The ÚPSVaR grant for employee training is currently the most advantageous public tool available to Slovak employers for financing the skills development of their workforce, up to 100% of eligible expenses. The grant is provided through the Offices of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family as part of the national project “Enhancing Employee Skills,” which is an active labor market measure pursuant to Section 54(1)(a) of Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services. The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) at a rate of 85% and 15% from the state budget of the Slovak Republic under the Slovakia Program. The second round of applications runs from July 6, 2026, through September 7, 2026, inclusive. So if you’re planning to retrain, upskilling, or developing digital and green skills within your company, now is your last chance to submit an application. In this guide, you’ll find all the eligibility requirements, funding amounts, deadlines, required attachments, and practical tips to ensure your application passes the agency’s review without unnecessary complications.
Why Funding for Employee Training Is Key to a Company’s Competitiveness
The Slovak labor market is undergoing its most rapid transformation in decades. Automation, robotization, the rise of artificial intelligence, and the transition to a green and digital economy are changing the nature of jobs faster than companies can keep up with through internal training. The goal of this national project is therefore to support the upskilling of employees and contribute to their ability to adapt to changes in the labor market. Priority is given to training for jobs that are at risk due to automation, as well as due to the transition to a green and digital economy.
From an employer’s perspective, the ÚPSVaR grant for employee training offers three strategic benefits:
- Upskilling, i.e., deepening and expanding employees’ existing qualifications in line with current job requirements.
- Reskilling, that is, preparing employees for new job tasks arising from technological transformation.
- Development of digital and green skills, which are now essential for maintaining competitiveness in virtually every industry.
The financial aspect is also important. The grant covers 100% of approved eligible expenses, so the company does not need to provide any co-financing. Training takes place during working hours, and the employer can also claim reimbursement for the employee’s wages while they are attending the course. In practice, the state and the European Union reimburse not only the cost of the course itself but also the time the employee spends on the course.
Who Is Eligible to Apply for a Grant from the ÚPSVaR
An eligible applicant is an employer within the meaning of Section 3(1) of the Employment Services Act who carries out economic activity. The term “economic activity” is interpreted broadly in accordance with Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU: an “undertaking” means any entity engaged in economic activity, regardless of its legal form, method of financing, and whether or not it makes a profit. Therefore, nonprofit organizations, civic associations, and foundations may also be eligible applicants, provided they carry out economic activities.
However, there are also clear exclusions. The following are not eligible applicants:
- Self-employed individuals who have no employees of their own,
- state authorities, municipalities, higher territorial units, and legal entities with decision-making authority in the field of public administration,
- legal entities established by law, by a state authority, a municipality, or a higher territorial unit, and public research institutions,
- legal entities in which the state, a municipality, or a higher territorial unit holds an equity interest of more than 67%,
- entities in which the majority of members of the management, control, or supervisory bodies are nominated by a state authority, municipality, or higher territorial unit.
At the same time, an important condition regarding the mutual exclusion of schemes applies: the applicant must not have submitted an application for a non-repayable financial grant under the call for proposals “Enhancing Employee Skills 2” (PSK-MPSVR-086-2026-DV-ESF+) and may not apply for a grant under the National Program “Skills for the Labor Market in Transforming Regions” (PSK-MPSVR-074-2025-NP-FST). Combining multiple aid schemes for the same project is not permitted.
The geographic eligibility criteria are favorable: financial contributions may be provided to employers in all self-governing regions of Slovakia, including the Bratislava Region, which is more of an exception than a rule in the context of EU funds.
Which employees belong to the eligible target group
An employee of an employer is considered part of the eligible target group pursuant to Section 4 of the Employment Services Act who is in an employment relationship as of the start date of the training. A minimum of part-time employment is required.
Conversely, a financial contribution cannot be provided for:
- an employee working under an agreement for work performed outside of an employment relationship,
- an employee who is receiving an old-age pension,
- employees performing civil service or work in the public interest pursuant to Section 1(2) of Act No. 552/2003 Coll.
The good news for human resource development planning is that an employee from an eligible target group may participate in multiple training programs. A single application can thus cover a comprehensive training plan, not just a single isolated course.
Who Can Provide Training: A Certified Training Institution
An employer may provide employee training exclusively through external providers, i.e., on a contractual basis. Internal company training conducted by the employer’s own instructors is not eligible for reimbursement. The contractor must be an educational institution as defined in Section 4(1) of Act No. 292/2024 Z. on Adult Education, i.e., a school included in the Slovak Republic’s school network, a university, a legal entity whose business purpose is education, or a natural person who is an entrepreneur whose business purpose is education.
Certification is a key requirement. An authorized provider is an educational institution certified under Section 10 of the Act on Adult Education and listed in the register of certified educational institutions, which is publicly available in the Adult Education Information System (ISVD). Before signing a contract with a provider, therefore, always verify its entry in the registry, as the office will not reimburse training provided by an uncertified institution.
Eligible Training Programs: What the ÚPSVaR Grant Actually Covers
Eligible training focuses on acquiring new skills and developing employees’ skills, including specific skills required by the employer for a job position—that is, the professional competence to perform a specific professionon the labor market. The national project distinguishes four categories of eligible programs.
Accredited Training Programs (AVP)
These are programs accredited under the Adult Education Act that lead to the acquisition of a new professional qualification. The relevant qualification (qualification card) must be published in the National Qualifications Framework on the kariernabrana.sk portal, and the program itself must be entered in the registry of accredited educational programs in the ISVD system. AVP programs are the ideal choice if you need your employees to obtain a formally recognized professional qualification.
Non-Accredited Educational Programs (NVP)
This category includes programs with accreditations, certificates, authorizations, or registrations under specific Slovak regulations (for example, driving schools under Act No. 93/2005 Coll., basic qualification and periodic training for drivers under Act No. 280/2006 Coll., or professional competence under Act No. 124/2006 Coll. on Occupational Safety and Health), as well as programs leading to the supplementation, deepening, or broadening of qualifications, which may be implemented outside the accreditation process. The NVP must also be entered in the registry of non-accredited educational programs in the ISVD.
Digital Skills and Green Skills Programs
A separate category consists of educational programs that lead to the acquisition, renewal, expand, or deepen digital and green skills. They are implemented by certified educational institutions that are also registered in the list of providers of digital skills training programs maintained by the Alliance of Sectoral Councils. It is this category that best aligns with the project’s priorities, namely preparing employees for the digital and green transformation.
Programs Without Accreditation or Authorization
The final category consists of programs for which no accreditation or authorization is issued (typically education focused on transferable competencies outside of digital and green skills). The condition is that they must be delivered by a certified educational institution exclusively in a face-to-face format in accordance with Decree No. 405/2024 Z. z.
Mandatory Requirements for Each Training Program
Regardless of category, every accredited educational program must meet four criteria: it is organized through planned activities; it has defined objectives, methods, and forms of instruction; it concludes with an assessment (final exam, interview, practical demonstration, or test), and concludes with the issuance of a certificate of completion, not merely a certificate of attendance. Training must take place in a face-to-face format, where “in-person” also includes real-time online instruction with an instructor or a hybrid combination of in-person and online participation. Programs may be conducted exclusively within the territory of the Slovak Republic, and the training takes place during the employee’s working hours.
What the Grant Does Not Support
The national project does not support basic skills or soft skills, including language training. Mandatory training conducted by the employer to comply with national standards (typically regular occupational safety and health training, data protection training under the GDPR), in-house training, conferences, seminars, workshops, lectures, or training days without verification of results or certification, nor extracurricular education.
Amount of the financial contribution: exactly how much you’ll receive
Funding is based on simplified expense reporting in the form of unit costs in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1676. In practice, this means that you do not submit invoices and accounting documents item by item, but insteadreport the number of training hours actually completed.
| Eligible Expense | Unit Cost |
|---|---|
| Training Service Provided (employee vocational training) | 17.33 EUR per hour |
| Wage compensation for the employee during the course (2026) | max. 7.16 EUR per hour |
The grant is provided in the amount of 100% of approved eligible expenses in accordance with the de minimis aid schemes (De Minimis Aid Scheme for Employment Support DM 2/2024, as amended; for primary agricultural production, Scheme DM 9/2023, as amended). There is no legal entitlement to the grant, and each employer may submit no more than one application per round. Employers who received support in the first round are also eligible; but priority will be given during the evaluation to those who have not yet participated in the project.
How Professional Development Hours Work
A training hour does not have to be a continuous 60-minute period. Shorter periods during the reporting period are added up, and each full hour counted constitutes a trigger for payment. Only actual hours of training during paid working hours are reimbursed. The time an employee spends traveling to a course is is not counted, even if the travel took place during paid working hours. The employer may, but is not required to, claim wage compensation. The rate of 7.16 EUR is based on the minimum wage for the relevant year and will be adjusted in line with changes to the minimum wage.
Sample Calculation Example
To give you a better idea: a company sends 20 employees to a 40-hour digital skills course. The course fee is 20 × 40 × 17.33 = 13,864 EUR. If the company also claims wage compensation, it adds 20 × 40 × 7.16 = 5,728 EUR. The total subsidy thus amounts to 19,592 EUR, with the company bearing only the temporary pre-financing until reimbursement. Please note that if the total grant provided exceeds 100,000 EUR, the employer is required to register in the public sector partner registry.
Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for a Financial Grant
Step 1: Verify that you meet the conditions under Section 70 of the Employment Services Act
A condition for receiving the subsidy is that the employer has fulfilled its tax obligations under Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax, has fulfilled their obligations to pay advance contributions for health insurance, social insurance, and mandatory contributions to old-age pension savings, and has not been fined for violating the prohibition on illegal employment during the two-year period prior to submitting the application. The application also includes affidavits stating, among other things, that the requested grant does not include capital expenditures, that the project is not funded by any other aid scheme, and that the entity is not subject to international sanctions.
Step 2: Select a training program and a provider from the ISVD registries
Verify that the selected program is listed in the relevant registry (AVP, NVP, or the list of digital and green skills providers) and whether the provider is a certified educational institution listed in the registry of certified educational institutions. The application must include a binding syllabus for the planned training program with all required parameters and a budget estimate for the for employee training.
Step 3: Prepare the Required Attachments
The application must be accompanied by the applicant’s declaration regarding the de minimis aid received (Appendix No. 2a; for primary agricultural production, Appendix No. 2b) and the provision of data necessary to request an extract from the criminal record (Annex No. 3). When making the de minimis declaration, thoroughly verify the use of aid for the entire group of affiliated enterprises, as the limit is assessed at the level of the so-called single enterprise.
Step 4: Submit your application electronically no later than September 7, 2026
The application must be submitted exclusively electronically, signed with a qualified electronic signature (KEP), via the Central Public Administration Portal slovensko.sk, from the employer’s activated electronic mailbox. The application must be submitted to the locally competent labor office, in whose territorial jurisdiction the facility where the employees will be trained is located. If an employer has multiple facilities and is applying for a subsidy for employees at several of them, the employer must submit the application to the office based on the employer’s registered office. The second round runs from July 6, 2026, through SeptemberSeptember 2026, inclusive, and after this date it is no longer possible to add additional training programs. A KEP with a qualified time stamp has the same legal effect as a notarized handwritten signature, so no paper submission is required.
Step 5: Sign the Agreement and Complete the Training
During the review process, the Office is authorized to verify data in public administration information systems and request additional documents. Once the application is approved, an agreement on the provision of a financial contribution is signed (agreements will be signed through April2027). Eligible expenses accrue from the date the agreement takes effect, no earlier than January 1, 2026, and the training must be completed no later than December 31, 2027.
Step 6: Request a Reimbursement (Request for Payment)
Funding is provided in the form of a reimbursement: the employer first pays the eligible expenses from its own resources and then requests reimbursement. The request for reimbursement is submitted electronically via KEP through slovensko.sk. If multiple training programs have been approved, a separate reimbursement request must be submitted for each program. If there are multiple groups within a single program, the request is submitted after the last group has completed the program. Required attachments include confirmation of the employee’s participation in the course (certificate or diploma), the employment contracts of the employees receiving training, and a sworn statement that the employees receiving training are not recipients of an old-age pension. For a larger number of employees, lists of names are imported via a CSV file, a template for which is published on the Labor Office’s website.
Extremely important notice: The deadline for submitting a request for payment is a substantive requirement. The office cannot waive this deadline, and if the request is not submitted by the specified deadline, the subsidy will not be paid. Therefore, be sure to check the deadlines immediately upon signing the agreement.
Step 7: Fulfill Your Obligations During the Sustainability Period
The employer is required to retain the agreement, including attachments and all supporting documents, until December 31, 2036; to allow inspections and audits to be conducted by authorized employees of the ministry, central office, agency, and other supervisory bodies; and to providecooperation during such inspections. If the employer fails to allow the inspection to be conducted, it is obligated to return the financial contribution in full. When managing these funds, the employer is required to ensure economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in accordance with Section 19(3) of Act No. 523/2004 Coll. on Public Administration Budgetary Rules.
Timeline for the National Project “Improving Employee Skills”
| Phase | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 1st Round of Application Acceptance | from September 1, 2025, to October 31, 2025 (completed) |
| 2nd Round of Application Acceptance | from July 6, 2026, through September 7, 2026, inclusive |
| Signing of grant agreements | from December 2025 through April2027 |
| Implementation of training (2nd round) | from September 2026 to December 2027 |
| Payment of financial grants | from Jan. 2026 to Mar. 2028 |
| Project completion | Mar. 2028 |
Most Common Errors That Lead to the Office Rejecting Applications
Based on our experience reviewing applications, there are several recurring errors that can be easily avoided:
- Incorrect education provider. The selected institution is not listed in the ISVD registry of certified educational institutions, or the program is missing from the relevant AVP or NVP registry.
- Ineligible type of training. The applicant is requesting reimbursement for a language course, soft skills training, internal training, or mandatory occupational safety and health (OSH) training, which the project does not support.
- Ineligible employees. The list includes contract workers, old-age pension recipients, or employees working less than half-time.
- Conflict of aid schemes. The applicant has simultaneously submitted an application under the PSK-MPSVR-086-2026-DV-ESF+ or under the National Program for Transforming Regions, or is receiving support from other public sources for the wages of the same employees, such as support during reduced working hours under Act No. 215/2021 Coll.
- Formal deficiencies in the submission. The application was not submitted via an electronic mailbox with KEP, the de minimis attachments or information for the criminal record extract are missing.
- Missing the substantive deadline for requesting payment, resulting in the definitive loss of the right to a refund.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the ÚPSVaR Grant for Employee Training
Can a single employee participate in multiple courses? Yes. An employee from an eligible target group may participate in multiple training programs, but the expenses must not overlap in terms of time or subject matter.
Can I apply if I already received a grant in the first round? Yes, employers who received support in the first round are also eligible. However, when evaluating applications, priority will be given to employers who have not yet participated in the national project.
Is it possible to conduct training online? Yes, as long as it is a real-time, in-person format—meaning participants and the instructor are connected online at the same time—or a hybrid format. Purely self-study e-learning courses without an instructor are not eligible. Programs must be conducted exclusively within the territory of the Slovak Republic.
Must the training conclude with an exam? Yes. The program must conclude with an assessment (exam, test, interview, or practical demonstration) and the issuance of a certificate of completion. A mere confirmation of participation is not sufficient.
When do I need to be registered in the public sector partner registry? Only if you receive a grant of more than 100,000 EUR.
Can the grant be combined with other state aid? No. The project and activities may not be funded by any other state aid scheme or de minimis scheme, and the grant is not provided for an employee whose wages are already being subsidized by the employer from other public sources for the same period.
When can the training begin at the earliest, and when must it end at the latest? The training may begin on the effective date of the agreement, no earlier than January 1, 2026, and must be completed no later than December 31, 2027.
How long do I have to keep the documentation? The agreement, including its annexes and all supporting documents, must be retained and made available for inspection until December 31, 2036.
Don’t let your ÚPSVaR grant go to waste: act by September 7, 2026
The ÚPSVaR grant for employee training, which covers 100% of eligible expenses, a unit rate of 17.33 EUR per hour of training, and the option of wage compensation of 7.16 EUR per hour—is an opportunity that may not be available again in this programming period. The key to success is a properly selected training program registered in the ISVD system, a certified training provider, a flawlessly prepared application with all required attachments, and timely electronic submission with a qualified electronic signature no later than September 7, 2026.
Do you need help assessing your eligibility, selecting a training program, or with the complete preparation and submission of your application? Contact us today. We’ll assess your eligibility free of charge, prepare a customized budget estimate, and submit your application so that it passes the agency’s review on the first try.
External Authoritative Links (E-E-A-T):
- https://www.employment.gov.sk → Official announcement from the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family of the Slovak Republic regarding the national project “Improving Employee Skills”
- https://www.upsvr.gov.sk → Central Office of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family, documents and templates for the project
- https://www.eurofondy.gov.sk → The “Slovakia and EU Funds” Program (ESF+)
- https://www.kariernabrana.sk → National Qualifications Framework and Adult Education Information System
- https://www.slovensko.sk → Central Public Administration Portal, Application Forms, and Electronic Filing
