Training Incentives For Employees

Looking to upskill your employees or enhance your own skills on the job? Maybe the 'Qualifizierungschancengesetz' (long German word 🙈) is for you! The Qualifizierungschancengesetz (Skills Development Opportunities Act) is a German law aimed at promoting lifelong learning by providing financial support for employees to pursue further training.  It allows employers and employees to access subsidies for qualification programs, with funding provided by the Federal Employment Agency. The goal is to address the accelerated transformation of the working world, prevent unemployment caused by structural change, strengthen further training, and secure the skilled labor base. In a nutshell: - Up to 💯coverage of training costs. Companies can have the costs of employee training covered by public funding, up to 100%. The law enables companies to train their employees to remain competitive, but only for certified training programs. - 💰Companies are also supported through wage subsidies. Businesses with up to 50 employees can receive up to 75% of wage costs reimbursed, while those with up to 500 employees can receive up to 50%. Criteria for funding under the QCG: - Skills, knowledge, and abilities are imparted that go beyond exclusively job-related short-term adaptation training. - The acquisition of the vocational qualification for which a training period of at least two years is stipulated by federal or state law was generally at least two years ago (if applicable). - The employee has not taken part in further vocational training subsidized in the two years before submitting the application. - The program or course lasts more than 120 hours.  - The program or course, as well as the provider, must be AZAV-approved. I'll link some resources in the comments 👇 Are you already making use of the Qualifizierungschancengesetz? #upskilling #personaldevelopment #learning

🇪🇺 Major Funding Opportunity: €54M Erasmus+ support for reshaping Education and Training in Europe https://lnkd.in/eH8DAiFT 📢The European Commission has just launched the 2026 Erasmus+ Call for Policy Experimentation. This is a high-impact initiative designed to test and scale innovative solutions for education and labor market challenges across Europe. 💡 What makes this call different? ▪️ €54M total budget across 10 topics - with significant focus on VET, basic skills, and workforce readiness ▪️Evidence-based policy impact - projects must demonstrate scalability and inform national/EU policy reforms ▪️Minimum 5 partners from 3+ countries - true European collaboration required 📈 The call directly addresses urgent challenges: → PISA 2022: ~30% of 15-year-olds struggle with real-life maths application → VET receives students with academic challenges and needs to ensure they master basic skills → Skills mismatches and labour shortages are threatening EU competitiveness → VET qualifications remain undervalued outside national contexts 🎯 The 10 topics at a glance 1️⃣Digital Content: Creating quality criteria and decision-making frameworks for teachers and school leaders using digital education content. 2️⃣Ethical AI: Establishing public-private partnerships for the ethical design and use of AI tools in formal education. 3️⃣AI for Basic Skills: Using AI-powered personalized learning pathways to improve literacy, numeracy, and science in schools and initial VET. 4️⃣Micro-credentials: Developing enabling ecosystems to make small-volume learning trusted and portable across sectors. 5️⃣STEM Centres: Building regional ecosystems and "STEM Education Centres" to increase interest and achievement in STEM/STEAM. 6️⃣School Proficiency: Testing measures like tutoring and diagnostic screening to reduce underachievement in basic skills at the school level. 7️⃣VET Basic Skills: Strengthening literacy and numeracy within vocational curricula and work-based learning environments. 8️⃣VET Recognition: Fostering transnational joint VET programs to improve the transparency and recognition of qualifications abroad. 9️⃣Pact for Skills: Supporting Regional Skills Partnerships to implement concrete upskilling and reskilling actions for the workforce. 🔟Adult Empowerment: Piloting non-stigmatizing, flexible training to motivate adults with low basic skills to re-engage with learning. 📌Take note: ▪️Submission deadline: 8 April 2026 ▪️Max grant per project: €1,000,000 ▪️Project duration: 24-36 months ▪️Funding rate: 80% lump sum #ErasmusPlus #VET #Skills #EducationPolicy EU Employment and Skills Cedefop Eurofound European Training Foundation EfVET European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (EVBB) European Vocational Training Association - EVTA EUproVET EURASHE eucen CoP CoVEs VETNET-Europe

Did you know there may be government funding available to help pay for your professional certification and workforce upskilling in the U.S.? Spending time last week on the Hill with our Project Management Institute North America Chapter Presidents and our head of NA Government Affairs, Jason Briefel, it was encouraging to hear how much is already in place, and how much is close to legislation and implementation that can help today’s workforce invest in the skills that will be crucial to supporting growth and development, particularly given the rapid transformation of work in the age of AI. A lot of the existing programs vary based on your employment status, income, location, military service, or career goals, but there’s more out there than most of us are probably aware of - workforce grants, training subsidies, education benefits. There were a few things I was particularly encouraged by after our day of meetings with Senator’s offices and sub-committee reps: ✅ Existing programs, like WIOA-funded training, are readily available if you know how to go after them in your states (a simple prompt with your favorite AI tool can help as a starting point) ✅ In addition to funding mechanisms to help individuals, the MATCH Act of 2026 (Modernizing Access to Talents, Credentials, and Hiring Act), is proposed federal legislation focused on making skills and credentials more visible and usable in hiring. Basically, encouraging states to enable connecting people to jobs and training based on verified skills, certifications and experience rather than relying primarily on degrees and resumes ✅ While government-led AI literacy and coordinated program delivery is still very much in development stages, there seems to be meaningful movement to ensure larger scale upskilling, including AI-Ready America, a new national initiative designed to help every U.S. state and territory build the infrastructure needed for workers, businesses, schools, nonprofits, and local governments understand and adopt AI In a time when, as Sam Altman puts it, “The single most valuable thing anyone can build right now is the meta-skill of learning how to learn,” it was encouraging to see a focus on learning in the Capitol building. One of the clearest takeaways: technology may be rapidly evolving, but the need for people who can lead change, align teams and deliver outcomes remains. And in a time when it’s increasingly difficult to validate skills or capability, the power of a community of professionals, working together, learning from each other, and supporting one another’s growth is more important than ever.   

4 grants currently open for workforce development and skills training programs  Our team tracks and analyzes hundreds of federal and private funding opportunities every month. These are April's picks for workforce organizations. RESTART Initiative $1M–$5.1M | Apr 15  | USA PATH Grant Up to $200,000 | Apr 27 | DC Pathways to STEM Grant Up to $150,000 | Apr 27 | DC Talent Search Program $250K–$10M | May 1 | USA Most workforce organizations and training providers find a grant that fits, and then lose it at the application stage. Not because they weren't eligible. Because they didn't know how to position their program, demonstrate outcomes, or meet compliance requirements in a way that wins. That's what GovCon Growth Academy teaches. Not just where to find funding, but how to actually win it. Full April Grant List → https://lnkd.in/eVh-umht GovCon Growth Academy → https://lnkd.in/ezMQBm8w Save this. Tag someone running a workforce or training program. #WorkforceDevelopment #SkillsTraining #Grants #GCG #GrantAlert #FederalFunding #JobTraining