Training allowances are intended to act like a ‘trampoline’ into working life
Vienna (OTS) – The new training surcharge – the permanent education bonus from the times of the Corona crisis – will be extended to social welfare recipients with yesterday’s National Council decision. Since January 1, 2024, the new training surcharge has applied to AMS measures lasting over four or twelve months. The new training surcharge is between 224 and 374 euros per month in addition to unemployment benefit and emergency assistance.
So far, social assistance or minimum security recipients have not been included in correspondingly longer AMS measures. “This gap will be closed with today’s amendment to the Basic Social Welfare Act – this is further social policy progress. In this way, we combine better financial security with qualification, training and retraining measures that sustainably improve job prospects,” says Markus Koza, labor and social spokesman for the Greens.
The new training supplement not only provides better financial security for the duration of the relevant qualification measures, but also enables many of those affected to successfully complete an AMS course. “Sustainable, longer-lasting training or retraining courses not only improve labor market opportunities, those who are better qualified also earn higher income, are less likely to be unemployed and thus also relieve the burden on future labor market and social welfare budgets,” says Koza.
Qualification and further training are also important measures to overcome the shortage of skilled workers in many industries. Koza thinks it is “only fair” that the training surcharge is paid from the state’s social assistance, as the AMS not only covers living expenses (DLU) including the simple training subsidy for the duration of the labor market policy measures, but also covers the costs of the AMS course arises.
“The states only pay a fraction of the social assistance that the AMS covers as part of the DLU and therefore save themselves the majority of the costs of social assistance. It is only fair if social assistance covers the training subsidy – especially because this investment brings people back into gainful employment and thus out of social assistance,” says the Green Party’s labor and social spokesman.
It has also been decided with today’s social assistance amendment that in future the training surcharge will no longer be counted towards social assistance and minimum security for “top-ups” – i.e. unemployed people who top up unemployment benefit or emergency assistance with social assistance or minimum security.
Koza concludes: “With the proposed training supplement, minimum income and social assistance will actually become a ‘springboard’ back to employment and financial independence. We create an incentive for people in social welfare to continue their training. This not only makes sense from a socio-political point of view, but is also future-oriented.”
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