Impossible to apply for STAP budget after major technical failure

It was impossible to apply for the government's STAP budget for training and development on Tuesday as the online web portal suffered a major technical malfunction. Applications for the program were to begin that day, but benefits agency UWV said the issue could not be resolved in the short term.

It is not yet known when people will be able to apply for the subsidy. "More information will follow later. UWV apologizes for this inconvenience".

Starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, people were supposed to be able to apply for the STAP budget again for the first time this year. There was a huge demand. A technical malfunction occurred around 9:30 a.m. It was initially expected that this would be resolved at 11 a.m., causing just a one hour delay. However, the portal was still down at 4 p.m.

Anyone over the age of 18 can apply for 1,000 euros for further training, provided that are not receiving a State pension. The program must also be listed in the STAP registry.

Last year, the government found evidence that the scheme was being abused. This led to the regulation being revised.

The Cabinet does not want the budget to be used as an "inappropriate revenue model," said Social Affairs Minister Karien van Gennip in December. The budgets were also financing recreational junkets, and courses which were not aimed at bolstering the labor market at all.

The total budget earmarked for this year is 160 million euros.