In order to obtain the grant, the company is required to have paid the employer’s unemployment insurance premium for at least 24 months within the 36-month period prior to submitting the application. We look at the employer's previous unemployment insurance record, which does not have to be linked to the worker's previous length of service in the company indicated on the application. The employment contract of the employee (for whom the grant is being applied) must be without a term or remain valid for at least six months after submission of the application.

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.

When planning the trainings, we recommend taking a look at the study ‘OSKA ülevaade valdkonnaspetsiifiliste IKT-oskuste vajadusest’ (OSKA overview of the need for field-specific ICT skills) carried out by SA Kutsekoda in 2020, which can be accessed here.

The training grant reimburses the employer for the training costs (including VAT) and, at the request of the employer, covers the allowance for the hours the employee attended the training in the amount of minimum hourly wage valid at the time of the training allowance decision. It is also possible to reimburse travel expenses of an employee participating in a training programme if it takes place abroad. We will compensate up to 80% of the total costs, but no more than €2500 per employee.

The training grant is de minimis aid (DMA). If the maximum DMA amount has been reached, the training grant will be paid as a state aid block exemption and in the amount of up to 50%, but no more than €2500 per employee.

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.

All expenses pertaining to training of employees shall be initially paid by the employer. If approved, the training grant is paid on the basis of an expense report (can be submitted via e-töötukassa), which must be presented with copies of the relevant cost statements (invoice and payment order) and the certificate or attestation must be issued to the employee upon the completion of the training programme. 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 to the employer if documents certifying the training costs have been submitted to the Unemployment Insurance Fund within six months of the end of the training at the latest.

No training grant is allotted if:

1) the employer or trainer has a warning of deletion from the Commercial Register or is the subject of winding-up or bankruptcy proceedings;

2) 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;

3) the employer has not submitted annual accounts to the Business Register, the deadline for submission of which has expired; or

4) the employer has a tax debt totalling €100 or more and is not in arrears.

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

If you have any questions, please contact koolitustoetus@tootukassa.ee.

Examples.

• introduction of new business software (ERP) (training of main users for whom licences have been purchased)
• the introduction of new 3D design software in the design process
• Skilful use of BIM technology for model-based building design, project information management and coordination of activities.
• Implementation of new 3D design and automation software in a manufacturing company.
• understanding and programming machine and robot systems
• deployment of data analysis software, business analytics and data visualisation environment.
• keeping patients' care diaries on the computer
• training for computer specialists (e.g. programming languages, cybersecurity, etc.)