Apprenticeship at the workplace

1-3 years (depending on qualification level)

Type: wages paid by employer; fixed amount per month
Remuneration setting: centrally, as (a share of) the national minimum wage
Coverage: on- and off-the-job training
Variation(s): no

More than 50% of the overall duration of apprenticeship
Number of hours per year (average): 1,290
Approx. 256 working days out of which 21 are allocated to the annual leave. This gives 1,410 contract hours out of which 120 should be spent on theory training = 1,290 on-the-job training.

Level: 46% of the annual gross income of the apprentice (EUR 1,100 per apprentice) (2016)
Paid by: the employer and the apprentice
Rights: standard social insurance

Apprentices do not receive any direct financial support from the government.

The costs of on-the job training, including apprentices' wages are paid by employers. However, employers may apply for grant (Apprenticeship subvention) to compensate their costs. They may also benefit from tax incentive. The health insurance is partly subsidised by the government through budgetary transfers related to specific costs, as regulated by Law no 145/1997 on health social insurance, with further modifications and derived regulation.

Companies contribution: training materials, facilities, in-company trainers, transport costs. No quantitative data available.

Public financing (national resources), money spent on the grant for companies (Apprenticeship subvention): EUR 136,000 (estimate)
No EU funding involved.

The simplification of the accreditation procedures and the existence of financing instruments like grant (Apprenticeship subvention) and tax incentive for companies along with increasing staff shortages encouraged some companies to provide apprenticeship. However, the number of apprenticeship places at national level remained very small, demonstrating that this combination of instruments is not sufficiently attractive for employers. The level of subsidy within grant instrument is considered low while the related bureaucracy is heavy. The rules on the use of the tax incentive remain unclear. At the same time, the employer's costs are considered high: long period of compulsory training (a similar qualification can be obtained 4 times faster with an accredited training provider), the obligation to assure the minimum wage (with all the related contributions), organise or support the theoretical part of the training and to pay for the final examination. With the recent raise of the level of grant, the interest of companies is expected to increase.

Statutory minimum wage: EUR 276.34 per month (2016, S2), EUR 275.39 per month (2017, S1), EUR 318.52 per month (2017, S2)
Average yearly working time (hours) for a full time job: 1,840