The Government of the Azores has decided to extend the "Recuperar" programme for another year. The measure covers all beneficiaries who started this program in the beginning of 2014.
According to the Vice-President of the Government, Sérgio Ávila, the goal is to "reinforce the employability conditions of these Azorean citizens who, being unemployed, were no longer receiving employment benefits as well as to actively contribute to their integration into the labour market."
Sérgio Ávila noted that "the 'Recuperar' programme has been a major success due to the involvement of various partners and non-profit organisations, which has allowed many hundreds of Azorean citizens to improve their employability."
"This extension represents a regional investment over 8.5 million Euros and is another active measure that will help us consolidating the trend we have been observing in recent times: the significant reduction of people enrolled at employment centres," said the Vice-President of the Government.
In this regard, Sérgio Ávila pointed out "a 12.2 percent decrease in the number of people enrolled at employment centres in November, that is, there are less one thousand unemployed Azoreans compared to the same month in the previous year. This represents a very significant reduction with regard to the evolution registered in previous years.
It is important to recall that the support awarded to the beneficiaries of the "Recuperar" programme is equivalent to the regional minimum wage. It may be increased depending on the qualifications of each unemployed.
Hence, workers who have not completed the 9th form will receive an amount corresponding to the regional minimum wage. In turn, the unemployed who have completed the 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.
In turn, the entities promoting eligible projects for this programme will continue to allocate a monthly sum of 100 Euros per worker, which is also a way of making entities responsible for the integration of workers into the labour market.