Funding for further education and training of entrepreneurs, managers and specialised workers in Burgenland.

Name of the instrument - Local language: Förderung der Aus- und Weiterbildung von UnternehmerInnen, Fach- und Führungskräften
Name of the instrument - English translation: Funding for further education and training of entrepreneurs, managers and specialised workers in Burgenland.
Country: Austria
Type of instrument: Grant for companies
Type of entry: Example for a group of instruments

Short description: Companies can apply for the grant with the aim to finance training for their employees. Only learning and training of professional relevance for the applying companies is eligible.
Short description of the related instruments: All Austrian regions (Bundesländer) have established funding schemes for promoting local companies in the fields such as innovation, export activities or training. For these types of activities, various agencies have been founded in many regions. Training is supported either as a stand-alone activity or as a part of a broader initiative, for example, targeting innovation activities. Particular schemes are typically volatile, often available only for a short period, however, consecutive schemes are providing similar types of support for training over time. Currently, there is no comprehensive overview on Austria's local schemes supporting training in companies (in particular on schemes where cofounding of training is embedded in wider support schemes).

Level of operation: Regional
Name of a part of the country: nap
Name of the region (for regional instruments): Burgenland
Name of the sector (for sectoral instruments): nap
Relevance: Key scheme
Legal basis: Provincial Economic Development Act of 1994 WiföG, LGBl. Nr. 33 as amended by the Act Provincial Law version no. 22/2008 and the promulgation LGBl. No. 56/2009, as amended by Act LGBl. Nr. 13/2015.
Objective(s) and target(s): - To support education and training in a focussed manner
- To ensure highly qualified jobs
- To strengthen the competitiveness of Burgenland's economy and to promote the attainment of an optimal regional economic growth.
- To adapt the entrepreneurs and the professionals and managers in Burgenland to the structural transformation of the economy.
- To provide an incentive for business start-ups or acquisitions
Year of implementation: 2007
Operation/Management: Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland GmbH (Economy Service Burgenland)
Eligible group(s): Companies located in Burgenland
Group(s) with preferential treatment: None
Education and training eligible: The funding is available for external training costs, which are directly related to the current or future activities of the trainee in the company. The training program must be applicable principally on the current and on the future workplace.
Source of financing and collection mechanism: Region (Burgenland) budget
Financing formula and allocation mechanisms: Grant: The total amount of subsidies which company may receiv in the given fiscal year and the 2 previous fiscal years should not exceed EUR 200 000 (EUR 100 000 in the road transport sector).
Eligible costs: Fees and other costs related to education and training
Frequency of the use: Each year
Volumes of funding: In 2013, EUR 497 784 were available for this scheme.
Beneficiaries/take up: In 2013, 339 companies benefited from this scheme.
Organisation responsible for monitoring/evaluation: Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland GmbH (Economy Service Burgenland).
Monitoring/evaluation reports available: ACTIVITY REPORT FOR BUSINESS SERVICE Burgenland AG - WiBAG for 2013 (http://www.wirtschaft-burgenland.at/fileadmin/redakteur/Downloads/Press…)
Most relevant webpage - in English: na
Most relevant webpage - local language: http://www.wirtschaft-burgenland.at/fileadmin/redakteur/Downloads/Foerd…
Sources: http://www.wirtschaft-burgenland.at/fileadmin/redakteur/Downloads/Foerd…