The training cheques system was intended to help those in work to gain the skills needed to improve their position on the jobs market. Those in work who wish to follow courses to improve their job prospects, either in their spare time or during working hours, could pay for them with the cheques, which cost the employee only half of their face value, with the government paying the rest. Costs covered including tuition, course materials and exams, but not travel costs, childcare or other indirect expenses.
The system was introduced in 2003. However the government’s training agency which administers the system, the VDAB, now estimates that only 40% of the cheques are being used for job-related training. “The other 60% is going towards courses that have more to do with lifelong learning or personal interests,” said labour minister Philippe Muyters in a statement issued last week. “We’re talking for example about courses in photography, sewing, wine tasting, cookery, bookbinding, tour-guide and flower arranging. The use of the cheques for these course will no longer be possible.” A spokesperson for the VDAB explained: “Courses in wine will still be available, but only if you plan on becoming a sommelier.”
If the figures are correct, then the decision should mean an extra €2 million for courses which conform to the original intention of the cheques scheme, or a saving of the same amount if the demand is not there. The only courses now recognised by the cheques system are those which are accredited for paid educational leave – where a much stricter set of criteria have always applied. Anyone who has already bought cheques for a course which is no longer approved will be reimbursed.
BY THE NUMBERS
214,000 - cheques requested in 2009, up from 200,000 in 2008
€185 - average value per applicant in 2009
€250 - maximum value allowed per applicant
€4.5 million - initial budget in 2003, rising to €20 million last year
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