The Regional Government announced today a legislative package featuring over a dozen measures to promote business competitiveness, encourage the creation of more jobs and, in particular, ensure stable employment in the Region. These goals will be achieved through the implementation of innovative financial support programmes for stable employment and the permanent integration of workers.
 
The Vice-President of the Government justified the Government's decision with the "positive evolution of economic, production and income indicators as well as with the very significant and consistent growth of employment in the Azores since last year."

"Today, there are 13,358 more employed Azoreans and less than half the number of unemployed registered three years ago," stressed Sérgio Ávila. The government official spoke at the presentation of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Council of the Government on Employment and Economy, adding that employment in the Azores "is the highest of the last nine years and the unemployment rate registers a sustained and consistent decrease."
In this context, "it is important to begin a new development cycle based on growing private investment and the reorientation of employment support policies by progressively redirecting support for employment stability, increasing labour income and promoting more qualified jobs."
 
Sérgio Ávila announced that the Azorean Government has decided to create three new programmes, namely the Permanent Labour Stability Programme - ELP, the Labour and Social Integration Promotion Programme - FILS and the Employment+ Programme.
 
The Permanent Labour Stability Programme - ELP aims to create new permanent jobs by granting financial support to companies, cooperatives and non-profit entities that hire workers on contracts of indefinite duration.
 
This programme covers workers hired on a fixed-term contract under INTEGRA (integration of workers), PIIE (integration of "Estagiar L" and "Estagiar T" trainees) and the future FILS programme - the support allocated increases 80% in the three cases - young people who have completed the ESTAGIAR L and ESTAGIAR T trainesships, and unemployed who have been enrolled in employment agencies for more than 60 days.
 
The Vice-President also revealed that the Government "created a new incentive amounting to 12,000 Euros per each young person" hired on a contract of indefinite duration after the conclusion of professional trainesships or for every registered unemployed hired on similar conditions.
 
The new Labour and Social Integration Promotion Programme - FILS aims to support companies and non-profit organisations that hire, for a minimum period of one year and on full time, beneficiaries of the socio-professional programmes, namely "Recuperar" (professional recovery), PROSA, SEI, CTTS, Employment Cradle and FIOS.
 
"The Government will award a sum between 5,040 and 4,200 Euros according to their academic qualifications," said the government official. In this regard, he noted that it is another innovative measure aimed at the transition and full integration of the Azoreans who, under those programmes, were able "to return to work and improve their skills."
 
The goal of the Employment + Programme is to support companies promoting stable and long-lasting work in the scope of new investment projects to be approved under Competir+ Incentive System.
 
"It intends to encourage and support the creation of stable employment associated with new business investments," through the reimbursement of salary costs with the new jobs created for a minimum period of three years," said Sérgio Ávila. Beneficiary companies are required to maintain the level of employment and the jobs supported.
 
Under the new programme, the Government of the Azores has also decided to finance 45% of the salary costs resulting from the hiring of registered unemployed on full-time contracts for a minimum period of two years, provided that there is an increase in the companies’ staff.
 
In addition to creating these programmes, the Regional Government has decided to update several measures, some of which already included in the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness. According to Sérgio Ávila, "these programmes have supported, to date, 45,377 Azoreans and 4,438 companies, ensuring the creation of 5,450 new jobs and 546 new companies." They have contributed to the economic recovery and growth verified in all sectors of activity.
 
As for the changes introduced, the Government will increase the minimum limit of jobs required for the classification of Major project under the Incentive Subsystem for the Promotion of Exports to 120, which supports 45% of investment over 15 million Euros in the form of a non-refundable subsidy.
 
About the qualifications of human resources and the integration of workers into the labour market, the Government will create the Reativar+, an innovative vocational traineeship programme directed to the unemployed who completed their vocational and academic training under the Reativar programme.
 
The Integra and PIIE programmes are also subject to changes in order to encourage job stability by reducing the amount of support for fixed-term contracts and encouraging the integration of workers into the companies’ staff.