Anyone who does not have the nationality/passport of one of the 27 EU countries or the 4 additional EEA countries and wants to work in The Netherlands, will need a work permit, to be sponsored by a direct employer offering a job. The 27 EU countries are:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The 4 EEA countries are:

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The vast majority of work permits/visa for job seekers will be based on the Highly Skilled Migrant (HSM) scheme. Only formally registered and recognized companies can offer sponsorship under this scheme. 

Furthermore, the job applicant has to have a higher degree of education (Bachelor or up) and the salary offered must be at least 3.672,- gross per month (applicant is under 30) or 5.008,- gross per month (applicant is 30 years or up). These are salary levels associated with high paid, technical specialist roles. This means that only in few cases, companies will be willing or able to offer the necessary sponsorship.

Only a direct employer can offer sponsorship, an agency can not arrange work permit / visa and it will always be job- and company-specific. There is no general work permit for The Netherlands. A partner/spouse of someone hired based on the HSM scheme can however apply for a partner visa allowing them unlimited work permission for The Netherlands.

Because of the applicable criteria and especially the relatively high salary threshold, sponsorship is generally only offered to highly experienced tech professionals with much sought after skills, such as software engineers or electronics engineers. With a non-technical background, chances of obtaining a sponsorship are basically 0.

In order to stay and work in The Netherlands, both a residence permit (visa) and work permit are needed. Under the HSM scheme the application for both is combined. 

The residence permit will allow a stay in the country for a maximum of 5 years, but only if you hold employment in this period that may only be interrupted for short period. 

The work permit will allow you to work for a specific company in a specific role, and needs to be renewed by a new company in case of a job switch. The new employer also needs to be a recognized sponsor and all other criteria still apply. 

Having a work permit, visa or residence permit for another EU or EEA country will not provide any rights to stay long term or work in The Netherlands. Each country has their own rules and regulations. Only permanent residency or nationality of an EU / EEA country will provide unlimited access to the whole European labour market including The Netherlands.

The job market is very limited for job seekers that need sponsorship. Generally, this is confined to technical specialist roles, for example software development or electronics engineering on senior level. There may also be opportunities on executive/C-level (senior management) in multinational companies. 

Non-technical jobs on operational level or blue collar jobs (warehousing, retail, production, factory etc.) will never meet the HSM criteria and therefore will not offer sponsorship. Furthermore, companies will always favor local candidates or candidates with work experience in similar markets (EU). 

The EU Blue Card is meant to offer non-EU citizens that have meanwhile build up work experience within the EU, a European work permit to allow them easier access to the job market in other EU countries. However, each individual country may still apply certain criteria that have to be met for Blue Card holders. 

In The Netherlands, the salary criterium for Blue Card holders is even higher then under the HSM scheme, at 5.867,- euro per month, regardless of age. The Blue Card is therefore very seldom considered as an option and the HSM scheme preferred. The reality on the Dutch job market is thus that Blue Card holders don't have an advantage, or only marginally.  

Following these links will offer more detailed information, from official government sources:

Dutch Immigration authority: https://ind.nl/en

General info about procedures to follow if you want to work in the Netherlands as a foreign citizen: 

https://www.werk.nl/werkzoekenden/eu/working-netherlands/