Italy can count on an additional funding of 1.5 billion euros that will receive from the European Union under the React-EU scheme. This plan aims to increase the employment of young people and women, improve the skills of workers and job seekers and support the economic recovery of the country. The sum will be made available in addition to the previous 4.5 billion euros already disbursed under the national operational plan "Active Employment Policy Systems" funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), initially proposed in September 2021.
The new funding will support:
- the creation of jobs in the southern regions: 1.2 billion euros will allow to reduce by 30% the social security contributions borne by small businesses for their workers in the regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. In order to be eligible, enterprises must employ workers for at least nine months after the submission of the request for a reduction;
- youth employment: 139.1 million euros are intended to reduce employers' social security contributions; it is aimed to those which employed people under the age of 36 on permanent contracts during 2022: this measure is expected to benefit more than 48.000 young people;
- women employment: 88.5 million euros is intended to reduce (up to 6.000 euros per year) the social security contributions paid by employers which hire women during 2022: this measure is expected to benefit over 54.000 women;
- training in green and digital skills: almost 280.000 euros from the "New Skills Fund" compensate for the hours during which staff take part in training courses to acquire new green and digital skills: this measure is expected to benefit more than 5.700 enterprises.
With the approval of these other 1.5 billion euros, Italy will receive a total of 14.4 billion euros under the React-Eu scheme, thus stimulating its recovery and encouraging investment in green and digital transitions.