As of 8 April, thenew national Labour Market Skills project will provide the possibility to receive free financial support for education or reskilling. It is the first project of its kind for people without work but also for the employed.
“Similar projects were popular and operational in the past, but ended last year. As soon as we joined the Ministry, one of our priorities was to restart a similar project as soon as possible. And so we have prepared a national project on Labour Market Skills. Education is a key tool to support the unemployed in their journey back to the labour market, as well as for people at risk of losing their jobs. As with the other instruments, we have done more, bringing innovation to improve the efficiency and quality of services for citizens, and in one project we combine support for both jobless and unemployed people. In addition, people have the opportunity to use this project repeatedly,” said Erik Tomáš, Minister for Labour, Social Affairs and the Family.
The aim of the new national Labour Market Skills project is to support jobseekers to find work through retraining. The project will also be preventive. It will also offer free education to employed jobseekers in order to protect and improve their position on the labour market. The project is not intended for self-employed workers.
“We have made this project sensitive, based on people’s needs, but also labour market data, so that assistance is as effective as possible. We have given more space and more support to people facing more difficult living situations and their better education has the potential to substantially improve their quality of life. This is why we placed emphasis on disadvantaged jobseekers and young people under 30 without work,” said Peter Ormandy, Director-General and Secretary-General of the Service Office of the Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family.
Applicants themselves choose the training and the provider of the training. Employment, social affairs and family offices will only accept education providers for at least one year. An education allowance may be applied for from 8 April at the competent employment, social and family office, which will assess each application on a case-by-case basis. The application for assistance must be submitted no later than 30 calendar days before the start of the course. When approving applications, employment, social affairs and family offices will take into account the individual circumstances and needs of the applicants, as well as the needs of the labour market. There is no legal entitlement to the allowance, so the application may not be approved. If the Office for Labour, Social Affairs and Family approves the application, it shall conclude an agreement with the applicant under which he or she pays the training course. This project will not support training aimed at obtaining a category B driving licence.
If a citizen who is not registered as a jobseeker with the employment, social affairs and family office applies for an allowance, he or she must register as a jobseeker before applying for the allowance. This can be done at any employment, social affairs and family office, regardless of permanent residence, using the form ‘Application for jobseeker’s job placement’, which can be submitted in person, electronically via the Central Public Administration Portal www.slovensko.sk or by post.
A single applicant can be supported up to a maximum of two times under this project. In case the applicant wishes to receive the second allowance, priority shall be given to the training following the previous course. The second support may only follow after the termination of the obligations arising from the first agreement concluded with the Office for Labour, Social Affairs and the Family.
The employment, social affairs and family offices shall pay full training courses to jobseekers, subject to the fulfilment of the conditions in the education allowance agreement. They will also contribute to disadvantaged jobseekers to cover part of the expenses related to participation in face-to-face training amounting to EUR 0.95 per hour, up to a maximum of EUR 190. For jobseekers, the employment, social affairs and family offices will pay 100 % course fees for courses carried out on the basis of accreditation or other relevant authorisation in accordance with Slovak legislation (generally professional/vocational training) and 80 % for courses carried out outside accreditation or authorisation under specific Slovak legislation (generally training on transferable competences).
The implementation of the National Labour Market Skills project is planned by March 2026 and is allocated EUR 42249963,50 from European resources and the national budget of the Slovak Republic.
Who are disadvantaged jobseekers?
Disadvantaged jobseekers under the Employment Services Act are:
- citizens under the age of 26;
- citizens over 50 years old,
- citizens kept in the register of jobseekers for at least 12 consecutive months;
- citizens with lower-than-secondary vocational education;
- citizens who, at least 12 calendar months before being entered in the register of jobseekers, have not been in regular paid employment and have not or have not been self-employed for more than 6 consecutive months;
- third-country nationals who have been granted asylum or who have been granted subsidiary protection;
- citizens living as single adults with one or more dependent or caring for at least one child before the end of compulsory schooling;
- citizens with disabilities,
- citizens who ceased to receive a maternity or parental allowance less than two years before being registered as job-seekers and during the period of receipt of the maternity or parental allowance did not have income from gainful employment and self-employment.
The Labour Market Skills project is implemented thanks to co-financing from EU funds under the Slovak Programme.
European Funds 2020+ | UPVII (gov.sk)
Source : European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
