The Vice-President of the Government, Sérgio Ávila, announced today the creation of a professional integration programme for the unemployed who are not receiving unemployment benefits.

This measure aims to support the unemployed who are not receiving unemployment benefits as a result of the restrictions imposed by the National Government, particularly with the reduction of the period of allocation of these benefits.
 
Noting that as a result of this situation "many families would have no income or support" throughout 2013, Sérgio Ávila stated that the new programme, designated as RECUPERAR (Recover), "will cover people who have been enrolled at regional employment agencies for over four months."

"The programme will be targeted to the maintenance and conservation works of cultural, sports, urban, environmental and natural areas in the Region that may be carried out by the regional and local public administrations, cooperatives and non-profit organisations," stated the Vice-President of the Government.

The support allocated to the unemployed covered by this programme corresponds to the regional minimum wage which, according to Sérgio Ávila, "will be increased in accordance to the qualifications of each unemployed."

The unemployed who have not completed basic education (9th form) will receive an amount corresponding to the regional minimum wage. In turn, the unemployed who hold a secondary school diploma (12th form) are entitled to a bonus that corresponds to 1.25 of the minimum wage while unemployed graduates will be supported with a monthly bonus equivalent to 1.5 of the regional minimum wage.
 
Sérgio Ávila also added that "the promoters of the projects eligible for this programme will receive a monthly support of 100 Euros for each unemployed," which is also a way of holding entities responsible for the integration of workers into the labour world and, thus, avoiding their use as cheap labour force.

Each project will have a duration of six months; applications should be made on the Employment Portal on a date to be released during the month of February.