The National Confederation of Artisans and Small Business Owners (CONAPI Nazionale) facilitates businesses’ access to subsidized training by implementing tailored projects and providing technical support for participation in public calls for proposals, national announcements, and interprofessional funds.
- Interprofessional Funds
Since 2003, joint interprofessional funds for continuing education have been established in Italy with the goal of financing training for employees. These funds are financed by 0.30% of the total payroll set aside by INPS, a resource that can be allocated to a fund freely chosen by the company.
Currently, there are 18 Interprofessional Funds in operation, 2 of which are reserved for executives. The funds are joint bodies in which representatives of employers and employees jointly decide on contributions for vocational training. They represent the main source of funding for training, involving nearly 10 million workers and approximately 800,000 companies.
Over the past 20 years, the Funds have disbursed more than half a billion euros annually for training, benefiting SMEs in particular. This has enabled small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance the professional skills of their workforce, thereby increasing competitiveness, innovation, digitalization, environmental sustainability, and access to international markets, while simultaneously reducing companies’ costs for staff training.
Employers can choose an Interprofessional Fund based on the representativeness of the sponsoring social partners or on the sector and type of business. It is essential to evaluate the Fund’s suitability in terms of costs and the time required to access contributions.
Consultation Procedures
A key feature of Interprofessional Funds is the coordination of training plans with labor unions. This process, which can sometimes be complex for SMEs, finds concrete support in Co.N.A.P.I. Nazionale for the development of plans that are compatible with the needs of all social partners.
Types of Grants Offered
Fund contributions may be based on a “Company Training Account” or on calls for applications with a ranking list. For SMEs, access to grants is primarily through calls for proposals, since the 0.30% contribution does not allow for the accumulation of significant resources in Corporate Training Accounts. It is therefore crucial to rigorously assess needs and carefully plan in order to successfully apply for these calls for proposals.
Actual Needs of the Business Organization
For training programs to be successful, it is essential to start with the organization’s actual needs. It is crucial to design programs that improve and maintain employees’ skills, since a course that does not align with actual needs is unlikely to produce the expected results
- The New Skills Fund
The New Skills Fund, established in 2020 and administered by ANPAL, reimburses the costs associated with training hours for employees completed during working hours. Training activities may last up to 150 hours per employee. The cost of the training is borne by the company or may be co-financed by Interprofessional Funds. Eligibility requires a collective agreement between companies and worker representatives that outlines the training projects and the hours to be allocated to training.
Training topics must be related to technology and digital systems, artificial intelligence, environmental sustainability, the circular economy, the ecological transition, energy efficiency, corporate welfare, and organizational well-being. All courses must be certified or, at the very least, transparent regarding the skills acquired.
