Training fund for electricians (EN)

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Name of the instrument - Local language
Paritair Opleidingsfonds voor Elektriciens
Name of the instrument - English translation
Training fund for electricians (EN)
Scheme ID
20
Country
Belgium
Reporting year
2020
Type of instrument
Training fund
Sub-type of instrument
Sectoral level collection and sectoral level distribution
Type of entry
Single instrument
Short description

Companies in the electro-technics sector are obliged by national law to contribute a fixed share of their payroll costs (0.75%) to a training fund and may receive a contribution to their training costs in return. Courses provided by the fund's training centre are free of charge and employers receive compensation for the loss of working time. Each company gets a training budget per employee of EUR 15.50 per training hour with a maximum of 8 hours each year (EUR 124 per year). Type of education eligible includes both training provided by the fund's training institute and training by accredited external providers. The fund is managed by the social partners, both sectoral trade unions and sectoral employer associations.

Level of operation
Sectoral
Name of a part of the country
Not applicable
Name of the region (for regional instruments)
Not applicable
Name of the sector (for sectoral instruments)
Electrical Engineering
Relevance
Key instrument
Collective agreement: Collectievearbeidsovereenkomsten. Paritair Subcomité voor de elektriciens:installatie en distributie (PSC 149.01). ELEKTRICIENS NATIONALE CAO'S Companies beloning to this PSC (Paritair subcomité) should follow this collectitve agreement.
Objective(s) and target(s)
The objective of this scheme is to increase the quality and quantity of training for people working in the sector to increase their employability.
Year of implementation
1991
Operation/management
The fund is managed by the social partners, both sectoral trade unions and sectoral employer associations. Social partners negociate the collective agreement and are also involved in the follow up of the agreement.Concerning trade unions, these are typically catholic, socialist and liberal trade unions, e.g. ACV, ABVV, ACLVB. Participation of private companies from the electro-technics sector in this scheme is compulsory, by social partner agreement. Companies contribute a fixed share of their payroll costs (0.75%) to a training fund and may receive contribution to their training costs in return.The instrument is structured as a levy-grant mechanism: levies collected are subsequently redistributed back to the companies to provide financial support for training. Allocation of grants is not directly linked to the amount of levies paid.
Eligible group(s)
Eligible groups for this scheme are employees in electro-technics sector.
Group(s) with preferential treatment
no
Education and training eligible
Type of education eligible includes broth training provided by the fund's training institute or by accredited external providers.
Source of financing and collection mechanism
The funding source of this scheme is the levy on companies of the electro-technics sector: 0.75% of their total payroll costs.
Financing formula and allocation mechanisms
Companies in the electro-technics sector are obliged by national law to contribute a fixed share of their payroll costs (0.75%) to a training fund. More precisely, there is a basic contribution of 0.60% and an additional 0.15% for vulnerable groups (0.05 of the latter is reserved for innovative projects). This levy is the source of funding of the instrument.Training courses offered by the fund's training centre are free of charge and employers receive compensation for the loss of working time. The budget can also be used for setting up company specific training courses. Each company gets a training budget per employee of 15,50 per training hour, with a maximum of 8 hours each year (124 per year).Allocation of grants is not directly linked to the amount of levies paid.
Eligible costs
Eligible costs are fees and other costs related to education and training.
Volumes of funding
Not available
Beneficiaries/take up
Not available
Organisation responsible for monitoring/evaluation
The P(S)C (Paritair (sub)comité), which consiststs of representatives of employees and employers (50/50 share), is responsible for the monitoring of this fund.
Most relevant webpage - in English
Not available
Most relevant webpage - local language
https://www.volta-org.be/nl
Recent changes

It's included in the (yearly) collective labor agreement negotiations, but usually the terms and conditions are confirmed (with some minor operational changes). This scheme is included in the (yearly) collective labour agreement negotiations, but usually the terms and conditions are confirmed (with some minor operational changes).

Recent changes in response to COVID-19

No changes

Sources
Website of the training fund: https://www.volta-org.be/nl
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