International Baccalaureate sets up global center in The Hague

The Hague center to provide jobs for 170 new employees 

The Hague, 7 December 2010 –  The International Baccalaureate (IB), a leading global provider of international education for students aged 3 to 19, will open a new global centre in The Hague. Additionally, the IB has opened global centers in Maryland (USA) and Singapore. The new global centre in The Hague will be home to some of the global IB departments as well as the regional department for Africa, Europe, Middle East. The IB expects to appoint some 170 new employees in total before the end of 2013, which will bring the total number of staff to 250. During the decision process for the location in The Hague, the IB worked closely with various Dutch government bodies, including the NFIA, the WFIA and the municipality of The Hague. 

With the opening of the three global centers, the IB is looking to strengthen ties with more than 3,000 IB World Schools across 139 countries and to sustain the organization's ongoing double-digit growth. At the same time, the IB hopes to attract more highly qualified and motivated international staff as a result of the geographical spread of its activities. The transition to this new organization was started in the second half of 2009 and is expected to be finalized by the end of 2012. The headquarters remain in Geneva, Switzerland. 

When the move is complete, the new global centre in The Hague will be home to a number of the IB's global departments such as Academic Development and Assessment, Language Services, Communications and Human Resources. The regional department for Africa, Europe, Middle East, that provides services to more than 800 IB World Schools in this region, will be located at the global centre in The Hague as well. 

170 new employees
For the new location in The Hague the International Baccalaureate is expecting to recruit for close to 60 new employees in 2011 and a further 110 over the following two years, many of them in academic fields such as curriculum development, assessment and regional schools services.  The global centre in The Hague will house close to 250 employees by the end of 2013. 

"More and more schools see the added value off the International Baccalaureate in their pursuit to meet the needs of the 21st century education needs in the world. Therefore, we expect our worldwide community to consist of some 10,000 schools by 2020. This translates into a continuing, strong growth of the IB. The move to The Hague is an important step for us, which allows us now and in the future to supply in the demand for our services", according to Adrian Kearney, Regional Director. 

Cooperation with Dutch government bodies
The choice for The Hague as a location for one of the global centers took place after a period of comprehensive and detailed analysis of possible sites. After careful consideration, The Hague was considered to be the best fit for the future needs of the IB.

During the selection and location process the International Baccalaureate worked closely with various Dutch government bodies. As such the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) introduced the organization to amongst others the Tax Authorities and offered support and advice in view of permit applications and promotional activities. 

The WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA) and the municipality of The Hague assisted the IB in finding a suitable location and service providers. During the entire process the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science acted as a sounding board and the Minister himself wrote a recommendation for the Netherlands as location for the IB's global centre. 

About the International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate is a recognized leader in the field of international education, encouraging students to be active learners, well-rounded individuals and engaged citizens. Founded in 1968, the IB currently works with more than 3,065 schools in 139 countries to develop and offer challenging educational programs to students, and to provide professional development to more than 50,000 teachers and administrators annually.To learn more about the IB, please visit: www.ibo.org. 

Source: International Baccalaureate press release, 7 December 2010