To financially support training efforts for employees, the government has 2 interesting instruments at its disposal.
- Sector fund
- Flemish training leave (VOV)
Sector fund
Sector funds are jointly managed by social partners.
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- Mostly retroactively, provided that a training plan has been submitted.
- The overall goal of sector funds is to facilitate the presence of an adequate number of skilled workers within the respective sector.
- Sector funds are tasked with organizing or supporting training and employment activities for the benefit of workers in this sector, including vulnerable groups.
Depending on the sector fund, this can include:
- Providing free training opportunities for employees
- Training grants for employers regarding paid training programs
- Partial/full reimbursement for HR advice, etc.
Flemish training leave (VOV)
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- No later than 3 months after the start of the training, the employer must request reimbursement through the WSE portal of the Department of Work and Social Economy.
- Employees who are employed at least 50% in the private sector in Flanders have the right to attend certain training programs and to be absent from work while maintaining their wages, under the "Flemish Training Leave" system.
- The Flemish government (Department of Work and Social Economy) reimburses these hours to the employer under certain conditions (e.g., training recognized in the training database or career-oriented training in a career center).
- For each employee, a maximum of 125 hours of Flemish Training Leave is provided per school year.
- €21.30 per approved hour of Flemish Training Leave.
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