The Government of Serbia has issued a Regulation on financial support for dual education, which provides that employers can receive a subsidy amounting to 50% of the net minimum wage for work-based learning paid to students enrolled in dual educational profiles focusing on scarce occupations.
The recently adopted regulation outlines that financial support for dual education involves the allocation of funds for:
1. Subsidizing a portion of the remuneration for work-based learning that employers pay to students enrolled in dual educational profiles focused on scarce occupations.
2. Assisting schools in enrolling students in dual educational profiles focusing on scarce occupations.
According to the regulation, employers can receive a subsidy in the form of a portion of remuneration for work-based learning, up to 50% of the net amount stipulated by the Law on Dual Education, including related contributions.
The type and amount of financial support, as well as the conditions for application, are determined through a competition announced by the Office for Dual Education and the National Qualifications Framework, in line with the available funds for each school year.
If, after the competition for the allocation of subsidies to employers for remuneration in work-based learning, there are remaining unallocated funds, the subsidy can be granted in an amount exceeding 50%.
The subsidy amount, payment method, deadlines, and reporting on subsidy implementation are specified in the competition and the agreement on fund allocation concluded between the employer and the Office.
As per the Law on Dual Education, the remuneration for work-based learning is paid once a month, at the latest by the end of the current month for the previous month, for each hour spent on work-based learning, at a net rate of at least 70% of the minimum wage.
Employers can pay the remuneration for work-based learning in different amounts according to the years of schooling, based on the level of knowledge of the students, ranging from at least 30% of the net minimum wage per hour upwards. However, the total remuneration for work-based learning paid at the level of an educational profile must amount to at least 70% of the net minimum wage per hour paid for that period, as stipulated in the Law on Dual Education.
The regulation also stipulates that the Office for Dual Education will announce a competition for the allocation of funds to support schools in enrolling students in dual educational profiles for which students will be trained for occupations in demand.
Schools apply to the competition for all students enrolled in the first year of high school for the corresponding dual educational profile for the number of work-based learning places specified in the dual education agreement with employers.
The agreement on the allocation of funds is concluded among the school, the Office, and the student, or the parent or other legal representative.
The Office disburses the funds to the school students in nine equal monthly installments through the “Poštanska štedionica” bank, which opens a dedicated current account for students for this purpose.
As mentioned in the regulation, a student loses the right to support for a particular month if they have unjustifiably missed more than five percent of the monthly work-based learning hours. If they have unjustifiably missed more than 10 percent of the hours for the previous work-based learning period, the student loses the right to support for the rest of the school year.
It is also prescribed that a student who has a negative grade at mid-term loses the right to support for all months until they improve the grade.
The student loses the right to support if the work-based learning agreement is terminated unless the termination is mutual due to concluding another work-based learning agreement with a different employer for an occupation in demand.
The remaining funds after the allocation can be assigned to support schools in improving conditions for implementing dual educational profiles. They can be allocated for the purchase of equipment, consumables, personal protective equipment, and safety equipment, as well as for the implementation of parts of work-based learning that cannot be realized at the employer’s premises.
The Office for Dual Education determines the occupations in demand, considering data from the National Employment Service, the number of work-based learning positions per educational profile according to the proposed plan for involving employers in dual education by the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, and the number of enrolled students in dual educational profiles in the previous two school years.
The list of educational profiles and the number of work-based learning positions at the employer for occupations in demand is published in the competition for the relevant school year.
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