- 2015Approved/Agreed
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
Financial incentives properly stimulating small businesses to invest in the quality of practical training were missing. Introducing apprenticeship in the form of dual VET to large companies and SMEs was a challenge. Incentives were set up addressing both businesses offering practical training (tax reliefs) and learners. No incentives were offered to stimulate school-business cooperation. The ESF-funded Development of secondary VET project was implemented in 2013-15, aimed at piloting a new IVET model in 21 schools to be developed into 'VET centres' offering first-class practical training in well-equipped workshops. For the period 2016-20, policy priorities in this area also focus on raising the number of companies and VET students in dual schemes through incentives.
Objectives
Various measures have been introduced to attract companies to enter dual VET. The newest, offering direct payments from the State budget, is aimed at also attracting the companies that are financially not strong enough.
Description
To encourage enterprise involvement in dual VET, the VET Act (61/2015) had introduced corporate tax reliefs for training companies:
- tax exemption reducing training costs by 21%;
- tax bonuses of EUR 1 600 for 200 hours of practical training and EUR 3 200 for 400 hours of practical training within a tax period;
- remuneration for learners' productive work is exempted from levies.
These incentives did not apply to any other form of work-based learning (e.g. diverse school-company contracts on short training opportunities without individualised contracts between the learner and the company). Their negative impact on tax collection has been estimated at EUR 15 670 000 for 14 000 learners in dual VET after four years.
These financial incentives were heavily criticised as not attractive, in particular for SMEs. Therefore, stronger incentives have been introduced by the 2018 amendment of the Act on VET (209/2018). On top of the above-mentioned bonuses, the amendment provides that company expenditures for practical training and costs not covered by the State budget are recognised as tax deductible. In addition, companies will receive direct per capita payment effective from June 2019. Companies that offer 200 to 400 hours of training per year will receive EUR 300, and those offering more than 400 hours will receive EUR 700. SMEs qualify for EUR 1 000.
In 2019, 60 large companies and 155 SMEs received direct payments totalling EUR 1 139 983.12, covering 50% to 70% of the eligible real costs per learner. The total estimated amount of this State aid for the years 2019-22 is EUR 20 million, out of which EUR 11.5 million will go to large companies and EUR 8.5 million to SMEs.
In 2020, 123 large companies and 505 SMEs received direct payments totalling EUR 3 659 600 for the training of 4 491 learners in their first and second years of training.
A specific per capita contribution was offered to companies for any newly contracted learner in the 2020/21 school year to encourage the companies to sign contracts with learners also under the complicated conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of the economic crisis. The contribution of EUR 1 000 per learner is to be covered from the ESF project Dual education and increasing attractiveness and quality of VET.
In 2021, 138 large companies received direct payments of EUR 2 416 200 for 3 602 learners; 727 SMEs direct payments of EUR 3 387 600 for 3 433 learners (EUR 5 803 800 for 7 035 learners in total) for the training of 2 806, 2 782 and 1 447 learners in their first, second and third year of training, respectively. Companies also received an additional pandemic contribution of EUR 1 000 per learner for in total 2 083 new learners.
In 2022, 137 large companies received direct payments of EUR 3 035 400 for 4 542 learners; 885 SMEs direct payments of EUR 4 479 600 for 4 510 learners (EUR 7 515 000 for 9 052 learners in total) for the training of 2 915, 2 661, 2 448 and 1 028 learners in their first, second, third and fourth year of training, respectively.
State Institute of Vocational Education registered 1 022 subjects requesting direct payment out of 1 095 involved in dual training. In 2022, no pandemic contribution was paid.
In 2023, 1 097 entities out of 1 225 originally registered received direct payments from the State budget to compensate for training costs for dual learners. Of this total, 158 large companies received EUR 3 182 000 for 4 767 learners, while 939 SMEs received EUR 5 034 500 for 5 059 learners (EUR 8 216 500 for 9 826 learners in total). There were costs covered for 2 995, 2 804, 2 358, 1 659 and 10 learners in their first, second, third, fourth and fifth year of training, respectively.
In 2024, 1 206 entities out of 1 318 originally registered received direct payments from the State budget to compensate for the costs of training dual learners. Among these, 162 large companies received EUR 3 276 500 for 4 939 learners; 1 044 SMEs received EUR 5 513 600 for 5 517 learners (EUR 8 790 100 for 10 456 learners in total). There were costs covered for 3 161, 2 963, 2 556, 1 729 and 13 learners in their first, second, third, fourth and fifth year of training, respectively, and 34 learners enrolled in two-year follow-up studies (ISCED 454).
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport (until 2024)
Target groups
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Other stakeholders
- Social partners (employer organisations and trade unions)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
This thematic sub-category covers all developments related to work-based learning (WBL) elements in VET programmes and apprenticeships which continue to be important in the policy agenda. It includes measures to stabilise the offer of apprenticeships, the implementation of the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships, and using the EU on-demand support services and policy learning initiatives among the Member States. It also covers further expansion of apprenticeships and WBL to continuing VET (CVET), for transition to work and inclusion of vulnerable groups, and for improving citizens’ qualification levels.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of incentives that encourage learners to take part in VET and lifelong learning; VET providers to improve, broaden and update their offer; companies to provide places for apprenticeship and work-based learning, and to stimulate and support learning of their employees. It also includes measures addressing specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) willing to create work-based learning opportunities in different sectors. Incentives can be financial (e.g. grants, allowances, tax incentives, levy/grant mechanisms, vouchers, training credits, individual learning accounts) and non-financial (e.g. information/advice on funding opportunities, technical support, mentoring).
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Incentives for companies to offer dual VET: Slovakia. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28562