My Dutch Dream

This information will probably be more useful to others rather than myself, but you never know – working in the catering trade or even working in a bar requires a social hygiene certificate, also called the SVH – this could be useful especially because bar work is always an easy job to get to supplement an income.

Of course, my plan is to live entirely off my self employment but, with what looks like imminent world recession, you just never know and it pays to have a backup plan.

Yes, that’s right – if you want to work in a bar or a cafe in The Netherlands, you must get a certificate! Seems like a lot of red tape and a moneyspinner for government but at least this should mean higher standards, right?

According to SVH.nl, you must pass a 40 minute exam after studying subjects such as planning, security, hygiene and laws on drugs, alcohol and weapons!

It seems that there are 3 ways that you can take the exam but to be honest, I cannot decipher the website. I think you can take an “electronic” type exam remotely over the internet, possibly. I have even heard that it can be taken in English but I do not know if this is true.

One thing to note is that apparently you do not need the SVH to work in a coffeeshop. This sounds great to me