STAP budget

From March 1, 2022, people in the Dutch labour market (either in a job or job-seekers) could apply for a STAP budget of up to €1,000 for educational purposes. The scheme was created by the government to give people the opportunity to increase their sustainable employability on the labour market by attending training programmes. By making annual subsidies available, the government wanted to make education more accessible and encourage people to continue to develop throughout their lives.

Unfortunately, after the application period in July 2023 the STAP budget scheme has been cancelled again for private education, including ACC’s training programmes. From 1 January 2024, this will also apply to government-recognized education.

Although it is no longer possible to apply for STAP budget, other funding options for education exist:

Certain employers have a specific budget for the reimbursement of their staff’s education. It is therefore possible that your employer is willing to reimburse you for your training programme. We advise you to check this in time, because a training budget can expire if not used within a certain period.

As an entrepreneur (self-employed person with or without employees), it is possible under certain conditions to declare your training costs as business expenses. You can also reclaim the VAT and the paid expenses on literature and other specific study materials from the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Department). Check the Belastingdienst website for the specific conditions (NB: page in Dutch).

Our training programmes are included in the UWV’s ‘preferred supplier list’. This means that career coaches and reintegration advisers at the UWV can buy ACC training programmes for their clients. Are you currently in a social benefit scheme, for example an unemployment benefit scheme, or a sick-leave benefit scheme, and could you be eligible for reschooling? Then ask the UWV what the possibilities are for you. If they deem you eligible, we can help you out with a quote to start the financial process.

Under certain conditions, it is possible to get a training programme reimbursed through regional mobility teams (RMTs), an initiative of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. Throughout the Netherlands, you can go to one of 35 regional mobility teams if you have lost your job or income, or if you are in danger of losing your job. The teams help both people in social benefit schemes and those who are not entitled to benefits. They help people find (other) work free of charge. Assistance from regional mobility teams includes funding for training programmes. It depends on your situation what kind of support you can get. On this page you can read more about this and find a mobility team near you (NB: page in Dutch).

If you have applied for STAP budget in the July 2023 application period, please read the following:

1. The UWV decides within 4 weeks whether your application will be approved. You can log in to stapuwv.nl to check the status of your application under ‘my applications’.
2. The STAP budget is either awarded or denied. If your STAP budget is awarded, both you and us will be notified. You will receive the message ‘voorlopig toegekend’ (‘provisionally awarded’). This means that the subsidy has been granted, on the condition that the training programme (or a proportional part thereof) will actually be followed. You must complete the training programme, or make sufficient study progress, to be entitled to keep the subsidy. If your STAP budget is denied (most often because the budget has run out), only you will receive a notification of this. Please note: the ACC will not receive any notification in this case. We therefore assume that you will participate in the training programme until you inform us in writing that you wish to cancel your registration. Our general terms and conditions also apply in this case. So please confirm any cancellations in time and in writing (via e-mail) to us.
3. The STAP budget is paid to the ACC. The STAP budget will be paid out to the training institute. You will therefore not receive any money directly from the UWV, but the ACC will transfer the money to you on their behalf. If you have already paid the full tuition fees to us, we will refund the full STAP budget to the account (IBAN) from which you have paid us. If you have not yet paid all of the tuition fees, we will offset the outstanding amount against the STAP budget.

Please note: your spot in the training programme is only guaranteed once the full training costs have been paid. This means that if you want to be sure you can participate, it is necessary to pay the full amount as soon as possible. If the STAP budget is granted, we will refund the awarded amount to you.

4. After the training programme has been completed, we inform the UWV whether you have participated in the programme and have completed it.
5. If anything changes (for example: the training programme cannot start, or you cannot take part or complete the programme), this must be reported to the UWV. Both the ACC and you (as a student) are obliged to keep the UWV informed of changes in the situation. The UWV may then reclaim all or part of the STAP budget.

You can find the conditions to receive STAP budget on this page (page in Dutch).