In the third application period for Step budget, nearly 37,000 people applied for more than 2,800 different training programs, distributed among 516 public and private training providers. Of the applicants, 2,800 chose to spend their budget on training in the information and communications sector. This puts this sector in fifth place; the leader is the health and welfare sector with 9,500 applications.
Step (Stimulans Arbeidsmarktpositie) is a subsidy scheme whereby citizens (with or without work) can spend a maximum of one thousand euros on an individual learning and development program (as long as there is budget). The UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen) implements this scheme whereby job seekers can apply for subsidies to attend training courses. In 2022, since March 1, there are five application periods (every two months).
In the third, underlying application period, nearly 36,800 people applied. Of these, 5,800 have a WO, 12,200 a HBO and 11,900 a MBO background; 9600 applicants have a lower level of education.
In all, some 115,000 people distributed over the past three periods have received a Step budget. The number of chosen trainers increases each round and has now doubled. From 250 in the first period, 420 in the second period to 520 in the third period. However, a UWV spokesperson could not provide an overview of the it trainers who participate.
Some 59 percent of applicants say they want to retrain to do current work better or differently. The other 41 percent want to retrain to do other work inside or outside the industry.
As in the first two periods, all age groups are well represented among applicants. The largest group falls in the 30- to 40-year-old category (30 percent) and about 20 percent are older than 50. Of the applicants, over 80 percent are employed: 45 percent have a permanent contract, 20 percent have a temporary contract and 15 percent report being self-employed. Another 11 percent are unemployed/unemployed and there are the remaining categories Other and Student.
People from the health and welfare sector, one of the largest sectors in the Netherlands, account for 26 percent of applications. Business services account for nearly 15 percent of applications. The information and communication sector accounts for 7.6 percent.
