Over €4m grants for 1021 employees through ETC’s salary subsidy scheme

ETC stated that via these grants 1021 persons were placed in employment, of which 327 were in Gozo. The total amount of funds committed for these placements is equal to €4,375,556 a total of 531 employers benefited from this scheme.

The Employment Aid Programme, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) is aimed at disadvantaged jobseekers, including youth aged under 25 and within two years of completing their full-time education. Other individuals who can also benefit from the scheme are those who have been absent from work for at least two years and who want to re-enter the labour market; single persons who are seeking employment but are also looking after dependants; those who quit their education after secondary school and have been made redundant in the past six months, or else have been served with a redundancy notice; persons who are over 50 years old; long-term registered unemployed; and persons with disability.

Since its launch, the EAP has generated great interest amongst employers as well as job seekers, with the number of applications rising steadily month by month. By the end of November, in fact, ETC had received 2268 applications (445 of which in Gozo) from employers operating in different sectors of the economy. Moreover, placements under this scheme have generated a satisfactory retention rate of 94%.

In January 2011 the ETC will be announcing further benefits where the duration of the subsidy is expected to increase substantially.

More information about the scheme is available from the Employment Aid Programme Unit at ETC, on telephone, 222 01 217 or email: [email protected]. ETC is also offering assistance in filling the respective forms.