Frequently asked questions

I am a foreign citizen. What documentation identifies me at the Work Offices?

• If you are from a European Union (community) country. Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Sweden, Cyprus. You will need a Foreigner’s Identification Number - NIE or residence card.
• If you are from Bulgaria or Rumania. You will need a work permit. [Valid until 31 December 2008].
• If you are from a country outside the community (none of the above countries). You will need a work permit.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) What is DARDO?

This document provides evidence of registration with the SOC or of renewal of request for work, and features the date of the next renewal.

References to "signing on", "registering" or "renewing the request" refer to the DARDO (Jobseeker’s Registration and Renewal of Request for Employment).

Renewal of the request for work is compulsory for jobseekers and for beneficiaries of unemployment benefits and subsidies.

Renewal ("signing on") is done in person at the Work Office assigned to you, on the days indicated on the DARDO, and also by Internet: http://www.oficinadetreball.gencat.cat/renovacio

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) Where should I go to "sign on", "register" or "renew the request" and at what time?

You can "register", "sign on" o "renew the request" on the Internet at:
http://www.oficinadetreball.gencat.cat/renovacio.

You may also renew at the times the Work Offices are open to the public. In other words from 8.15 to 13.30h.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) I did not go to "sign on", "register" or "renew the request". What can happen to me?

If you did not go to "sign on", "register" or "renew the request" at the office or by Internet, you will not be registered as a jobseeker. You may not benefit from services provided by the Work Offices such as the job service, attendance at training courses, etc.

Furthermore, if you are receiving benefit or a subsidy, not being registered as a jobseeker is cause for the SPEE (State Public Employment Service and formerly INEM) to stop your benefit or subsidy and possibly start a process of sanction for minor infringement.

Go to your Work Office to reregister as a jobseeker as soon as possible and ask about the procedure you must follow to receive the benefit again.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) I cannot go to "sign on", "register" or "renew the request" on the day I am supposed to.

If, on the planned signing-on date, something should prevent you from attending,

• You may renew the request on the Internet at: http://www.oficinadetreball.gencat.cat/renovacio,
• Get in touch with the staff at your Work Office to see if they can find a solution and prevent possible sanction.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) What do I need to renew the request by Internet?

Renewal by Internet is a totally valid and official system that enables applicants to renew their unemployment card from home.

You can renew the request by Internet at: http://www.oficinadetreball.gencat.cat/renovacio.

To renew the request by Internet you need:

• The DARDO card, where the necessary data appears for the renewal: the ID number and the password (PIN), or
• A digital certificate.

Once done, you must print the document of renewal that will certify the will of being registered in the SOC and knowing the date of the next renewal.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) What is the PIN? Where is it?

The PIN is a unique identifier of the DARDO renewal of request card.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) What do I do if I have lost the PIN?

You can recover the PIN if you reprint the DARDO card. You will thus have the access code required to renew the card by Internet.

You can reprint the DARDO card from the Obtain reports section.

To enter Obtain reports, you will need a digital certificate. If you do not have one, you must go to your Work Office, where they will reprint your DARDO card and you will have your PIN again.

(RENEWAL OF REQUEST) Do I have to sign on if I am doing a training course, or if I have a sick note?

No. If you are de-registered from jobseeking for doing a training course or you have a sick note, you do not have to sign on, either in person or by Internet.

(BENEFITS) I've lost my job. What requisites must I meet to receive unemployment benefit?

To be entitled to unemployment benefit, you must meet the following requisites:

1. Be legally unemployed (i.e. you did not stop working voluntarily).
2. Have worked for a third party and have paid contributions for a minimum period of 360 days worked in the last six years, prior to losing the job.
3. Be registered at your Work Office as a jobseeker.
4. Not be of ordinary retirement age (65 years old)
5. Present the unemployment benefit application to your Work Office within 15 working days (including Saturdays) subsequent to becoming unemployed.

If, in addition, you became unemployed while you were on sick leave, you must wait for official permission to return to apply for the benefit.

(BENEFITS) What documentation is required to apply for unemployment benefit?

1. Duly completed unemployment benefit application form (provided by the Work Office). This features information regarding the declaration on dependant children and income, bank details, the jobseeker’s agreement, and authorisation of the request for information from AEAT (the Tax Office).
   
2. Identification of the applicant.
   • For Spanish citizens: National Identity Document (DNI), driving license, passport.
   • For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.
     
3. Official family record book or equivalent document for foreign citizens who declare dependant children.
   
4. Company certificate/s of the companies in which you have worked in the last 6 months.

(BENEFITS) I’ve just lost my job and wish to apply for unemployment benefit. Do I have to register as a jobseeker?

Yes, you must register as a jobseeker. You must also:

• Present the application for benefit to the Work Office assigned to you, within 15 working days subsequent to the date upon which you became legally unemployed. Neither Sundays nor public holidays are working days.
  
• The following documentation must be submitted:
  1. Duly completed unemployment benefit application form (provided by the Work Office). This features information regarding the declaration on dependant children and income, bank details, the jobseeker’s agreement, and authorisation of the request for information from AEAT (The Tax Office).
     
  2. Identification of the applicant.
     • If you are a Spanish citizen: National Identity Document (DNI), driving license, passport.
     • For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.
       
  3. Official family record book or equivalent document for foreign citizens who declare dependant children.
     
  4. Company certificate/s of the companies in which you have worked in the last 6 months.

(BENEFITS) How much does unemployment benefit amount to and how is it calculated?

The unemployment benefit you receive is calculated on the basis of the worker’s regulatory base. The regulatory base (your paycheque should feature a section with this name) will be the average of the base rates for work-related accidents and illness, excluding payment for overtime, for which the company has made Social Security contributions for the worker in the 180 days prior to the date of legal unemployment or the moment at which the obligation to contribute ended.

The amount received will be:

• For the initial 180 days: 70% of the regulatory base.
• From day 181: 60% of the regulatory base.

Click here for the program that calculates unemployment benefit amounts.

(BENEFITS) How long does contributory unemployment benefit last?

The duration of contributory benefit depends on unemployment contributions made to Social Security regimes that envisage said contingency, in the six years prior to the date of legal unemployment or the moment at which the obligation to contribute ended. If, in that period of time, you have received unemployment benefit, the contributions made from the initial entitlement to said benefit will be taken into account.

The following scale will be applied to calculate duration:

(BENEFITS) What date does the benefit start from? When does it start to be paid?

If you fulfil all the requisites necessary to receive the benefit, that starting date will be that subsequent to the date upon which you became legally unemployed, provided that the application is presented in the subsequent 15 working days (Sundays and public holidays are not working days).

If regulatory holiday periods are pending, entitlement to benefit will start when the holiday period ends.

On the subsequent occasions, payment will be made on the 10th day of each month and, if the 10th is a public holiday, on the following working day (neither Sundays nor public holidays).

(BENEFITS) What periods of work are taken into account for unemployment benefits?

To be entitled to receive contributory unemployment benefit you must have contributed for the contingency of unemployment for a minimum of 360 days in the six years prior to the date of legal unemployment or the moment at which the obligation to contribute ended.

The duration of entitlement is calculated in accordance with contributions in the period of employment during said six-year period.

(BENEFITS) What must I do to apply for lump sum for use as business capital? What requisites must I meet?

To apply for lump-sum unemployment benefit for a self-employed worker, contact your nearest Work Office and they will inform you of the documents you need.

You must comply with the following requisites:

• You must be unemployed and the beneficiary of contributory unemployment benefit at the time of application for lump-sum payment.
• At least three months' benefit must be pending receipt.
• You must not have been awarded a lump-sum payment in the four preceding years.
• The work you intend to do is as a self-employed worker, which requires registration as such with the Social Security, or as a stable worker-partner of an operating work cooperative (you may not have previously maintained a working or business relationship of over 24 months therewith).
• You must not have started the activity on the date of application for the lump-sum payment.
• If you have set forth legal proceedings regarding the termination of the working relationship that gave rise to the benefit, application for the lump-sum payment must be subsequent to the ruling on said legal proceedings.

The other documentation to be presented will vary according to the module chosen:

• In the case of incorporation to already constituted cooperatives or workers' companies:
• • Certificate of having requested their joining this, indicating the working conditions as a partner of a stable nature, whether permanent or otherwise,, probationary period and its length as well as the mandatory amount to be paid if it is the case of voluntary contribution, and/or the income quota (this latter detail will not be necessary if the request is exclusively for the subsidy of the Social Security payments).
  • If part of the amount obtained is for financing the voluntary contribution, the commitment of the applicant that this amount will remain in the cooperative the same time as the obligatory amount, or the same time during which they have received unemployment benefit in the ordinary system of monthly payment.
• In the case of constitution of newly-created cooperatives or workers' companies
• • Project of public deed of constitution and statutes.
  • Explanatory report of the project, of the investment made and the activity to be undertaken, as well as all the documentation accrediting its feasibility.
  • If part of the amount obtained is for financing the voluntary contribution, commitment of applicant that this amount will remain in the cooperative the same time as the obligatory amount, or the same time during which they have received unemployment benefit in the ordinary system of monthly payment.
• o In the case of starting activity as a self-employed worker:
• • Explanatory report of the project for the activity to be undertaken and the investment required to start it, as well as all the documentation that accredits its feasibility. In case of requesting exclusively the quotas it will not be necessary for the report to show data about the investment.
  • If it is a worker with disability, certificate issued by IMSERSO or competent body of the autonomous communities that accredit their condition as disabled to a degree equal to or more than 33%.

Documentation and forms

• G146NCAP-005 - Application for subsidy consisting of the payment of the Social security quotas of the workers that have received unemployment benefit in its single payment mode
• G146NCAP-006 - Application of single payment of the contributory benefit
• G146NCAP-007 - Abbreviated report
• G146NCAP-008 - Contents of the report
• G146NCAP-009 - Report of single payment of the contributory benefit
• G146NCAP-010 - Documentation for applying for the contributory benefit to start self-employed activity
• G146NCAP-011 - Documentation to apply for Social Security quotas to start self-employed activity
• G146NCAP-012 - Documentation to apply for the single payment for the creation of a new company
• G146NCAP-013 - Documentation to apply for the single payment for the incorporation into a company
• G146NCAP-014 - Model of certificate of incorporation of a partner

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What should I do to register as a jobseeker?

If you are registering as a jobseeker at the Work Offices for the first time, you must:

1. Go to your Work Office.
2. Take a VALID identification document (ID Card, driving license, passport, work and/or residence permit for foreign citizens).
3. When you register for the first time, your personal, training, work experience details, etc. will be taken down in an in-depth interview, and your professional profile will be established to facilitate placement. You will therefore need to take your training qualifications and professional licenses.

If you have previously been registered as a jobseeker, all you have to do is go to your Work Office with a VALID identification document (ID card, driving license, passport).

For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What should I do to claim benefit?

• You must register as a jobseeker.
• You have to request appointment prior to the Municipal Service of State Occupation (SEPE) through the web  www.sepe.es or the 901 11 99 99.
• You must submit the benefit application to the corresponding Work Office within 15 working days subsequent to the date upon which you became legally unemployed. Neither Sundays nor public holidays are working days.
• To claim benefit, you must submit the following documentation:
  1. Duly completed unemployment benefit application form (provided by the Work Office). This features information regarding the declaration on dependant children and income, bank details, the jobseeker’s agreement, and authorisation of the request for information from AEAT (The Tax Office)
  2. Identification of the applicant.
     • If you are a Spanish citizen: National Identity Document (DNI), driving license, passport.
     • For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.
  3. Official family record book or equivalent document for foreign citizens who declare dependant children.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What should I do to claim a subsidy after contributory benefit has run out?

To receive a subsidy you must:

• Be registered as a jobseeker.
  
• Go to your Work Office with the following documentation:
  1. Duly completed unemployment benefit application form (the Work Office will provide it)
  2. Identification of the applicant, spouse and dependant descendants who feature on the application by providing valid originals of the following documentation:
     • For Spanish citizens: National Identity Document (DNI)
     • For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.
  3. Official family record book or equivalent document for foreign citizens.
  4. Certificate of disability and proven degree of the descendants who live with or are dependant on you, issued by the INSS, IMSERSO or competent body (where appropriate).
  5. Legal ruling or document certifying foster care with proof of consent by the public institution responsible in each region for the protection of minors and date upon which foster care became effective.
  6. Ruling and/or settlement in the event of separation or divorce.
     
• You must also submit the following complementary documentation, only if necessary:
  1. Proof of income obtained in the month preceding the application, by the applicant, spouse and descendants.
  2. Photocopy of the ruling of the finding of improvement file.
  3. Company certificates, signed and stamped by the company or companies in which you have worked.
  4. Certification issued by the government office or branch office that features evidence of the date of return and time worked in the country of emigration.
  5. Form E301, if you are returning from a member country of the European Economic Area or Switzerland, or liaison form that covers the periods worked in a country with which there is an agreement on unemployment protection.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What should I do to sign off as a jobseeker and recipient of benefits?

There are two signing-off options:

• Go to your Work Office.
• Use the SOC website, if you have a digital certificate.

If, moreover, you receive a benefit or subsidy, you should know you are obliged to communicate that you have started work or that you have stopped looking for work at the Public Employment Service (formerly INEM). There are two ways of doing this:

• Go to your Work Office.
• Phone the Public Employment Service on 901 119 999. The lines are open to the public from 9.00 to 14.00.

If, even if you have started work, you wish to continue to be registered as a jobseeker, contact your Work Office.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What should I do if I wish to suspend the claim/benefit when training courses are run, for temporary disability, or for maternity, etc.?

If you wish to suspend your claim or benefit:

• Go to your Work Office, where you will be advised on the situation that best suits you.
• Take a document that provides proof of your status or case (for maternity leave, take the gynaecologist’s leave form, or for temporary disability leave, take the leave form from your GP)

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What documentation do I need to register at the Work Offices?

You must take a VALID identity document (ID card, driving license, passport).

For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.

When you register for the first time, your personal, training, work experience details, etc. will be taken down in an in-depth interview, and your professional profile will be established to facilitate placement. You will therefore need to take your training qualifications and professional licenses.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What documentation do I need to claim a benefit?

1. The completed benefit application. The document is available at your Work Office. Include information regarding the declaration on dependant children and income, bank details, the jobseeker's agreement, and authorisation of the request for information from AEAT (The Tax Office).
2. Identification of applicant: ID card, driving license, passport. For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.
3. Official family record book or equivalent document for foreign citizens if you declare dependant children.
4. Company certificate/s of the company or companies in which you have worked in the last 6 months.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) Where can I get a ..............certificate?

The Work Offices issue the following certificates:

1. Report with information on the jobs that you have applied for.
2. Report with the services you have applied for.
3. Renewal of request document (DARDO).
4. Report on your status with regard to the request for work.
5. Benefit/subsidy receiver report.
6. Registration certificate report.
7. Retirement application certificate.

These are available from your Work Office upon presentation of an identification document (ID Card or passport). If you cannot go to your Work Office to request a certificate, you may authorise, in writing, another person to do so.
For foreign citizens: details of the documentation you need for identification purposes can be found here.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) I have lost my job. What requisites do I need to meet in order to receive unemployment benefit?

To be entitled to contributory unemployment benefit, you must meet the following requisites:

1. Be legally unemployed (i.e. you did not stop working voluntarily).
2. Have worked for a third party and have paid contributions for a minimum period of 360 days worked in the last six years prior to losing the job.
3. Be registered at your Work Office as a jobseeker.
4. Not be of ordinary retirement age (65 years old).
5. Present the unemployment benefit application to your Work Office within 15 working days (including Saturdays) subsequent to becoming unemployed.

If, in addition, you became unemployed while you were on sick leave, you must wait for official permission to return to apply for the benefit.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What situations are compatible with the receipt of unemployment benefits? ?

Contributory benefit and unemployment subsidy are compatible with:

• Part-time work, as you may make the benefit compatible. Go to your Work Office with the contract. You have 15 days from the start of the contract.
• Partial retirement pensions and pensions or economic benefits from the Social Security that were compatible with the job that gave rise to the benefit.
• Pensions recognised and paid by a State different from Spain.
• Social collaboration jobs that the Public Employment Service may require from recipients of unemployment benefits, as these jobs do not involve work relations between the unemployed person and institution in which said work is rendered.
• Legal compensation arising from expiry of the work contract. The amount of legal compensation is understood to be the quantity established, on an obligatory basis, in the Workers’ Statute, in its regulations on implementation or, when appropriate, in the enforcement of a ruling, while that established by virtue of agreement, pact or contract may not be considered as such.
• Grants and public subsidies to cover transport, accommodation and maintenance expenses arising from attendance at acts of vocational training envisaged in the National Training and Work Placement Plan, or other plans subsidised with Public Employment Service funds.
• Paid exercise of public or trade union posts that involve part-time work.
• Social Security benefits for dependant child.
• Performance of training, provided that no labour relations are involved.

If it is an unemployment subsidy, remember that in all the above events, compatibility also requires the interested party not to have income of any kind that exceeds 75% of the National Minimum Wage (including partial retirement pension), and to continue providing proof of the family responsibilities that, when applicable, were taken into consideration when determining eligibility for the subsidy.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What situations are incompatible with the receipt of unemployment benefit?

The receipt of unemployment benefit and subsidy are incompatible with:

• o Full-time paid work for a third party.
• o Self-employed work, regardless of the number of hours devoted to the activity.

Work is considered to be any activity that generates economic income:/p>

• o Paid research activities that involve exclusive devotion.
• o Economic pensions or benefits from the Social Security that are incompatible with work: retirement, maternity or paternity leave, etc.
• o Paid exercise of public or trade union posts.
• o Residence abroad (if you wish to transfer your entitlement to benefit to one of the countries in the European Union, click on Contributory Benefit and Travel Abroad

The beneficiary must inform the Public Employment Service of the occurrence of any of the events of incompatibility described above, so it may suspend payment of the benefit or subsidy.

(REGISTRATION, SIGNING OFF AND SUSPENSION) What causes benefits to be suspended?

The law establishes that in specific situations, payment of unemployment benefit or subsidy must be interrupted and that, once the cause of the suspension has terminated, the worker must reapply for it, except in the event of suspension because of sanction, in which benefit will be resumed ex officio by the Public Employment Service.

Causes of suspension to entitlement are:

• The imposition of sanctions for minor and serious infringements in the terms established in the Law on Infractions and Sanctions in the Social Order.
• Serving of sentence involving restriction of freedom, unless the beneficiary has family responsibilities.
• Start of full-time labour relations with a third party or self-employment, regardless of the number of hours devoted to the activity. If the labour relations with a third party are part-time, benefit may be made compatible. Go to your Work Office with the contract. You have 15 days from the start of the contract.
• Change of residence abroad to look for or to undertake work, professional improvement or international cooperation, for a continuous period of under twelve months. If the period abroad is for reasons different from those indicated above, entitlement to benefit will expire from the date of departure abroad.
• Start of a situation of maternity.
• Start of a situation of paternity.

(OFFERS) Where can I find job vacancies?

You can search job vacancies in the portal Feina Activa .

(OFFERS) What should I do to respond to or register for an offer?

To be considered a candidate for an offer, jobseekers must fulfil one essential condition: he or she must be registered as a jobseeker, , which means being registered with the Catalan Employment Service (SOC).

When the jobseeker has registered with the SOC, there are two ways of becoming a candidate for a post:

1. Candidate by automatic search or, in other words, the IT systems of SOC search their database for those jobseekers who best suit the required profile of the offer and then put them forward to the company.
2. The jobseeker is interested in an offer published either on the SOC web site or through the Work Office.

The method of presentation of candidatures to the company for the start of the recruitment process, depends on the search method chosen:

• It may receive CVs of available candidates by e-mail
• The proposed candidate, accompanied with a letter of introduction, may make a personal visit and, when appropriate, may take his or her CV and/or arrange an interview.

If you ware seeking work and you have never registered with SOC as a jobseeker: you must do so, by contacting the Work Office that corresponds with your address.

(OFFERS) I would like to get work experience abroad. What information can the Department offer me?

Different work experience programmes are administered by the Department of Employment’s International Exchange Section, both for residents in Catalonia who wish to gain work experience abroad, and for residents of European regions with which we have an agreement, who wish to gain work experience in Catalonia. These always feature on the Leonardo da Vinci and Eurodissea programmes.

We can only suggest work experience within the frameworks of these collaboration agreements.

For further information, contact the International Exchange Section:

Servei d'Ocupació de Catalunya
Intercanvis Internacionals
C/ Llull, 297, ground floor
08019 Barcelona
Tel: 93 553 66 07 / 93 553 63 41 / 93 553 63 42 / 93 553 63 44
Contact mailbox.
Further information on Learning practices.

I have heard that the SOC will give loans to unemployed people to do training courses. I think they are called "Training for work contract". What is it exactly and what do I have to do to ask for one?

The programme is called "Training for work credit". The Servei d'Ocupació de Catalunya will award loans for a minimum sum of 1,000 euros and a maximum of 6,000 euros, interest-free, which is paid back within a period of four to six years, with one-year postponement period (which means that for the first year no repayment is made)..

L'import del préstec cobrirà el preu de l'acció formativa i un 10% addicional en concepte de despeses de material o altres relacionades amb l'assistència i la realització del curs.

The amount of the loan will cover the price of the training and an additional 10% for expenditure on material and costs relating to attendance and undertaking the course.

The requisites are to be aged 18 or over, to have been at least one month registered with the Servei d'Ocupació de Catalunya and have worked at least four months during the previous two years immediately before the application.

Excluded from recommendations are the training courses corresponding to official university teaching and those of regulated training, taken from regulated professional training, for which the loan may be applied for.

Examples of types of training that can be funded with these loans are, among others, language courses, course for obtaining any kind of driving licence, unofficial masters courses in universities or other centres, postgraduate courses from universities or other centres, training courses for employment or professional regulated training courses.

In order to obtain the credit, unemployed persons should go to their Employment Office. Applications can be made until the 1.11.2009.

A total of 100 million euros is budgeted for this programme. With these credits the aim is that no-one without sufficient economic resources goes without training, so that no-one is left behind due to lack of training and skills.

All the information about this programme can be found here.

(TRAINING) What training is there for trainers?

The Catalan Employment Service, in collaboration with the European Social Fund, is implementing a training program aimed at trainers in vocational training for employment (occupational and ongoing) with the twofold aim of contributing to the permanent methodological and technical training of trainers, and of improving the quality of the training initiatives aimed at all the unemployed and employed workers of Catalonia.

The trainers' training programme is part of the plan to improve the quality of training and therefore to improve both unemployed and employed workers’ skills. The Catalan Employment Service therefore hopes that training experts from all approved training centres will take part and make the most of it.

Methodological training

Training actions within the programming of occupational training courses in the Centres of Innovation and Occupational Training (CIFO)

During 2010, the Servei d'Ocupació de Catalunya is setting into operation within the programming of occupational training courses of the Centres of Innovation and Occupational Training of the SOC (CIFO), a series of on-site courses of specialists in the area of training within the professional sphere of Socio-cultural and Community Services, aimed at unemployed workers who are jobseekers registered in the Work Offices of the Generalitat, as workers fit for employment, in the proportion determined in each case

Pre-registration can be made directly in the CIFO or online via the training offer search engine, where you can consult the programme of each speciality.

Technical training

This is geared to trainers who give vocational training courses in either of the two subsystems: initial vocational training and vocational training for employment.

The following requisites are required to take part on the courses: to be a trainer in vocational training and to have the admission level required for each programme.

The courses will also feature the following selection criteria: the order of presentation of applications and the suitability of the initiative requested to the speciality in which the trainer works.

Plan for technical perfection of trainers of professional occupational training (SPEE)

The General Sub-direction of occupational Training Management of the State Employment Public Service in cooperation with the Autonomous Communities, has published the Plan for Technical Perfection of Trainers of Professional Occupational Training, with the aim of responding to the needs for technical and teaching perfecting and updating of the trainers.

The courses of technical perfection given by the network of FPO national Centres for professional occupational training trainers included in this Plan contain specific theoretical and practical contents; courses are also programmed in didactic training, skills updating and technical-pedagogic skills, which favour the application of new techniques or innovative processes and priority areas.

The Plan is aimed at people who are teachers in professional occupational training (Occupational Training, Workshop Schools, Trade Schools and Occupational Workshops), who, if they meet the requirements, can apply for economic support for transport, accommodation and/or meal costs.

More information about the technical training in www.sepe.es and in this website in Training courses for trainers.

(TRAINING) I would like to know what training is on offer at collaborating centres. Where can I obtain this information?

You may consult the training on offer at the Department of Employment’s collaborating centres, the registration period for which is open, using the application available on the Catalan Employment Service (SOC) website.

This application may be used to search for courses by speciality, by province, by county and also by municipality.

You can also download the Guide of Courses of Ocupational Training 2008-2009 here.

(TRAINING) Who is eligible for the training offered by the SOC?

The training courses offered by the SOC are aimed at employed or unemployed workers. The different course types are nonetheless aimed at people in different situations:

• Employed workers
• Unemployed workers
• Training for trainers

If you would like to know which courses are available for each profile, read the following question.

(TRAINING) What type of training is offered by the SOC?

1. Vocational occupational training. These courses are aimed at employed or unemployed workers. They include theoretical training and the option of in-company work experience and, in some cases, improvement stays abroad. They are run at the Centres of Innovation and Occupational Training (CIFO) of the Catalan Employment Service.
2. Employment Training. This brings together the courses run at apprenticeship centres, the workshop schools and the employment workshops. It is intended both to provide training and work to unemployed people while they are taking part on a project of public utility or general interest related to the conservation and restoration of heritage and of the environment, and also to help them join the labour market. The courses are organised by councils, foundations and not-for-profit institutions.
3. Ongoing Training. Created to guarantee training throughout a person’s working life. It is managed by the Consortium for Ongoing Training and organised by collaborating institutions. It is fully subsidised and aimed at employed workers.
4. Training for trainers. Courses aimed at trainers of vocational training for employment (occupational and ongoing).

(TRAINING) How can I find training courses?

You should first be aware that the Work Offices offer advice services that may help to choose the training that best suits your curricular needs and labour market demand.

A course search engine is also available at the website of the Work Offices.

(TRAINING) What courses are available if I am currently working?

There are two types of courses for employed workers:

• Occupational Training: Retraining. Courses aimed at employed workers both in SMEs and in large companies. 52% of the company’s general costs for the participation of its workers in training is subsidised. More information.
  
• Ongoing Training. Created to guarantee training throughout a person’s working life. It is managed by the Consortium for Ongoing Training and organised by collaborating institutions. It is fully subsidised, which means both self-employed workers and those who work for third parties may have access to it.
  • Cross-sector and social economy training. Cross-disciplinary training for any job including languages, human resources, IT applications, etc.
  • Sectorial training. Improvement of specialist knowledge and skills in specific sectors.

See more information on Ongoing Training.

(TRAINING) Where can I find out about courses?

There is a courses search engine on the website of the Work offices.

The address is http://www.oficinadetreball.gencat.cat

(TRAINING) What courses are available if I am currently not working?

There are three types of courses for unemployed workers and for each registration at the Work Office as a jobseeker is essential.

• Vocational occupational training. Courses aimed at unemployed workers and are intended to provide them with the professional skills required for a specific job. They include theoretical training and the option of in-company work experience.
  They are run through the Centres of Innovation and Occupational Training (CIFO) of the Catalan Employment Service and the network of public or private collaborating centres.
• Employment Training This brings together the courses run at apprenticeship centres, the workshop schools and the employment workshops. It is intended both to provide training and work to unemployed people while they are taking part on a project of public utility or general interest related to the conservation and restoration of heritage and of the environment, and also to help them join the labour market. The courses are organised by councils, foundations and not-for-profit institutions.
• Other training programmes. To enhance the employability of the different unemployed people registered with the Catalan Employment Service, programmes adapted to the specific training and professional guidance needs of each group are provided. Your Work Office will inform you of the different options.

(TRAINING) What should I do to enrol on a training course?

Go to the training centre where the course is run. You can find contact information at available courses linked to courses on offer, or directly from your Work Office, where you will be given more personalised information.

(TRAINING) Do the courses feature any kind of economic compensation?

You can find all the information about aids and grants of the SOC in the section Aids and grants of this website.

(TRAINING) Do these initiatives cost students anything?

No, they are fully subsidised by the Catalan Employment Service (SOC), which means students need not pay for anything.

(TRAINING) Can I take a training course if I am on sick leave?

To take a course as an unemployed person, you must be registered with the Work Office as a jobseeker who is looking for work. If you are on sick leave, then you are currently not registered as a jobseeker with the Work Office.

(TRAINING) Can I take a training course if I am retired?

To take a course as an unemployed person, you must be registered with the Work Office as a jobseeker who is looking for work. If you are retired, then you are currently not registered as a jobseeker with the Work Office.

(TRAINING) I am a foreign citizen. Can I enrol on an occupational training course?

If you are from a community country (Germany, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Sweden, Cyprus) you may enrol on an occupational training course. To do so you will need:

• Foreigner’s Identification Number (NIE) or resident's card. .
• To be registered as a jobseeker at the Work Offices.

If you are from a country outside the community or from Bulgaria or Rumania**, you may do training if you have a work permit and are registered with the Work Offices as a jobseeker.

If you are from a country outside the community and have arrived recently (or only have the passport from your country), you may not enrol on an occupational training course because to do so you must register with the Work Office, which in turn requires a work permit.

** Valid for Bulgaria and Rumania until 31 December 2008.