Training and development fund for temporary work agency sector
- Name of the instrument - Local language
- Stichting Opleiding & Ontwikkeling Flexbranche (STOOF)
- Name of the instrument - English translation
- Training and development fund for temporary work agency sector
- Country
- Netherlands
- Type of instrument
- Training fund
- Type of entry
- Example for a group of instruments
- Short description
As in many other sectors, employers in the temporary work sector are obliged, based on a collective agreement, to contribute a share of their payroll (0.2%) to a training fund. In return, they receive a grant for their training related activities. The fund implements several schemes: training vouchers, grants for providing mentors for apprentices, licences for e-learning modules for employees with low literacy, financial contributions for the validation of experience. The ESF supports the training fund.
- Short description of the related instruments
Sectoral training funds are a key mechanism for funding of CVET in the Netherlands. They are voluntarily created by sectoral social partners and regulated based on sectoral collective agreements which may cover also many other important issues related to training and development, including opportunities for educational leave, wages of apprentices, validation of prior learning, training and development plans or payback clauses. In 2009, 92 sectoral training funds had the purposes (among others) of supporting training and development (in total 135 sectoral funds existed; in the same year, roughly 200 sectoral collective agreements and 800 collective agreements for major employers existed). Training funds collect a levy on wages from enterprises of the sector (on average 0.43% of the wages (in 2009), with a range from close to 0 to 2.7% in 2005). However, training funds can be also approved by the government for distributing ESF funds for training to its members. Funding formula, eligible groups of employees and groups enjoying preferential treatment vary widely between the training funds.
- Level of operation
- Sectoral
- Name of a part of the country
- nap
- Name of the region (for regional instruments)
- nap
- Name of the sector (for sectoral instruments)
- Temporary agencies/employment
- Legal basis
Collective agreement Social Fund for temporary work agencies (Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomst Sociaal Fonds voor de Uitzendbranche)
- Objective(s) and target(s)
Professionalisation of training and development policies of temporary work agencies; increasing labour market mobility of employees; developing and promoting training programmes for employees aimed at improving their skills.
Targets for 2014: Delivery of training to 900 employees without formal qualifications and on-off employees with the aim of long-term employment; validation of qualifications of 200 employees without formal qualifications with the aim of long-term employment; delivery of training to 250 employees in the technology sector with the aim of long-term employment.
- Year of implementation
- 2003
- Operation/Management
The fund is co-managed by the employer organisations and the trade unions, overseen by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
- Eligible group(s)
Companies contributing to the fund
- Group(s) with preferential treatment
None
- Education and training eligible
Any agreed vocational training for temporary agency workers.
Several programmes exist: grants for providing mentors for apprentices, training vouchers, financial contributions for the validation of experience, licences for e-learning modules for employees with low literacy.- Source of financing and collection mechanism
Levy on companies (indicative: 55% of the collected funds); companies are obliged to pay 0.2% of their payroll to the Social Fund of the temporary work agency sector (SFU), which then allocates some of the budget to STOOF
ESF (indicative: 45% of the collected funds)- Financing formula and allocation mechanisms
The recognition of prior learning (RPL, Dutch: Ervaringscertificaat): costs are between EUR 700 and EUR 1 500 depending on the duration and kind of recognition procedure and the provider. If employer takes over the costs of the RPL the fund will reimburse EUR 400 (max. EUR 150 for lift trucks, reach trucks and aerial work platforms).
Schooling vouchers (Scholingvouchers): the fund provided 600 schooling vouchers in 2015, each worth EUR 500. These are targeted at workers without a school-leaving certificate (startkwalificatie). Each company which is a member of the fund may apply for up to 5 vouchers. In 2015, the maximum amount available for a single company is EUR 62 500 and for an individual EUR 500.
Allocation: The funds are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; reimbursement principle.
- Eligible costs
Fees and other costs related to education and training
- Volumes of funding
EUR 1 953 371 were used for the fund in 2013; EUR 1 563 627 in 2012. The figures for the previous periods show that the funding has been reduced in the last years (funds used in 2008: EUR 2 500 000; in 2009: EUR 3 000 000; in 2010: EUR 3 200 000).
- Beneficiaries/take up
Informaton is available only for the previous periods: in 2010, 1 800 companies contributed to the fund and 800 received funding.
- Monitoring/evaluation reports available
- Most relevant webpage - in English
na
- Most relevant webpage - local language
na
- Sources
Collective Agreement Temporary Work Agency Sector: http://cao.szw.nl/pdf/174/2014/174_2014_13_234724.pdf
Summary of the Sector Plan Temporary Work Agencies http://www.stvda.nl/~/media/Files/Stvda/Thema/actieteam-crisisbestrijdi…
Website of the Training Fund of the Temporary Work Agency Sector, Overview of Services, http://www.stoof-online.nl/uploads/Projecten/2014/Dienstenpalet%202014…
STOOF Annual Review Report 2013 http://www.stoof-online.nl/uploads/Documenten/2013/STOOF%20jaarrekening…
STOOF reimbursment rules http://www.stoof-online.nl/uploads/PDF/financieringsreglementmentorverg…