A thousand euros is waiting for you to develop

Developing yourself is essential to be ready for tomorrow's job market. We therefore offer a special selection of ten courses that improve your 21st century skills. And with the new STAP budget, you can follow them free of charge.

Once a grade 8 teacher, Matthijs Akkenaar is now one of the directors at online training provider SkillsTown. From that experience, he knows how all learning begins with "a spark," as he calls it. ,,Such a spark can be the diploma that you can already see twinkling in the distance. Or, for example, a colleague who is taking a course that inspires you as well."

As of March 2022, the STAP budget may provide a spark. A new subsidy scheme from the government under which everyone can receive €1,000 training budget. You can use that money for an education, training or coaching program to get a better position in the labor market.

At SkillsTown, you can use this budget to one of the ten special training courses that you can finance with a STAP-budget. Matthijs Akkenaar was involved in putting these courses together and is happy to explain why these courses will prepare you for tomorrow's job market.

Encourage employees to keep developing

Starting with the course Become an online learning expert. Akkenaar: ,,This is a course for people in HR or Learning & Development who want to know more about online learning. We cover things like: how do you get your employees into learning mode? And how do you create powerful online learning content, such as a webinar or podcast?

The Online learning expert course, like all SkillsTown courses, is highly hands-on. Together with the online learning content that you can follow at home and a concluding practical meeting, this forms a powerful learning combination. The training is college-level and takes employees about two to three hours a week for a month.

"I really believe that those skills are needed to keep up with the trends in the job market."

Effective hybrid leadership

Another training course offered by SkillsTown is for anyone who is a top manager wants to become a top manager. In it you learn how to effectively provide hybrid leadership as a manager, how to attract and retain talent and what you can do to keep your people mentally and physically vital. "This could also be a course for self-employed people who are about to hire, or SME entrepreneurs who manage a team, for example."

In addition to these two trainings, there are several other trainings available. For example, get started with tools to work more productively or get all the tools you need to position yourself more firmly in your organization as a female leader. All ten trainings can be financed entirely from the STAP budget; you have no additional costs.

Psychological mirror of 120 questions

Whether you go for an education to become a top manager or saleshunter, all follow the curriculum we have perfected to perfection over the years. That plan always begins with a self-scan. "A psychological mirror of 120 questions," as Matthijs Akkenaar succinctly summarizes it. The result is a report showing where you stand. You can read where your strengths lie and where you still have room to develop. An ideal starting point."

Then you get to work on the three letters V, H and G: Skills, Attitude and Behavior. There will be room for this especially at the practice session, on site or online.

21st century skills hugely important

The ten courses offered by SkillsTown all fit within the ideas of 21st century skills: the subject in which Matthijs Akkenaar is an expert. He wrote a book about it and is a much sought-after speaker on the subject.

,,I really believe that these skills are needed to keep up with the developments in the job market. A cashier no longer does the same job as she did ten years ago, nor does a ground stewardess, and I could list many more examples. Sometimes these developments take ten years, but sometimes it's already next week. So those 21st century skills are enormously important."

So, Akkenaar concludes: take that step, find the spark in yourself and make sure you start developing yourself. "And if, with the thousand euros from the STAP budget, we can lower the threshold for that a bit, that's a good thing."

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