Spain

Companies located in the Basque country that have a workforce of 35 or more employees can apply for support for their training actions. Such training actions need to be part of a well-defined company training plan. The grant supports any training aimed at improving skills directly related to the company's productive process. The duration of any supported training activity should have a duration between 6 and 270 training hours per participant and year. The companies must guarantee that the training actions for whose execution the grant is requested have not been already subject to a discount in the FUNDAE national model. The amount of the lump-sum depends on the number of companies applying for the instrument and fulfil the existing criteria. The amount is calculated via several appraisal criteria, including the size of companies, the strategic nature of the training activities or its degree of innovativeness. Certain types of training fields are also given preference. Eligible cost include fees and other training related costs. Smaller companies are given preference (minimum size 35 workers). Companies can apply for the grant each year.

Employees can participate in vocational education and training while receiving their wages. All employees (in companies that pay the professional training fee to Social Security, 'cuota de formación profesional' in Spanish) are eligible (except for employees in public administration). This short term leave allows an employee to carry out an officially recognised training activity during working time, with no direct cost for the company. The eligible duration of the training leave is 1-25 working days. Employers can deduct the costs related to employees' training leave from their contributions to the social security system. The individual training leave pays for the salary costs of the employee (base salary, seniority and fixed complements) while he/she is attending training. The payment is limited to 200 hours per year and per employee. Only training time devoted to face-to-face learning (classes and tutorials) can be included in these 200 hours. Training programmes eligible must lead to a formal qualification (formal education). Employees can use the training leave once in each calendar year.

Companies in the construction sector (as defined by NACE Rev. 2) have to pay a compulsory levy calculated as a percentage of payroll. The level of levy determined by the social partners' board members, and it is currently a 0.35% of the Social Insurance contribution bases for the period 2018-2021. These payments make up the budget of the Labour Foundation. The Labour Foundation for Construction develops its activities for sector companies, workers and the unemployed. For each of them, different activities and services are provided. The Foundation provides services for sector-related occupational health and safety (tutorials, OSH-related practical experiences, advisory services), employment promotion (including a job portal, recruitment and placement services, employment guidance or the development of the so-called Construction Professional Card), as well as other information-related services relevant for the sector (including the provision of studies on emerging sector skill needs, training manuals, sector analysis on different domains, etc). 100% of eligible costs can be covered. The idea is to make the Foundation a sectoral knowledge centre for the sector that diffuses this knowledge to the sector. Special treatment is given to some specific groups, particularly to unemployed workers. They can benefit from specific ad-hoc activities, including training-related ones.

This measure is a workers' right included in the Workers' Statute. Employees who have worked for a company for at least one year are entitled to a 20-hour paid leave per year to undertake vocational education and training linked to the activity of the company. Eligible training includes vocational education and training for employment, which must be related to the company's activity. The eligible duration of the training leave is 0-3 working days. Companies pay the salaries of workers while they are in training. Training is organised by the company (either directly delivered or subcontracted). If applying for the schemes proposed by Fundae, companies could deduct training costs from their contribution to the social security system. The measure can be re-used by the same applicant once in each calendar year.

Following the Spanish Workers' Statute (article 21), employers and employees can agree on a payback clause. Thus, in compensation for employer-provided/financed training, employees and employers may sign a written agreement where the employees commit themselves to stay in the company for an agreed period (but no longer than 2 years). If the employee leaves the company before the agreed time, the employer is entitled to compensation for damages.

Adults can use this loan scheme which was introduced to support students in initial education to cover tuition fees in full-time higher education. The initiative is aimed at students who apply for studies in universities that adhered to the AGAUR agreement. No preferential treatment is applied. The loans are provided by private retail banks based on funds from the private capital market. The government provides a loan guarantee. There are two types of loans with the maximum amounts: EUR 7 000 (loan to fund fees for university studies) and EUR 30 000 (a loan for post-graduate studies, which may compensate also for living costs). Repayment rates are fixed (monthly rates). The interest rate is regulated by the State.

All private companies and employees pay a monthly professional training fee to Social Security ('cuota de formación profesional' in Spanish). This fee is calculated as a fixed share of the payroll (0.6 % and 0.1 % for companies and employees respectively). This contribution is channeled to the system of vocational education and training for employment. The system also has other sources of funding, namely the State (General Administration) and the European Social Fund, which may provide resources to autonomous communities to fund some specific programmes which meet the requirements (specifically those supply-driven schemes aimed at the unemployed). In January every year, companies have an 'annual training credit' available, which can be used to cover demand-driven schemes costs by means of discounts in social security contributions, once training actions are finalised and paid by the company. Supply-driven schemes are free for individuals. The most important demand-side schemes managed by Fundae are training delivered/planned by companies ('formación programada por las empresas') and individual training leaves ('permiso individual de formación, PIF'). Fundae also manages important supply-side schemes, such as training for employed workers and the unemployed ('formación de oferta'). Concerning the latter, there are different types of programmes, for which training actions are defined in calls, which could cover several years. Women, older than 45 years of age and non-qualified people are preferential groups.

According to general national legislation, the training check targets the unemployed. The pilot project applied in 2019 targets unemployed persons interested in obtaining a professional certificate (for officially accrediting informal skills) in the professional field 'trade and marketing', and living in the autonomous community of Madrid. It is regional public employment services officers that assess candidates to take part in the training check following their professional path. No preferential treatment is applied for a particular eligible group. National legislation does not specify costs covered. In the pilot project developed by the autonomous community of Madrid in 2019, types of learning content eligible referred to courses aimed at obtaining the professional certificate (for officially accrediting informal skills) in the 'trade and marketing' professional field.