Tilburg’s ‘Startersbeurs’ instant succes

The grant for unemployed youths or the ‘Startersbeurs’ is off to a flying start. The grant was conceived by Tilburg University professor Ton Wilthagen and the youth divisions of labor unions CNV and FNV. So far 90 people have registered and 35 companies have shown interest in contributing. The grant starts on April first.

The Startersbeurs was founded to provide young people between 18 and 27 years old with six months of working experience. The foundation hopes that the job experience will strengthen the participant’s position on today’s labor market. Instead of unemployment benefit, these people will receive a compensation of 500 euro a month. Participants also have to save 100 euro a month to invest in, for example, classes and other education.

Since 2008, the youth unemployment rate in Midden-Brabant has risen with 75 percent. Professor Wilthagen hopes this initiative can reduce the unemployment among young people. The grant is financially supported with 500.000 euro by the Tilburg’s municipality. Other large cities, like Den Bosch and Rotterdam, are following Tilburg’s example with grants of their own.