The training grant can be applied for by legal persons governed by private law, sole proprietors who operate as employers, and local government authorities. The employment contract of the employee participating in the training must be concluded for an indefinite period or for at least 6 months.

The total volume of the employee’s training plan must be at least 50 academic hours in total for the duration of up to 12 months. The application for each training must be submitted via the self-service portal of the Unemployment Insurance Fund prior to the start of training. The person submitting the application must be a member of the management board or an authorized person. A member of the management board can also authorize persons not entered on the B-card to submit an application at the e-unemployment fund.

In order to train employees, employers can choose a training programme that complies with the Adult Education Act or compile a suitable training programme if no such programme is provided on the market. The training programme must comply with the Continuing Education Standard and the participants must receive a certificate or attestation at the end of the programme.

If the necessary training is not offered in Estonia, you can still apply for a training grant for courses taking place abroad.

If the training grant is being applied to for an Estonian language course, the training organiser must have an operating license to conduct Estonian language training.

The following information must be provided:

• contact information of the training organisation of your choice (business name, registry code, contact person’s first and last names, telephone number, e-mail address)
• title of the training, volume of training in academic hours, start and end dates, location
• training curriculum together with name(s) of lecturer(s).
• total cost of training (including VAT) and price per participant (in the case of bespoke training, a price quotation)
• first and last name(s) of training participant(s), personal identification code, job title, length of employment contract (either indefinite period, or in the case of a fixed-term contract, the contract period)
• If applying to cover travel expenses for training outside of Estonia, information on how transport was organised and estimated travel expenses per employee.

The training grant compensates the employer’s

• training expenses (including VAT)
• training-related travel expenses if the training takes place outside of Estonia
• the time spent by the worker on training, per hour of training, at the minimum hourly rate of pay in force at the time the decision on the training grant is made

We reimburse up to 80% of the total cost of training but no more than €2500 per employee. The training grant is de minimis aid (DMA). Once the ceiling of the VTA has been reached, the training grant will be paid as a block exemption under the state aid rules and will be paid for the workers declared by the employer in the amount of up to 50% of the total amount of the costs, up to a maximum of €2500 per worker.

More information on de minimis aid can be found on the Ministry of Finance website.

A total of up to €2500 in training support is paid to an employer for the training of the same employee over a period of three years across all of the support options (recruitment of employees, changes in the company, development of Estonian language skills and ICT skills). If the employer has received training grants before, the amount per employee may be lower.

The training grant shall not be paid for an employee with whom the employer applying for the allowance has terminated an employment contract on the basis of § 89 of the Employment Contracts Act during the six months preceding the submission of the application.

Procedure for the payment of training grants

All expenses pertaining to training of employees shall be initially paid by the employer. The training grant will be paid on the basis of a statement of expenses (which can be submitted via the e-töötukassa). The invoice for the training must be issued by the training institution to the employer. The invoice must include the name of the training course, training period (from date to date), total volume of training in academic hours and the first and last name(s) of the participant(s). Invoice requests should be issued to the training institution by the employer.

The training grant is paid if the documents certifying the training costs are submitted to the Unemployment Insurance Fund within six months of the end of the training at the latest.

If an employee leaves the training course, the training grant shall be paid for the employee up to the discontinuation. If a staff member's employment is terminated during the training period, the training grant shall be paid for the staff member for the time spent in training during the period of employment.

No training grant is allotted if:

• the employer or trainer has a warning of deletion from the Commercial Register or is the subject of winding-up or bankruptcy proceedings;
• the employer or the trainer has committed a material breach of an administrative or procurement contract concluded with the Unemployment Insurance Fund or of the principles of cooperation established by the Unemployment Insurance Fund for the training card;
• the employer has not submitted annual accounts to the Business Register, the deadline for submission of which has expired; or
• the employer has a tax debt totalling €100 or more and is not in arrears.

Please note that no training grant will be paid if the employer is itself the trainer of the course indicated in the application or if the employer and the trainer are linked as follows.

• A member of the management or supervisory body of the legal person which is the employer, or a person who owns at least 50% of the legal person which is the employer, is a member of the management or supervisory body of the legal person being trained, or owns at least 50% of the legal person being trained, or is himself the trainer in a self-employed capacity or under a contract of obligations with the employer.
• A member of the management or supervisory body of the legal person which is the employer, or a person who owns at least 50% of the legal person which is the employer, is a lecturer, instructor, supervisor or in a similar role in the training;
• A member of the management or supervisory body of the legal person providing the training, or a person who holds at least 50% of the shares or share capital of the legal person providing the training, or a person who is themselves a trainer in a self-employed capacity or under a contract of obligations with an employer, is the spouse, parent or child of a member of the management or supervisory body of the legal person providing the training or of a person who holds at least 50% of the shares or share capital of the legal person providing the training, or is a member of a common household.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund has the right to ask for additional documents and explanations and to carry out on-the-spot checks.

The training grant service is provided under the Government of the Republic Regulation ‘Employment Programme for 2024-2029’.

The requirements of the training grant will be introduced to you by the employers’ consultant, whose contact details can be found here.

You can submit an application for a training grant and send an expense report via the Unemployment Insurance Fund self-service portal.

Should you have any questions, please write to koolitustoetus@tootukassa.ee

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Reimbursement of the costs of a certificate or attestation

The qualification support service enables the employee to be compensated for the cost of obtaining the qualification document. The cost shall be reimbursed on the basis of the application, the cost documents and the proof of qualification. Documents can be submitted by e-töötukassa, e-mail, post or on the spot in the office. The main qualification documents are a professional certificate, a certificate of competence, a certificate and a document certifying the right to drive.