According to a recent research by Asfor (Italian Association for Managerial Training), Italian companies are returning to invest in resources and their corporate training as drivers of growth and progress on the market.
In this scenario, the question that has always afflicted Italian companies concerns the finding of funds to be allocated to staff development programs . From this requirement the interprofessional funds for business training are born, which account for about 45% of the companies in the area.
What are the inter-professional equal funds?
Interprofessional funds for training are associations of an associative nature promoted by the social partners for the training of employed personnel, linked to Law 388/2000 which allows companies to allocate 0.3% of the contributions paid to INPS( mandatory contribution for voluntary unemployment) for the training of its employees.
The company can then ask the INPS to transfer the contribution to one of the chosen inter-professional funds, which will organize the established training activity.
What are the inter-professional equal funds?
The inter-professional funds established up to now are the following:
• Training Crafts Fund , fund for the continuous training of craft enterprises;
• Fon.Coop , fund for continuing education in cooperative enterprises;
• FONDIR , fund for the continuous training of managers of the tertiary sector (Confcommercio);
• FOR.TE , fund for continuing education in the tertiary sector (Confcommercio);
• FON.TER , fund for continuing education for employees in companies in the service sector, tourism and service distribution sectors (Confesercenti);
• Fondimpresa , a fund for the continuous training of Confindustria, Cgil, Cisl and Uil ;
• Fapi , training fund for small and medium-sized enterprises;
• Professional fund, fund for continuing professional studies and related companies ;
• FBA , bank fund and insurance;
• Fonservizi , fund for training industrial public services.
What are the advantages of joining inter-professional equal funds?
There are many advantages for companies and employees who join the program of an inter-professional joint fund for continuing education. Here are some:
• increase in training as a qualification and retraining of employees, according to the principles of lifelong learning ;
• increased skills , updated to meet new needs, thus stimulating the growth of companies, also in terms of development according to the Industry 4.0 Plan ;
• activate a control on the management of business costs dedicated to training, guaranteeing savings ;
• make the working group more involved and satisfied with a view to improving productivity ;
• to link growth and progress and increase thecompetitiveness of the company.
How to join and obtain inter-professional equal funds
All companies that are interested in vocational training funds can join on a voluntary basis with the INPS DM10 contributory complaint form used routinely every month. The procedure provides that the document will show the chosen fund in addition to the number of workers subject to the mandatory contribution of 0.3%.
To obtain the contribution to the funds, one must first of all join one of the existing projects. Furthermore, membership is revocable and has an annual duration . Once the request has been made, the fund structures will send businesses the necessary information to gather information about their training plans in order to organize a complete and structured program.
There are no additional costs for joining an inter-professional fund: in fact, a part of the contribution paid by the company to INPS for this specific destination will then be turned by the institution to the fund chosen for the training activity. Companies that do not take part in any joint course will also have the obligation to pay the supplementary contribution to INPS.
Returning to the research conducted by the Asfor Observatory, despite the resources allocated to the training of personnel are still below the acceptable threshold for that important leap to the global market challenge, it is necessary to consider good the intention to focus on staff to achieve the goals set for growth and development.
Interprofessional sources are mostly used by large industrial groups, while there is still an opportunity little exploited for small-medium enterprises, also due to the lack of information on the convenience deriving from this type of investment. Small businesses, precisely because they have used small staff within them, are not generally able to set aside large sums to be allocated to a specific item such as employee training.
The data recorded by the research, therefore, shed light on the willingness of the company managers to increase the budgets for staff training, entrusted to bring the company to more competitive levels.
You can consult the website for further information on the operation of the Funds and on monitoring organizations, ANPAL guidelines on the management of financial resources allocated to the inter-professional funds for continuing education in art. 118, L. 23.12.2000, n. 388.