Overview
Jobs Plus, the national employment agency, has extended the Access to Employment Scheme (A2E) until end of year.
The Access to Employment (A2E) Scheme provides employment aid to enterprises in Malta and Gozo to promote the recruitment of the more challenged amongst jobseekers and inactive persons.
Through this scheme, the integration into the labour market is facilitated by:
- Enhancing opportunities to access the labour market and providing work experience to those furthest away from gainful employment;
- Bridging the gap between labour market supply and demand;
- Increasing social cohesion.
The A2E Scheme is co-financed by the European Social Fund, the Maltese Government and employers.
Eligibility of the Employer
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-employer or other body of persons, NGOs and Social Partners, when recruiting new employees (or keeping in employment newly registered disabled person
Eligibility of the Participant
The following table illustrates the eligible target groups, level and duration of assistance.
| TARGET GROUP | CLIENT GROUP | DURATION OF ASSISTANCE |
|---|---|---|
| DISADVANTAGED PERSONS | ||
| 1 | Any person of age 24 and over who has been unemployed/inactive for the previous 6 months. | 52 weeks |
| 2 | Any unemployed person of age between 15 to 24 who previously participated and completed the Youth Guarantee / Work Exposure / Traineeship Scheme and is recruited for the first-time following completion of such initiatives. | 52 weeks |
| 3 | Any person who is living as a single adult who has one or more dependants and is not in full-time employment. | 52 weeks |
| 4 | Any person of age 24 and over who has not attained an upper secondary educational or vocational qualification (ISCED 3), who does not have a job. | 52 weeks |
| 5 | Any person older than 50 years who does not have a job. | 52 weeks |
| SEVERELY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS | ||
| 6 | Any person who has been unemployed / inactive for the previous 12 months during which he/she has not benefited from a traineeship with the Undertaking and who belongs to one of the categories (3) to (5). | 104 weeks |
| 7 | Any person of age 24 and over who has been unemployed / inactive for the previous 24 months during which he/she has not benefited from a traineeship with the Undertaking. | 104 weeks |
| DISADVANTAGED PERSONS | ||
| 8 | Any person who is a registered disabled person under national law. | 156 weeks |
Application Process
Complete dated applications, together with all supporting documentation (if any) must be submitted in full. Applications are to be submitted electronically. Complete applications must be submitted by the end of December 2022 and recruitment must take place by end December 2022. In case the budget is fully committed Jobs Plus reserves the right to close the scheme before December 2022 without any public notification.
Benefits
Employers applying for the A2E Scheme whose application is found eligible will receive a subsidy of €105.45 (full-time) / €52.70 (part-time) per week per new recruit engaged, for a period of 52 weeks or 104 weeks, depending on the target group. In the case of registered disabled persons, a subsidy of €158.20 (full-time) / €79.10 (part-time) per week for a maximum of 156 weeks is provided. Rates will be revised on an annual basis to include the cost-of-living increase.