SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE Nov. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife, via the Canary Islands Foundation for Training, Employment and Business Development (Fifede), has commenced the application period for new grants aimed at encouraging the employment of individuals in hard-to-fill positions, specifically targeting small and medium enterprises.
These grants, under the slogan ‘Add talents, multiply successes’, represent an investment of two million euros, potentially expandable by an additional two million. This figure is complemented by the ‘Neighbourhoods for Employment’ programme, which boasts a budget of 4.2 million euros, bringing the total investment to over six million euros aimed at enhancing employment on the island.
The specifics were disclosed during a press conference on Friday by the island’s Minister for Employment and Socioeconomic Development, Efraín Medina, who emphasised “the significance of this initiative in promoting the integration of the most underserved groups within the job market.”
In this context, he also mentioned the ‘Neighbourhoods for Employment’ programme, which has an investment of 4.2 million euros intended to assist nearly 2,000 individuals and provide guidance and training for over 5,500 people.
Additionally, Medina wanted to underscore the “intensive efforts made by the department to ensure that the aid can be processed two months earlier than in the previous round.”
The director of Fifede, Elena de la Guardia, elucidated that the new assistance programmes are tailored to help SMEs hire unemployed individuals from vulnerable backgrounds, including long-term unemployed individuals, women, youth under the age of 30, persons over 45 years old, or individuals with disabilities.
Concerning the features of the aid, the grants depend on the type of contract offered.
AID OF UP TO 9,000 EUROS
Specifically, for permanent contracts, the aid amounts to 8,000 euros, which can be extended to 9,000 euros if the hired individual belongs to priority groups.
For training contracts, the aid is set at 3,500 euros, which can be extended to 4,000 euros, while for alternating training contracts, the grant is 3,000 euros, extendable to 3,500 euros if the hired individual has a recognised disability.
The grants will be administrated via the Canary Islands Foundation for Training, Employment and Business Development (Fifede) through their website https://fifede.org/, and are targeted at SMEs that bring on unemployed individuals meeting specific criteria, such as residing in Tenerife for at least 12 months and having been unemployed for a minimum of 75 days within the three months preceding their hiring.
Applications for the grants must be made individually for each contract, with a maximum of five applications allowed in total.
The application period is currently open and will conclude on January 25, 2025.
Submissions must be completed electronically via the Fifede Electronic Office (sede.fifede.org).
For applicants who do not possess the necessary resources to submit their application electronically, submissions will be accepted in person at the Fifede offices.
