Language lessons in adult education become considerably more expensive, training in healthcare and for bottleneck profession cheaper
To spare. It is often on the political agenda. Zuhal Demir also had to cut in adult education. She does that now. The Flemish government agreed on a package of 33 million euros on Friday. The purpose of saving and reform is to help people in a job. « Training is needed to lead people from unemployment to work. We will make them as cheap as possible. Hobby courses that do not contribute to that will become slightly more expensive, » explains the N-VA Minister.
The result is that those so-called hobby courses become more expensive. Instead of 1.5 euros per lesson, everyone will soon pay 4 euros per hour, a considerable increase. Those higher prices apply to those who want to learn a language, but also want to try tea sommelier or flower arranging. « Everyone is free to follow a hobby course in their spare time, but participants will pay more for that. That is only fair to the taxpayer, » Demir argues.
Education minister Zuhal Demir saves on adult education and wants to focus on training courses for a (bottleneck) profession. – © Bart Dewaele
Cheaper
A different movement is started for bottleneck vocational training. They become cheaper, from 1.5 to 1 euro per hour. For 61 target groups – such as living woners, unemployed or people with disabilities – it even becomes completely free. According to Demir, it is not logical that there are 210,000 unemployed people in Flanders, but employers for 251 bottleneck professions do not receive their vacancies. A mismatch is the judgment.
« Everyone is free to follow a hobby course in their spare time, but participants will pay more for that. That is only fair to the taxpayer »
Zuhal Demir
Flemish Minister of Education
For other courses for a job, the price rises slightly: from 1.5 to 2.25 euros per hour. For the same target groups that is from 0 or 0.6 euros – depending on the group – to 1 euro. Those who want to obtain their secondary education diploma will no longer be able to do that for free, but will have to cough up a rather symbolic amount, namely 0.03 euros per hour.
Separate arrangement
Zuhal Demir and Minister of Welfare Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) worked out a separate regulation for care courses. This concerns training as a carer, healthcare scientist, children’s supervisor and personal counselor in adult education. That training will become 30 percent cheaper from the next school year. Specifically, the registration fee for the Career 630 euros course will be cheaper and a Healthcare Professor student will soon pay 740 euros less.
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« We desperately need all the hands in healthcare. People who decide to give their career a different turn and opt for a profession in healthcare, we are not allowed to put in the way. I am therefore very satisfied that the training courses for these extremely important jobs are now cheaper and therefore accessible. That way we can attract more side entrants to the sector, » Gernez responds.
