# MBO+/HBO



## birder

A job specification contains:

Werk- en denkniveau: *MBO+/HBO*
 
What are these abbreviations, please? Thank you.


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## QPegasus

MBO: Middelbaar BeroepsOnderwijs (or higher (+), in this case)
HBO: Hoger BeroepsOnderwijs

Both are forms of education in the Netherlands. MBO is secundary education, while HBO is tertiary education following MBO offered by "high schools" (but not the kind of high schools known in Anglo-Saxon countries - you could compare them to university colleges of some sorts).

Either way, I don't fully understand the Dutch educational system since I'm Belgian, but this very brief explanation should be enough to at least help you understand what they mean.


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## birder

Thank you.


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## sanne78

QPegasus said:


> MBO is secundary education, while HBO is tertiary education following MBO offered by "high schools"


 
Not exactly!

On the picture (see link) you can see the Dutch education system:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...l.svg/300px-Dutch_Education_System-nl.svg.png


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## QPegasus

Wel, het principe is wel ongeveer zo, natuurlijk! Ooit heb ik wel over het Nederlands onderwijssysteem geleerd, maar dat ben ik - erg genoeg - al weer ongeveer helemaal vergeten


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## NativeDutch

After high school you basically have three options: MBO, HBO, and WO.
MBO has four different levels, depending on you learning skills. Only the fourth (MBO-4) can give access to a HBO institution. Therefore I'd say that MBO+ refers to as MBO-4.

HBO in English is known as university of applied science, where WO is university. In the Netherlands there is a significant difference between HBO and WO. As the name implies, HBO is more practical than WO. Also, HBO only offers bachelor's degrees, which all take four years. WO (universities) offer bachelor's degrees that all take three years. WO also offers master's degrees, which HBO not really does. It is possible for HBO students to apply for a master's degree at WO university level, but usually it requires a pre-master year.

If you hold a bachelor's degree in the US, it is comparable to HBO bachelor's degree (unless you hold a Yale degree or similar, that could be values as WO degree) which usually means there is no admission to a university master's degree unless you fulfill the pre-master year.


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## birder

Wow -- thank you NativeDutch -- as we say in North America *"T.M.I."*

But I appreciate the detail.

I have also come across LBO, which I take to mean Lower.....

BTW, welcome to WR!


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