 124 countries invest in developing their expertise and the knowledge of their workforce.

Finland ranks number one in the index, followed by Norway and Switzerland. By contrast, the UK is 19th and Germany 22nd in the rankings.

The decline in the Dutch ranking is mainly due to the limited involvement of the over-55s in the economy and the high unemployment rate among older workers, the Financieele Dagblad reports.

At the same time, employers find it hard to fill vacancies in technological jobs because the supply side includes a relatively narrow selection of professions.

Knowledge dates

‘My concern is that we invest in the young but then we stop at the beginning of their careers,’ Eramus professor Henk Volberda told the Financieele Dagblad.

‘At the same time knowledge dates quickly because of technological developments,’ he said.

The Netherlands is also eighth on the World Economic Forum’s list of the world’s most competitive economies after falling from fifth to eighth place in 2013.