Accepted labour market training programme

Act IV of 1991 on the promotion of employment and unemployment benefits. Ministerial Decree 6/1996. (VII. 16.) issued by the Minister of Labour on financial support promoting employment and on tackling employment crisis situations from the Labour Market Fund

To support training of job-seekers and facilitate employment with the aim "to terminate, manage and dissolve labour tensions and mitigate their negative consequences" (Act IV of 1991);

To help jobseekers to return to work, which has both economic (reduce unemployment) and also social purposes (reduce social exclusion).

Accepted training aims to provide jobseekers with sought-after skills and knowledge to help them return to work. If jobseeker wants to participate in a training programme which is not on the annual list of eligible fields of study defined by the employment centre (suggested training programme), he/she can still receive training support through the National Employment Service. In this case, a further criterion for selection of applicants is the labour market relevance of the training programme. The training can lead to a formal vocational qualification or provide the necessary skills for a specific job. In accordance with the Act on Adult Education only adults studying in licensed adult education institutions can be subsidised from the National Employment Fund.

- Job-seekers
- Young people under the age of 25 (or 30 in case of higher education graduates) who are not entitled to unemployment benefit
- Those who receive childcare support or permanent support for caring for sick or disabled people
- Those who receive rehabilitation allowance
- Those who take part in community employment (public work) scheme
- Others as defined by the Governing Board of the National Employment Fund.
Applicant must be one of: a Hungarian citizen, recognised as a (one of three types of) refugee, hold an immigrant or an established status, hold the right to free movement and residence.

Training programmes which help finding or keeping a job such as:
- VET programmes (except for ISCED 5B advanced level VET) and foreign language training as part of these
- general training preparing participants for entering VET
- career orientation and job-search skills training
- training preparing participants already having a vocational qualification for obtaining a state-recognised foreign language certificate
- training awarding professional driving licenses and foreign language training
- training preparing for entering higher education if it is (co)organised by a Roma local government or association.

State (National Employment Fund)
Matching: individuals

Share of public funding is not regulated; in practice it is on average around 60-70%; about half of beneficiaries are required to pay 50%, with only a few less than 10%. It depends on the individual’s personal social circumstances and the available budget of the employment service.

The labour councils (advisory boards including the social partners which advise the labour centres) define guidelines at the beginning of each year regarding the average share of support. Minimum and maximum amount individuals may receive is not defined (only the maximum amount of support per training programme defined by type of programme (such as awarding a recognised qualification or not)) and kind of training (theory versus practice).

Waiting period after receiving a grant (participating in a training programme) is (minimum) twice as long as the duration of the previous training (except for courses which build on each other (such as one preparing for entry into VET and a VET programme). One individual can, in theory, get more than one grant (participate in more than one training programme) observing the regulation regarding the waiting period.

Allocation: Employment Service pays training provider directly, the money is transferred to licenced training institutions, applicants are selected by the labour offices by weighting of various factors: social circumstances, labour market demand for the qualification/skills that could be gained by the training, age, educational attainment.

Fees and other costs related to education and training (such as costs of materials, travel, accommodation).

Specific rules/conditions for reuse

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In 2014, 559 individiuals were funded by this scheme; in 2013, 3 548; in 2014, 5 128.

Labour centres are responsible for monitoring and evaluating the functioning of the instrument at local level, but it is the Ministry for National Economy that evaluates it at national level and may take corrective actions.

Annual analysis of the effectiveness of the active labour market tools by National Employment Service; published in Hungarian. http://nfsz.munka.hu/engine.aspx?page=afsz_stat_fobb_aktiv_eszkozok

http://en.munka.hu/

http://www.munka.hu/

Public funding is decreasing, and labour market training more and more financed from the Europen Social Fund.

The amount of support provided for foregone wages was changed in order to provide some support for more people. As a result, presently only special target groups (Roma people and those who are learning to obtain their first vocational qualification or a vocational qualification which is in high demand on the labour market) can get 100% of the minimum wages and all others get only 60%. The objective of the modification was to prevent people using the instrument as a kind of living allowance.

Year Book 2012/2013. National Employment Service. http://en.munka.hu/engine.aspx?page=labour_market_yearbook

The Hungarian Labour Market 2014 http://www.econ.core.hu/english/publications/lmyb.html

Webpage of National Employment Service http://en.munka.hu/ and data received directly from the National Office for Vocational Training and Adult Education

Government of Hungary (2014): National Reform Programme 2014 of Hungary http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2014/nrp2014_hungary_en.pdf

DIE-FIBS (2013): Developing the adult learning sector. Lot 2: Financing the adult learning sector. https://www.hm.ee/sites/default/files/financing_the_adult_learning_sect…