About the 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 30th 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.

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:

  1. 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
  2. Falls within the definition of undertaking.

Terms and Conditions:

  • Full details on Investing in Skills are incorporated in the Implementation and Guidance Notes.
  • Original applications must be received by the Investing in Skills Unit at 21 calendar days before the start date of training

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.

Forms

IIS Application Stage Documentation 

IIS Implementation Stage Documentation 

IIS Reimbursement Stage Documentation 

Applications (including all documentation) are to be submitted by registered post or by hand to:

Jobsplus
EU Funded Schemes Division
Investing in Skills Scheme
Hal Far Road
Hal Far BBG 3000

Subsidy on Training Costs and Wage Costs:

Training Type Rate per Trainee per hour for Training Costs Rate per Trainee per hour for Wage Costs** Capping
Non Accredited Training € 25 €4.90 Up to 25 hours
Accredited* Training € 25 €4.90 All contact hours

* Training must be accredited by the NCFHE (National Commission for Further and Higher Education), ITS (Institute of Tourism Studies), UOM (University of Malta) and MCAST (Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology where MQF/EQF Levels 1- 5 will be accepted under Investing in Skills.

** Refundable if training occurs during the normal working hours of the trainees. In the case of Distance Learning or e-Learning, wage costs cannot be reimbursed.

Reimbursement will be calculated on the hours listed on certified attendance sheets, when using the Standard Scale of Unit Cost of € 25 per trainee per hour.

Subsidy on Air Travel Costs:

Travel costs will be based on the Erasmus Plus Grant Support for the mobility of staff. Beneficiaries are to calculate the distance through the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources_en#tab-1-4 (for Malta please type Luqa, Malta).

Applicable Rates According to Distance per Round Trip per Participant
100 – 499 km € 180
500 – 1,999 km € 275
2,000 – 2,999 km € 360
3,000 – 3,999 km € 530
4,000 – 7,999 km € 820
8,000 km  or more €1,500

Aid Intensity:

The following co-financing rate will be applied to the total eligible costs:

Entity Size Aid Intensity
Large Entities 50%
Medium Entities 60%
Small and Micro Entities 70%

IIS List of Beneficiaries

List of Beneficiaries

Need help or more information?

You can contact us by using our contact form or call us on 22201300 or 22201305 or email us on [email protected].