Investing in Skills Scheme

The Scheme was launched to promote the training of persons actively participating in the Maltese Labour Market, with the aim to increase productivity and enhance adaptability.

With a budget of €5 million available until 30^th June 2023, this scheme falls under Malta’s Operational Programme II of the European Social Fund - ‘Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society’ for the 2014-2020 programming period.

1st Call – From 29^th March 2017 until 05^th May 2020

Employers who applied for the IIS Scheme under the 1^st Call from were eligible to receive a subsidy of €25 per trainee per hour in the case of training costs and €4.90 for wage costs.

2^nd Call – From 06th May 2020

Employers applying for the IIS Scheme under the 2^nd Call will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €25.70 per trainee per hour in the case of training costs and €5.15 for of wage costs. The subsidy for wage costs has been extended to training that is held by distance learning or online.

During both calls, the subsidy on air travel has remained unchanged.

Eligibility Criteria:

The applicant must meet all the eligibility criteria to benefit from this scheme. Eligible applicants cover all Employers having an economic activity irrespective of their legal form. These include partnerships, companies, family businesses, associations, individual self-employed or other body of persons, NGOs and Social Partners.

NGOs and Social Partners not having an economic activity are also eligible to benefit from the scheme.

Eligibility Criteria for All Applicants:

1. Complete documentation - The Applicant shall fill in and submit the latest available Investing in Skills Application Form complete with all relevant details, enclosing supporting documentation, as applicable. Incomplete applications will not be accepted for processing.
2. Project implemented within / for the direct benefit of the eligible territory.
3. Incentive Effect: Aid shall be considered to have an incentive effect if the Beneficiary has submitted a written application for the aid before work on the project or activity starts. Therefore, claim and proof of deliverables should be dated after the submission date of the IIS application.
4. Eligible Training Programme: Aid shall not be granted for training which Employers carry out to comply with National Mandatory Standards on training (in other words, it must be voluntary training as opposed to legally enforced training). Furthermore, Information Sessions and Team Building events are not eligible under Investing in Skills since these are not considered as training.
5. The trainee needs to be formally employed with the beneficiary during the training period. Apprentices or students engaged in vocational training with an apprenticeship or vocational training contract are not eligible.

Furthermore, in the case of employers having an economic activity irrespective of their legal form:

6. Aid cannot be granted to any Undertaking found to be in difficulty.  Jobsplus will conduct checks to ensure that every applicant Undertaking is financially sound
7. Falls within the definition of undertaking.

Terms and Conditions:

• Full details on Investing in Skills are incorporated in the Implementation and Guidance Notes.

• Preferably complete applications must be received by the Investing in Skills Unit at least twenty-one calendar days before the start date of training but not later than seven (7) calendar days before the start of the training. Applications submitted in less than seven (7) calendar days before the start of the training will not be approved.

• While employers can choose to start training after the acknowledgement of the application. Jobsplus will not be held responsible if the application is subsequently deemed ineligible.

  How to apply:

  Applicants should submit an original and complete Investing in Skills Application Form together with the below documentation that can be found in the Forms Section.

  It is important to read the IIS Implementation and Guidance Notes that provide detailed information regarding the scheme from start to finish.

  The following documents are also required:

  • Application Form (NGOs and Social Partners must indicate if they have an economic activity or not);
  • Training Schedule Template duly filled in;
  • Training Programme Template with detailed course content which is to be filled in by the training service provider;
  • Where applicable, the financial estimates/latest Tax Return Form and Income Statement (Profit and Loss Account) (where applicable). Please refer to section 2.2.2 of the IIS Implementation and Guidance Notes.
  • NGOs must submit the ‘Compliance Email’ issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations.
  • NGOs are also requested to submit a declaration signed by the President and or the General Secretary, identifying the person/s occupying an official position within their organisation. This declaration should clearly indicate who is responsible for the application. This person does not necessarily need be formally employed by the NGO.
  • Social Partners must be registered with the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER) and submit supporting documentation from the DIER confirming that they are currently registered with them.

  Other documentation may be required at any time for additional verification purposes.

  Procedure for the receipt of applications and claims for reimbursement during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak:

  Prospective applicants and beneficiaries claiming funds are to note that given the evolving nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, only soft copies sent via email to iis.jobsplus@gov.mt will be accepted; no hard copy of applications or claims for reimbursement, whether submitted by mail, by hand or any other means, will be accepted until further notice.

  Likewise, no pen-drives, cd’s etc will be accepted. This applies to submissions at both the IIS Unit at Hal Far and other Jobsplus Offices in Malta and Gozo.

  Only applications that successfully reach the working mailbox iis.jobsplus@gov.mt by the close of deadline will be considered. The deadlines for the submission of reimbursement documents remains unchanged. It remains the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application and claim for reimbursement was successfully delivered.

  Prospective applicants and beneficiaries are strongly advised to avoid submitting applications or claims for reimbursement on the last days of the batch, in order to ensure that technical hitches of any sort do not hinder the successful receipt of applications or claims for reimbursement. Applicants/Beneficiaries are to ensure that applications/claims for reimbursement are sent in one compressed zipped folder, where applicable, with each document clearly labelled.

  Jobsplus will continue to monitor this evolving situation and will keep all informed, as necessary, in future updates. If you have any additional questions, please contact the IIS Unit on iis.jobsplus@gov.mt.

  Applications

  Application IIS