Financial support for the implementation of strategic training actions carried out by companies in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country

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Name of the instrument - Local language
Ayudas económicas para la realización de acciones estratégicas formativas que se desarrollen por empresas de la Comunidad Autónoma del Paķs Vasco
Name of the instrument - English translation
Financial support for the implementation of strategic training actions carried out by companies in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
Scheme ID
77
Country
Spain
Reporting year
2020
Type of instrument
Grant for companies
Sub-type of instrument
Support for direct costs
Type of entry
Single instrument
Short description

Companies located in the Basque country that have a workforce of 35 or more employees can apply for support for their training actions. Such training actions need to be part of a well-defined company training plan. The grant supports any training aimed at improving skills directly related to the company's productive process. The duration of any supported training activity should have a duration between 6 and 270 training hours per participant and year. The companies must guarantee that the training actions for whose execution the grant is requested have not been already subject to a discount in the FUNDAE national model. The amount of the lump-sum depends on the number of companies applying for the instrument and fulfil the existing criteria. The amount is calculated via several appraisal criteria, including the size of companies, the strategic nature of the training activities or its degree of innovativeness. Certain types of training fields are also given preference. Eligible cost include fees and other training related costs. Smaller companies are given preference (minimum size 35 workers). Companies can apply for the grant each year.

Not applicable
Level of operation
Regional
Name of a part of the country
Not applicable
Name of the region (for regional instruments)
Basque Country
Name of the sector (for sectoral instruments)
Not applicable
Relevance
Further instrument
i) Law at regional level: Decree 82/2016, of May 31, ordering Professional Training for Employment in the Basque Country; ii) Decree 127/2019, of July 30, on the subrogation of the Basque Foundation of Continuing Professional Training (HOBETUZ) staff by the Basque Employment Service (LANBIDE); iii) Resolution of June 24, 2020, of the General Director of Lanbide (Basque Employment Service), by which the call is published, for the year 2020, of the financial support for the implementation of strategic training actions developed by companies of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country
Objective(s) and target(s)
Help the development of strategic training actions programmed by companies located in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and aimed at improving the competences and qualifications of its employees. Strategic training actions are those directly linked to the company's project
Year of implementation
1995
Year of latest amendment
2019
Operation/management
Since 1st January 2020, the activities conducted by the former HOBETUZ Foundation have been assumed by the Basque Employment Service (LANBIDE), including the management and operation of this grant. LANBIDE (Basque Employment Service) is a public body dependant on the Basque Government
Eligible group(s)
The eligible groups correspond to companies with establishments located in the Basque Country that have a workforce of 35 or more workers. Company groups located in the Basque Country that have a total of 50 or more workers may also request the instrument. Exceptionally, training activities submitted by companies that do not reach the aforementioned threshold may be supported. In all cases, beneficiary companies need to have consumed the credit available for the exercise in the FUNDAE system, otherwise the amount of credit not consumed is discounted from the final grant
Group(s) with preferential treatment
Smaller companies are given preference (minimum size 35 workers)
Education and training eligible
The grant supports any training action aimed at improving those skills directly related to the company's productive process. These training actions have to be part of a well-defined company training plan. The duration of any supported training activity should have a duration between 6 and 270 training hours per participant and year. The applicant companies must guarantee that the training actions for whose execution the grant is requested have not been already subject to a discount in the FUNDAE national model. Supported training activities can be face-to-face training, tele-training or mixed training provision
Source of financing and collection mechanism
The source of funding comes from resources from the Basque Government's budget
Financing formula and allocation mechanisms
The grant amount given to each beneficiary company depends each year on the amount of companies that ask for the instrument and fulfil the existing criteria. This grant amount is calculated via several appraisal criteria, including the size of companies (smaller companies are given preference), the strategic nature of the training activities or its degree of innovativeness. Certain types of training fields are also given preference (for instance, in the 2020 call, some pre-defined amount of resources have been allocated for training activities in the personal care services sectors. Each benefitted company can only benefit from one grant, so the same company may not submit more than one request for aid within each annual call. Also, the resulting maximum total aid may not exceed by 1.5 times (for companies with more than 250 workers) and by 5 times (for companies with up to 250 workers), the annual amount of the company's professional training levy paid to Social Security within the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.
Eligible costs
Eligible costs may include different ones, including tuition fees/fees for participation (external providers); cost for internal training personnel; costs for training materials, depreciation costs for long-living investment goods, as well as indirect costs for up to 10% of the total training cost. Training can be provided internally by the own enterprise or via external training providers. These training providers need to be dully accredited and/or registered in an ad-hoc register of training entities authorised by the competent public administration
Volumes of funding
The overall budgeted expenditures in the last three years have evolved from EUR 3 140 000 in 2017 to EUR 3 200 000 in 2018 and 2019.
Beneficiaries/take up
The number of beneficiary companies in the last three years has been 284, 287 and 238 in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Organisation responsible for monitoring/evaluation
Basque Employment Service (Lanbide)
Most relevant webpage - in English
http://www.hobetuz.com/; https://www.lanbide.euskadi.eus/ayuda/-/ayuda_subvencion/2020/hobetuz
Most relevant webpage - local language
http://www.hobetuz.com/; https://www.lanbide.euskadi.eus/ayuda/-/ayuda_subvencion/2020/hobetuz
Recent changes

The most relevant amendment has come in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, the Decree 127/2019, of July 30 regulated the subrogation of the former HOBETUZ Foundation staff by the Basque Employment Service (LANBIDE). Additionally to this, last 27th November 2019, the HOBETUZ Foundation board authorised the liquidation process of the Hobetuz Foundation. Since 1st January 2020, the activities conducted by the former HOBETUZ Foundation have been assumed by the Basque Employment Service (LANBIDE). The rationale for this change is given by the Decree 82/2016 ordering Professional Training for Employment in the Basque Country. This Decree establishes LANBIDE as the only body responsible of the programming, management and control of all activities conducted in the Basque Country in the field of VET for employment (including training activities for employed people).

Recent changes in response to COVID-19

The administrative reporting of the 2019 call has been extended in time in order to deal with the current COVID situation

Sources
http://www.hobetuz.eus/
https://www.lanbide.euskadi.eus/ayuda/-/ayuda_subvencion/2020/hobetuz/
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