Background information

Collective agreements provide for the establishment of a Competence Development Fund for Industry, to which employers will contribute. The funds will be used to finance the employees' wages while they complete two weeks of training.

To face the COVID-19 pandemic, The Regional Labour Market Councils (RAR) and the Danish Agency for Labor Market and Recruitment (STAR) launched the 'Job-VET-model', an instrument providing companies with funds to pay the wages of workers attending e-learning courses.

Content of measure

An education course may be taken by employees at the request of the enterprise or as part of an education plan made in the enterprise. Employees with nine months of experience in the company are entitled to full pay (often for two weeks per year) while attending the training. The companies involved pay the salary of the employee and cover the training fees. In addition, the individual employee is entitled to participate in an individual 'clarification of competence' course.

This measure is available to employees with 12 months of work experience in a company under the Industrial Agreement concluded by the Central Organisation of Industrial Employees (CO-industri) and the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI).

The 'job-VET-model' consists of e-learning programmes targeting specific industries, and implemented by social partners, educational institutions and The Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment. The instrument was first launched in the service, tourism, hotel and restoration industries, and then the construction and offshore industries were added. At the same time, several other industries are on their way to be included.

Companies that join the programme receive up to 100% of the wage costs while employees participate in distance education.

Use of measure

The fund was introduced in the Industrial Agreement concluded between CO-industri and DI in 2007. Since 2010, the number of applications has increased and peaked so far in 2013 and 2015, with 16,000 applicants in both years.

This number was exceeded in 2017 (20,178 applicants). In relation to this a surprising decline by took place in 2018 where 14,576 employees applied. At the renewal of the collective agreement in 2020, it was agreed that the pilot scheme during the 2017-2020 period, with the possibility of supporting the companies for the employees' agreed training, is now permanent. 

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions	Companies National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Unknown
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The Competence Development Funds is based on sectorial agreements between the social partners: Confederation of Danish Industry (DI-Industri) and CO-Industry (The Central organisation Of Employees in the Industry Sector In Denmark).

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 01 June 2007: Borger.DK VEU-godtgørelse (www.borger.dk)
• 01 June 2007: Vejviser til Covid-19 job-VEU modellen (www.ft.dk)
• 01 June 2007: Industriens kompetenceudviklingsfond (www.ikuf.dk)
• 01 June 2007: IKUF (www.ikuf.dk)
• 01 June 2007: Model med opkvalificering frem for afskedigelse (bm.dk)
• 01 June 2007: ATL kompetenceudviklingsfond (www.danskindustri.dk)
• 03 April 2019: CO-industriens Årsrapport 2018 (www.co-industri.dk)
• 03 June 2024: Recommendations for the Future Employment Initiatives (www.regeringen.dk)