Information communicated by Member States regarding State aid granted under Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid

(2003/C 186/11)

(Text with EEA relevance)

Aid No: XT 64/02

Member State: United Kingdom

Region: West Midlands

Title of aid or name of company receiving an individual aid: Birmingham and Solihull Learning Skills Council Food and Drink Training (Obj2/02/1/1.4, Obj2/02/2/1.5 and Obj2/02/3/1.6)

Legal basis: Employment Act 1973, Sections 2(1) and 2(2), as substantiated by Section 25 of the Employment and Training Act 1998/Learning Skills Act 2000

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: Total public expenditure GBP 270000:

- 2002: GBP 135000

- 2003: GBP 135000

Maximum aid intensity: 75 % for SMEs in this Article 87(3)(c) region. This aid will support 70 companies.No SME will receive more than GBP 70000

Date of implementation: 1 September 2002

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 31 December 2003

Objective of aid: To give general training in order to improve the skills of the individuals and thereby improve the general economic productivity of the assisted area

Training supported under this programme will be general training to accredited national standards such as NVQ and will be transferable between economic sectors

Economic sector(s) concerned: Other services: food and drink, without prejudice to the regulations on sensitive sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: Paul Cornick, Skills Sector Coordinator 0121 345 4600 or Karen Brown 0121 345 4511 Birmingham and Solihull LSC Chaplin Court, 80 Hurst Street Birmingham B 5 4TG

Other information: The organisations involved in delivering the training in this project are colleges which are funded by the public sector and act as a conduit of funds to SMEs. The only exception to this is for core skills, which are delivered by both colleges and private training providers who have won a competitive tender to carry out this project

Aid No: XT 76/02

Member State: Germany

Region: Brandenburg

Title of aid or name of company receiving an individual aid: Brandenburg initiative for transitional part-time working (transitional part-time work for young people in Brandenburg)

- Aid provided by the Ministry for Labour, Social Affairs, Health and Women for the integration of young people into their first employment

- Up to 500 young people are to be placed in their first jobs

- The project organiser will seek the participation of young people and up to 500 firms under the transitional part-time working scheme

Legal basis: Landeshaushaltsordnung des Landes Brandenburg (LHO), § 44 und die dazugehörigen Verwaltungsvorschriften

Annual expenditure planned under the scheme or overall amount of individual aid granted to the company: The total cost of project assistance is EUR 2170177

Expenditure in

2002: EUR 244955 from the ESF

EUR 104981 from the Land

2003: EUR 768270 from the ESF

EUR 329259 from the Land

2004: EUR 505898 from the ESF

EUR 216814 from the Land.

The project consists of two stages, of which only the second stage (training) is covered by the State aid rules and falls within the scope of application of the Regulation on training aid (see the comments on maximum aid intensity).

The costs of the part of the aid covered by the State aid rules amount to EUR 975000

This amount is broken down as follows by year

2002: EUR 40950 from the ESF

EUR 17550 from the Land

2003: EUR 423150 from the ESF

EUR 181350 from the Land

2004: EUR 218400 from the ESF

EUR 93600 from the Land.

As regards Article 4(7) of the Regulation on training aid, the following costs are incurred during the training stage (second stage):

(a) trainers' personnel costs;

(b) trainers' travel expenses;

(c) other current expenses;

(d) the cost of guidance and counselling services, as regards the training measure provided by the relevant training organiser, who is different from the project organiser.

Maximum aid intensity: The provision of guidance and counselling for a young person and the relevant project management during the first stage of the project will on average receive assistance amounting to a maximum of EUR 2200.

During the first stage, the project organiser selects appropriate unemployed young people. In selecting the young people, the project organiser determines what knowledge and abilities the young person already possesses and where a need for training exists.

At the same time, firms are sought which are willing to take on the young person part-time on the basis of the profile established by the project organiser. Working hours can be geared to the training to be provided for the young person. The project organiser draws up an individual training plan that reflects the young person's profile and his general training needs (i.e. those transferable to other firms and types of work). The training plan is designed to increase the young person's employability.

On the basis of the training plan, the project organiser selects a training organiser, who provides training to meet the training requirement that has been identified.

Since the counselling and project management stage does not benefit firms or industries, it falls outside the scope of Article 87(1) of the EC Treaty.

In the second stage, the young person receives training provided by the training organiser through general training measures. The general training measures receive assistance from the ESF and the Land:

- with a maximum aid intensity of 80 % if the young person is working in an SME (main case of application),

- with a maximum aid intensity of 60 % if the young person is working in a large firm.

The training of a young person receives on average assistance amounting to a maximum of EUR 2500.

The measures are being implemented only in the assisted area covered by Article 87(3)(a) of the EC Treaty.

Date of implementation: By authorisation letter dated 26 August 2002, payment was authorised with the start of the measures on 1 September 2002.

Since it is not until the second stage that the training of young people takes place, no aid has at the present time yet been granted. The second stage is expected to begin in November 2002.

Duration of scheme or individual aid award: 1 September 2002 to 31 December 2004

Objective of aid: The assisted training provided for young people helps to increase their employability.

During the second stage, which is the stage to which the State aid rules apply, the assistance relates solely to training measures that are not in themselves useable only or mainly in the job in which the young person is gaining practical experience during the second stage, but provide skills which are transferable to other firms and jobs and through which the placeability of the young person is significantly improved.

During this stage, key skills and the ability to apply job-related know-how in practical situations are provided to the young person by a training organiser who is independent of the firm employing the young person. It is thus ensured that the young persons acquire skills which can be applied not just in the field of activity of the relevant firm, but also in other firms.

A feature of the measure is that the project organiser establishes contact with interested firms and ascertains their training requirements only once the project is under way. Once these training requirements have been established, the details (for example, determination of the actual content of the training) are worked out individually in relation to each young person. On this basis, an individual training plan showing existing gaps in training is established for each young person.

Economic Sector(s) concerned: All economic sectors

Name and address of the granting authority: LASA Brandenburg GmbH Wetzlarer Straße 54 D - 14482 Potsdam