Applications for INCLUIR programme under Social Employment Market from February 1
Ponta Delgada
Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego
The application period for the INCLUIR measure, included in the Social Employment Market (MSE), opens on February 1, under the terms set by the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, in an Order published in the Official Journal.
Applications will be accepted until December 31 of this year. They must be submitted by the entities promoting the traineeships – responsible for the process of placing unemployed people with other employers – at the MSE Desk, available at emprego.azores.gov.pt, where the MSE Implementation Guide can also be consulted.
The INCLUIR measure gives unemployed people with low employability, problems, disabilities or impairments the opportunity to undertake a supported traineeship in a real work context.
The traineeship projects are promoted by non-profit organisations, such as IPSS-Private Social Solidarity Institutions, which develop active employment policies or are actively involved in tackling the difficulties contributing to the low employability of unemployed people targeted by the INCLUIR measure, in conjunction with regional companies and other employers.
According to Maria João Carreiro, the INCLUIR measure "embodies an innovative approach to unemployment associated with personal and/or social problems, calling on the public employment service, IPSS and companies to provide an individualised employment response that includes the acquisition of essential skills for the empowerment and hiring of the unemployed."
Traineeships last for 24 months, including two months of rest, and can be full-time (maximum 35 hours per week) or part-time (15 to 20 hours per week).
Trainees are awarded a traineeship grant corresponding to 100% of the Minimum Monthly Wage (RMMG) in the Regionin the case of full-time traineeships. For part-time internships, the grant is proportional to the weekly working hours, based on the RMMG in the Region. In addition to this support, they also receive a meal allowance.
The promoting entities receive monthly support corresponding to 23.75% of the traineeship grant awarded per trainee for the duration of the traineeship. If the trainee is hired in the month following the end of the traineeship, the promoting entities receive support equivalent to 50% of the overall amount of support awarded to them during the traineeship.
Employers who have taken part in the traineeship programme can benefit from the “Contratar Social” measure to hire trainees at the end of their traineeship period, through which they receive support of up to €26,000 over four years for each new job created.
In the case of workers with disabilities or impairments, employers can benefit from hiring support for six years, ranging from 90% of the salary costs incurred by the company for the hired worker, in cases where the worker's disability is equal to or greater than 90%, and 40% in cases of disability equal to or greater than 40% and less than 60%.
The MSE, whose new regulations were published in January 2025, is the main public governance instrument for promoting the labour market inclusion of unemployed people facing vulnerabilities in the labour market. It brings together the public administration, non-profit organisations and employers in promoting pathways that foster the labour inclusion of workers whose unemployment is associated with personal and/or social difficulties.
