DO YOU KNOW THAT… Companies in the metalworking and mechanical engineering sector are required to provide continuing professional development courses for their employees every three years?

Since 1 January 2017 companies in the metalworking and mechanical engineering sector have been required, every three years, to provide workers employed under permanent contracts with continuing professional development courses of a duration of 24 hours per participant, within their working hours and according to the procedures identified by Fondimpresa [Italian Inter-Professional Fund for Continuing Professional Development]. The first three-year period for which this measure is applicable will end on 31 December 2019. Safety training is not included in the 24-hour duration. The training initiatives available to workers are predominantly those on which the company, in possible agreement with the RSU [unitary trade union representation], has provided information to its workers. Alternatively, workers can exercise their right to receive training by requesting to participate in training initiatives aimed at the acquisition of transferable, linguistic, digital, technical or managerial knowledge, that can be used in the working context. If workers have still not participated in training courses by the end of the second year (that is, by 31 December 2018 in the initial phase of application), they may exercise their right during the third year (2019) until they have received 24 hours of training. In such cases, 2/3 of the hours taken up by the training initiative chosen by the worker (16 hours) will be scheduled during working hours, and 1/3 of the hours taken up by said training initiative (8 hours) will be scheduled outside of working hours. If the training initiatives involve an attendance fee, the company must cover the costs, up to a maximum of 300 euros, which may also be supplemented with any available public or private funds. In order for workers to take advantage of this subjective right during the third year of the three-year period, they must make a written request within the 10 working days prior to the start of the training activity in which they intend to participate, and – if requested by the company – submit the documentation necessary for exercising such rights. As a rule, 3% of the total workforce employed by the production unit can be absent at the same time in order to participate in training activities, unless otherwise agreed by the company and provided this is in line with the unit’s technical-productive demands. In companies with up to 200 employees, if the application of the aforementioned percentage generates fractional values, they will be rounded up to the nearest whole number. Any unused hours cannot be carried forward into the hours required for the next three-year period, unless they have remained unused due to technical-organisation demands, including cases where the maximum overall percentage for simultaneous absence has been exceeded. Training initiatives shall be duly documented by the provider or company, and registered. Exercise of the subjective right to receive training shall be subject to reporting to the RSU [unitary trade union representation]; any disagreements shall be reviewed jointly by the Management and the RSU.