Retraining for employees and entrepreneurs

Why retraining or further training?

Retraining or further training can be a solution in, for example, the following situations:

• You need professionals who are trained in, for example, technology, IT, or healthcare. But you get little or no response to your vacancies. You do employ people who are open to doing other work, but do not yet have the knowledge. Or you know job seekers who are motivated, but do not have the right education. A retraining program can offer a solution.
• There is increasingly less demand for the work that some of your employees do. For example, through digitisation. Or an employee can no longer do their current job due to an accident or illness. You can offer these employees new opportunities through retraining. Either inside or outside your company.
• As a self-employed professional, you get too little income from your current work. You do see opportunities in other activities. You only lack the right knowledge and skills for those. Through retraining you can change your core activities and make your business profitable again.

See which retraining schemes are available to you

The government finds it important for companies and employees to continue developing. That is why it helps with subsidies, loans, free online training, and tax benefits. You can make use of the following schemes:

Practice-based learning subsidy

Some professions are best learnt in practice. That is why you can offer students from, for example, vocational education (MBO) or higher professional education (HBO) a place in your company where they can learn on the job. With the subsidy scheme practice-based learning you will be reimbursed part of the supervision costs for this. You can also use the subsidy for salary or supervision costs of a PhD student or technological designer in training. At the end of the school year, you can apply for the subsidy at RVO (in Dutch).

Practice-based learning third learning pathway

For MBO students in the third learning pathway, you can apply for the subsidy scheme practice-based learning in the third learning pathway. MBO courses in the third learning route are more flexible and often shorter than regular MBO courses. Therefore, the students are often adults, taking the training alongside their work or other activities. This way, you bring in employees with more life experience. You can apply for the subsidy during the application rounds at RVO (in Dutch).

Lifelong learning credit

Do you or your employee want to take a course at a higher professional education (HBO) institution or a university? Or a full-time vocational training path (beroepsopleidende leerweg, BOL) at an MBO institution? Then you can use the lifelong learning credit. This is a student loan for people aged 18 to 56 who are not entitled to regular student finance. After finishing your studies, you repay the loan within 15 years. You apply for the lifelong learning credit from the Education Executive Agency (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, DUO).

Incentive scheme learning and development within SMEs

Do you want to invest in your personnel’s expertise, growth and development? Then you can apply for the Incentive scheme learning and development within SMEs (SLIM subsidy). SMEs and large companies in agriculture, hospitality, or recreation qualify. They can use the subsidy to implement activities such as career advice, apprenticeships, and using a company training centre to encourage employees to further develop their skills. This subsidy is open twice a year. Check the conditions (in Dutch) before applying for the SLIM subsidy from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

Discuss training and development

It is important for your company that your employees continue to train and develop. This allows you to better respond to changes in the market. That is why you should regularly discuss this with your employees: what do they need to be able to do their jobs well, now and in the future? Use the tips and tools (in Dutch) for learning and development from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW).

Help with finding suitable training

Are you self-employed and do you need training to transition to other work? Then the municipality may be able to help you find the right training. As an employer, you can also contact your municipality if you want help in guiding an employee to other work.

Support varies by municipality

Support may differ from one municipality to another. You can contact 1 of the 35 regional mobility teams (RMTs) in the Netherlands for help. The teams consist of advisers from your municipality, UWV, trade unions, schools, and employer organisations, among others.

Free help may include:

• coaching
• retraining and further training
• assistance in finding a (secondary) salaried job
• practical learning

Find an RMT near you (in Dutch).