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Access to Employment Scheme

 

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 Scheme is demand driven and grants will be awarded on a first-come first-served basis, subject to the annual ceilings and total budget. The total available budget for the A2E is €12 million.  

1st Call – From June 2015 until December 2019

Employers applying for the A2E Scheme from June 2015 until December 2019 will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €85 per week per new recruit engaged, for a period of 26 weeks, 52 weeks or 104 weeks, depending on the target group. In the case of registered disabled persons, a subsidy of €125 per week for a maximum of 156 weeks is provided.

2nd Call – From January 2020 until September 2020

While Employers applying for the A2E Scheme from January 2020 onwards will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €104 per week per new recruit engaged, for a period of 26 weeks, 52 weeks or 104 weeks, depending on the target group. In the case of registered disabled persons, a subsidy of €155 per week for a maximum of 156 weeks is provided.

3rd Call – From October 2020 until December 2020

While Employers applying for the A2E Scheme from October 2020 onwards will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €104* 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 €155* per week for a maximum of 156 weeks is provided.

*Each year the subsidy will increase depending on the C.O.L.A.  

Call 3.1 – From January 2021 onwards

While Employers applying for the A2E Scheme from January 2021 onwards will be eligible to receive a subsidy of €104.50* per week per new recruit engaged, for a period of  52 weeks or 1041 weeks, depending on the target group. In the case of registered disabled persons, a subsidy of €156.50* per week for a maximum of 1562 weeks is provided.

*Each year the subsidy will increase depending on the C.O.L.A.  

1 For 104 weeks grant agreements the last full agreement will be signed in October 2021. As from October 2021 the subsidy period may be reduced (the retention period will also be reduced pro rata) considering that the scheme will have to come to an end by September 2023.

2 For 156 weeks grant agreements the last full subsidy period will be signed in October 2020. As from October 2020 the subsidy period may be reduced (the retention period will also be reduced pro rata) considering that the scheme will have to come to an end by September 2023.

The A2E Scheme is co-financed by the European Social Fund, the Maltese Government and employers.

Eligibility criteria

Target Groups

  1. Any person of age 24 and over who has been unemployed/inactive for the previous 6 months;
  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;
  3. Any person who is living as a single adult who has one or more dependants and is not in full-time employment;   
  4. Any person of age 24 and over who has not attained an upper secondary educational or vocational qualification (ISCED 3) and who does not have a job;
  5. Any person older than 50 years who does not have a job;                                             
  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 applicant undertaking and who belongs to either category (3) to (5);
  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 applicant undertaking;
  8. Any person who is a registered disabled person under national law.

Employers

  1. Complete documentation:  the Employer must present a duly filled application form together with all the requested supporting documentation.
  2. All Employers: 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 partnership, company, family businesses, association, individual self-employed or other body of persons, NGOs and social partners, when recruiting new employees subject to criterion (c) below. Such definition implies that there must be at least one person in the Employer’s organization who is engaging a different person through the A2E Scheme.
    NGOs and Social Partners not having an economic activity are also eligible to benefit from the scheme.
  3. In the case of private enterprises, where the recruitment does not represent a net increase, compared with the average over the previous twelve months in the number of employees in the undertaking concerned, the post/s shall have fallen vacant following voluntary departure, disability, retirement on grounds of age, voluntary reduction of working time or lawful dismissal for misconduct and not as a result of redundancy. 
  4. Incentive effect: as long as the Employer has submitted a written application prior to the engagement of the participant or within one month from the date of the acknowledgment of receipt date, aid shall be considered to have an incentive effect  
  5. Project implemented within/for the direct benefit of the eligible territory: The eligible territory for this scheme is the whole legal territory of the Maltese Islands. 
  6. Jobsplus will be checking that every applicant Undertaking is financially sound; any one of the following circumstances would render it ‘an undertaking in difficulty’(as more fully described in the ‘Definition Terms’ section) ineligible for funding:    
      1. In the case of limited liability companies (with a few exceptions relating to SMEs), if more than half of the subscribed share capital has been absorbed by losses.
      2. In the case of companies with partners’ partial limited liability, as in (a) above.
      3. Involvement in any collective insolvency proceedings.
      4. Where any rescue aid has not been repaid.
      5. Where non-SMEs have had for the last two years a book debt to equity ratio greater than 7.5 or an EBITDA coverage ratio of below 1.0.

Procedure for the receipt of applications and claims for reimbursement during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak:

Prospective applicants and beneficiaries claiming for funds are to note that given the evolving nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, only soft copies sent via email to a2e.jobsplus@gov.mt will be accepted; no hard copy of applications or claims for reimbursement, whether submitted by mail, by hand or any other means, will be accepted until further notice.

Likewise, no pen-drives, cd’s etc will be accepted. This applies to submissions at both the A2E Unit at Hal Far and other Jobsplus Offices in Malta and Gozo.

Only applications and claims for reimbursement that successfully reach the working mailbox a2e.jobsplus@gov.mt by the close of deadline, will be considered. It remains the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application and claim for reimbursement was successfully delivered.

Prospective applicants and beneficiaries are strongly advised to avoid submitting applications or claims for reimbursement on the last days of the batch, in order to ensure that technical hitches of any sort do not hinder the successful receipt of applications or claims for reimbursement. Applicants/Beneficiaries are to ensure that applications/claims for reimbursement are sent in one compressed zipped folder, where applicable, with each document clearly labelled. 

Jobsplus will continue to monitor this evolving situation and will keep all informed, as necessary, in future updates. If you have any additional questions, please contact the A2E Unit on a2e.jobsplus@gov.mt .

Circulars

FAQs - A2E Scheme Covid-19

Forms

Call 3.1 - From January 2021 onwards

A2E Application Stage Documentation 

A2E Grant Stage Documentation

A2E Reimbursement Stage Documentation

3rd Call - From October 2020 until December 2020

A2E Application Stage Documentation 

A2E Grant Stage Documentation

A2E Reimbursement Stage Documentation

2nd Call - January 2020 until September 2020

A2E Application Stage Documentation 

A2E Grant Stage Documentation

A2E Reimbursement Stage Documentation

1st Call - From June 2015 until December 2019

A2E Application Stage Documentation 

A2E Grant Stage Documentation

A2E Reimbursement Stage Documentation

A2E List of Beneficiaries

Applications (including all documentation) are to be submitted by post or by hand to:

Jobsplus
EU Funded Schemes Division
A2E Scheme
Hal Far Road
Hal Far BBG 3000

More Information

You can contact us by using our contact form or call us on 22201399 or email us on a2e.jobsplus@gov.mt.