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At its meeting on June 11, 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility support program for developing digital skills in companies, planning to organize a new call for projects within the available funding framework.
Given the remaining funding of EUR 651,945 from the first selection round, the Central Finance and Contracting Agency will organize a new call within the second selection round. It is planned that project applicants will be able to submit multiple project proposals, and the recipients of the funding can include not only associations but also higher education institutions.
Along with the amendments to the support program, the available de minimis aid threshold is increased from EUR 200,000 to EUR 300,000, which a single enterprise can receive in any three-year period in one Member State, considering the conditions of the new European Commission Regulation 2023/2831 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid.
More information on the approved amendments can be found in the Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No. 529 of September 12, 2023, "Implementation Regulations for the Investments 'Development of Digital Skills in Companies' under the Direction 'Digital Skills' of Reform and Investment Component 2.3.1.2.i. of the Digital Transformation Component 2 of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility Plan" on the unified Legal Acts Portal.
As previously reported, the Recovery Fund support program for developing digital skills in company employees was approved on September 12, 2023, with the aim to improve the digital, robotics, and automation skills of Latvia's micro, small, medium, and large enterprises, including skills that promote export, high-level digital management basic skills at the company management level, and skills for using digital technologies in various business processes. It is expected that by mid-2026, basic digital skills will be acquired by 2,521 companies. The total funding for the support program is 20 million euros.
Training for improving digital skills in company employees is available through European Digital Innovation Hubs or industry associations selected through a competitive process. Associations provide basic skills training courses for company employees online, in person, and in hybrid formats, while EDICs offer specialized training courses for company employees. To date, nine association projects have been received under the support program in both rounds.