Fondo nuove competenze (New Skills Fund)

Full coverage of costs related to training hours, including social security and welfare contributions. This is what is provided by the Fondo Nuove Competenze (New Skills Fund), the instrument established by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It allows companies to implement specific agreements to reshape working hours due to changing organizational and production needs, whereby a portion of working hours is dedicated to training pathways.

The deadline for signing the collective agreements to reshape working hours and for submitting applications to ANPAL (National Agency for Active Labour Policies) was set for June 30, 2021.

The funding application can cover a single company or be submitted as a joint application. It must be accompanied by the skills development project (linked to the introduction of organizational, technological, product, process, or service innovations) and the collective agreement on reshaping working hours signed with trade unions.

The agreement must specify the number of workers involved in the training pathways and the working hours converted into training, up to a maximum limit of 250 hours per employee. Additionally, it is mandatory to attach a personalized assessment of the worker’s skills, their training needs, and the certification of the objectives achieved.

Applications are evaluated by ANPAL in chronological order of submission. ANPAL also determines the funding amount to be granted to the employer, broken down into the cost of training hours and the relative social security and welfare contributions—and disburses the grant in two installments: a 70% advance and the final balance.

Employers must complete the training pathways within 90 days of ANPAL’s approval of the application. This time limit is extended to 120 days if Interprofessional Funds (Fondi Interprofessionali) are also involved.

For information and further details on accessing the Fondo Nuove Competenze through personalized training pathways provided by Lenovys, please fill out the form below.