Funding of €20 million from the NSRF is being directed towards employee training programmes in strategic technologies and the defence and security sectors, with businesses eligible for grants of up to €600,000 per training investment plan.
The new scheme under the “Competitiveness 2021-2027” programme covers 50% of eligible costs to upgrade staff skills in cutting-edge technologies, with a focus on the strategic sectors covered by STEP and the defence industry.
The programme is open to existing businesses that employ at least 100 people and operate in these fields or have a documented business and strategic focus on them. The eligible budget for each training plan ranges from €150,000 to €1.2 million, with public funding of between €75,000 and €600,000.
Applications open on 2 November and close on 31 December, through the Integrated Information System for State Aid (OPSKE). Applications will be assessed in order of priority, based on the date and time of final submission.
Of the €20 million, €15.715 million is allocated to the country’s less developed regions and €4.285 million to Attica and the South Aegean.
The scheme focuses on businesses seeking to strengthen their employees’ expertise in technologies of strategic importance to the European economy. Training can cover areas linked to digital technologies and deep technologies (deep tech), clean and resource-efficient technologies, biotechnology, and technologies related to defence and security.
To qualify for the scheme, the 100-employee threshold is calculated based on the number of different individuals employed by the business during the last full calendar year before the application. Full-time, part-time and shift workers are included, whether or not they are still employed by the business when the application is submitted. The relevant documentation is provided through the ERGANI system.
Each business may submit up to two funding applications: one for STEP technologies and one for the defence and security sectors. Based on the maximum limits for each application, a business approved under both priorities could receive total grants of up to €1.2 million.
The funding covers costs related to delivering the training, such as fees for trainers and providers, eligible operating costs and staff costs for time spent in training, in accordance with the specific terms of the call. A flat-rate allowance for general indirect costs is also provided, at 7% of certified direct eligible costs.
One of the key conditions concerns maintaining the business’s existing training expenditure. Beneficiaries must declare as a baseline either their expenditure in the last closed financial year or the average over the past three years.
The provision is intended to prevent public funding from replacing existing training expenditure. In other words, the grant is linked to upgrading skills but does not exempt businesses from maintaining the training they already provide.
Costs become eligible from the date the funding application is submitted, while the decision sets a maximum period of 12 months to complete the physical and financial aspects of the project, starting from electronic notification of final approval.