Participating in a retraining programme for jobseekers

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Jobseekers who are registered with the National Employment Agency (Agence pour le développement de l'emploi - ADEM) may benefit from a certain number of specific training sessions which are designed to improve their ability to re-enter the job market and facilitate their retraining.

These professional retraining programmes are generally organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, de l'Enfance et de la Jeunesse - MENEJ), but they may also be run by local initiatives (associations and/or communes).

The professional retraining programme is a tool which serves to:

  • lead to another professional activity;
  • offer vocational retraining and general education courses aimed at jobseekers and workers threatened with losing their jobs;
  • provide professional and functional retraining and reskilling, which more specifically applies to people injured in occupational accidents and people receiving the social inclusion income (REVIS).

Who is concerned?
Professional retraining programmes are aimed at jobseekers and workers threatened with losing their jobs, regardless of age or nationality.  

Prerequisites

In order to be admitted to a retraining programme, candidates must be:

  • looking for work or about to lose their job;
  • registered as a jobseeker with the ADEM.

How to proceed

Training programmes organised by the ADEM and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth

The jobseeker training programme is run in close cooperation with the National Employment Agency (ADEM) and the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth (MENEJ).

There are 2 distinct types of training programmes:

  • Retraining programmes which serve to train unemployed people in order to generally increase their chances of re-entering the workforce;
  • Supplementary training programmes are put in place with businesses or sectors with a view to directly integrating candidates into the job market.

Professional redeployment training programmes

These training programmes are mainly offered at Continuing Professional Training Centres (Centres de formation professionnelle continue - CNFPC) and consist of professional integration courses in areas such as technical design, electrical engineering, masonry, mechanics, carpentry, welding, computer science, etc.

Those registered benefit from a socio-pedagogical framework and company internships.

Retraining programmes are generally one year long and are intended for people (primarily young people) who are experiencing difficulty entering the workforce.

The CNFPC also offers professional training and introductory courses which are intended for young people aged 15 to 18 who have satisfied the minimum schooling requirement but have not found an apprenticeship or have left school early.

Supplementary training programmes

These include training programmes leading to a qualification, which are directly organised for a specific sector or business, and dispensed at the request of employers. The training programme content is prepared in conjunction with the prospective employers, who commit, based on an agreement entered into between the business, the MENEJ and the Ministry of Labour, to give priority employment to people having successfully completed the training programme. The duration of these training programs generally varies from 6 weeks to 3 months, excluding the internship period. They are always organised according to a work-study model.

Within the framework of its professional integration measures for jobseekers under 30, the ADEM offers internships in the form of an employment support contract or an employment initiation contract.

Acceptance conditions

To be admitted into these various training programmes, candidates must be:

  • jobseekers;
  • registered as such with the ADEM.

Participation in a training programme is generally on the advice of the adviser/placement agent supervising the jobseeker. The registration procedures are carried out in conjunction with the adviser/placement agent, during the various consultations.

Admission based on an application is decided on by the Ministry of Labour in cooperation with the ADEM and the MENEJ.

The following documents should be presented at the time of consultation with the ADEM Vocational Guidance Department (service d'Orientation professionnelle):

  • most recent report cards, diplomas and school certificates;
  • ID card or passport;
  • social security card.

The Beruffsinformatiouns-Zentrum (BiZ) or Professional Training Centre (Centre d'information professionnelle) is part of the Vocational Guidance Department of the ADEM. Adults who must choose a continuing vocational training programme, or who are considering professional retraining, will find a broad range of media at BiZ which they can consult free of charge.

Special return-to-work measures

Special return-to-work measures include association and communal initiatives – notably those offered by the Objectif Plein Emploi, Forum pour l'Emploi and ProActif associations, which offer training programmes geared towards reintegrating jobseekers, and more specifically unemployed applicants who are difficult to place.

In addition to these 3 main initiatives, there are smaller structures that nevertheless play a key role in the targeted area:

  • initiatives functioning under the aegis of the City of Dudelange and the Social Welfare Office of the City of Ettelbruck;
  • Eng nei Schaff asbl;
  • Défi-job asbl;
  • ICOPA asbl RTPH;
  • Colabor s.c.

Forum pour l'Emploi

The association Forum pour l'Emploi focuses its activities in the north and west of the country, with its main headquarters in Diekirch.

Its training centre is dedicated to assisting and advising jobseekers in creating their own career plans, and notably offers professional and technical training programmes. The training centre gives priority to jobseekers on benefits and people receiving the social inclusion income (REVIS). At the end of their programme at the training centre and after their evaluation, jobseekers can join a team as part of a 'back-to-work' measure of the Forum pour l'Emploi.

Jobseekers supervised by the Forum pour l'Emploi are generally first recruited by the ADEM, but they may also make a written or oral request for training. In any case, they must meet the following hiring conditions:

  • be a Luxembourg resident;
  • be 18 or older, regardless of nationality or level of qualification;
  • be registered as a jobseeker with the ADEM;
    • if between 18 and 30 years old: have been registered for at least 1 month;
    • if 30 years old or more: have been registered for 3 months;
  • for communication reasons, job seekers must speak at least one of the 3 official languages of the country (German, French or Luxembourgish).

ProActif

The ProActif association centres its activities in the south, centre and east of the country. Its training centre is a place where jobseekers can benefit from social and technical training as well as socio-professional supervision. The purpose is to develop social, behavioural and technical skills so they can easily be integrated into the workforce. Jobseekers complete an 8-week internship at the training centre, while remaining under the ADEM's authority.

Access to the return-to-work measures run by ProActif is reserved for jobseekers over 18 years of age, who are registered with the ADEM.

In order to ensure equal treatment of all candidates, a hiring commission has been established to recruit people receiving guidance from the association. As required, the commission conducts job interviews with the candidates put forward by the ADEM and candidates who have made a spontaneous application (oral or written), provided they are registered with the ADEM.

Women who wish to re-enter the job market may contact the Female Employment Department (Service Emploi féminin) of the ADEM, which organises information sessions. During these sessions, women are informed about the state of the job market, the different kinds of training on offer, financial support for re-entry, etc.

Who to contact

Department of Vocational Training

Career Guidance - Luxembourg City - Maison de l'orientation (Educational and Vocational Guidance Centre)

Related procedures and links

Procedures

Registering as a jobseeker Applying for social inclusion income (REVIS) Temporary re-employment support

Links

Further information

Legal references

  • Loi modifiée du 19 décembre 2008

    portant réforme de la formation professionnelle

  • Loi du 16 mars 2007

    portant - 1. organisation des cours de formation professionnelle au Centre national de formation professionnelle continue - 2. création d'une aide à la formation, d'une prime de formation et d'une indemnité de formation

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