Background information

The Law Decree no. 185, issued on 29 November 2008, converted, with amendments, into the Law no. 2, issue on 28 January 2009 established the creation of the Social Fund for Employment and Training. The Fund aims to financing extraordinary measures of active employment policy and training policies to support employment levels. The Law Decree no. 41, issued on 22 March 2021, the so-called “Support decree” provided additional extraordinary financial resources to sustain employment levels during the COVID-19 emergency.

Content of measure

The Social Fund for Employment and Training was established to finance a wide array of measures and interventions to sustain employment levels and to promote activation including:

• initiatives for the exercise of the right and duty to education and training;
• training activities related to apprenticeship;
• training internship grants for young people;
• incentives for the re-employment of workers over 50 years old;
• incentives and initiatives in favour of workers involved in socially useful activities;
• intervention in favour of so-called “forced retired” workers;
• tax reductions applying to projects to reduce working hours;
• incentives for journalists’ early retirement.

The Law Decree no. 41, issued on 22 March 2021, the so-called “Support decree” provided additional extraordinary financial resources to sustain employment levels during the COVID-19 emergency. At the article no. 9, it provided for €400 million for the year 2021, and €80 million for the year 2022.

Use of measure

Information not available.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The social partners have not been involved. The measure provides for an additional fund to sustain initiatives where the social partners might be involved at the company level.

Views and reactions

Social partners are expected to be supportive, given the fact that the measure introduce extraordinary financial resources provided by the central government to sustain employment levels and training.

Sources

• 22 March 2021: DECRETO-LEGGE 22 marzo 2021, n. 41 Misure urgenti in materia di sostegno alle imprese e agli operatori economici, di lavoro, salute e servizi territoriali, connesse all'emergenza da COVID-19 (www.gazzettaufficiale.it)