Grants For Green And Digital Jobs

Given the growing demand for green and digital businesses, we decided to explain the difference between these two types of jobs.

It is important to note that the Croatian Employment Fund has adopted the Criteria for determining green and digital jobs and the Grant Manual in which you can find out if you are entitled to a grant in process of hiring a new member of your team.

In the year 2022, in addition to the “Support for Self-Employment”, the Croatian Employment Fund has decided to give a chance to employers who plan to support green and digital businesses.

What are green jobs?

Green jobs are engaged in environmentally sustainable activities. Such jobs are responsible for the production of green products and/or the provision of green services and can significantly contribute to economic growth and increase life quality.

Those economic operators whose activities contribute to one or more of the environmental objectives set out in Regulation (EU) 2020/852 establishing a framework to facilitate sustainable investment without harming environmental objectives, are environmentally sustainable activities, i.e., green jobs. The same category includes jobs that assess compliance and regulations of environmental standards and those that educate and train in addition to green technologies and practices. Such jobs aim to increase the general level of public awareness of environmental issues.

The environmental objectives of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 are:

• climate change mitigation,
• adaptation to climate change,
• sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources,
• transition to a circular economy,
• pollution prevention and control, and
• protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

This refers to jobs that include activities for the production of goods and services that limit, prevent, or correct damage to the environment, water, air, and soil, but also shortcomings that occur in the production of waste, noise, and ecosystems.

What are digital jobs?

To perform jobs in digital workplaces, a person must have advanced knowledge and skills in the field of information and communication technologies. This applies to the following areas:

• programming,
• application development,
• digital business analysis,
• digital marketing and content creation,
• digital design and data visualization,
• digital product management,
• data science,
• user experience design,
• robotics,
• development of algorithms and/or products using artificial intelligence and
• Internet of Things solutions (IoT), etc.

To whom can the grants be allocated?

Grants can be allocated to the entrepreneurs we mentioned in the section on green jobs. These are entities engaged in an activity that is considered environmentally sustainable under Regulation (EU) 2020/852 establishing a framework to facilitate sustainable investment.

Several economic activities are excluded from the grant, namely:

• activities related to fossil fuels, including further use,
• activities within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme that achieve projected greenhouse gas emissions that are not lower than the relevant benchmarks,
• activities related to landfills, incinerators, mechanical biological treatment plants, and
• activities in which long-term waste disposal can cause damage to the environment.

The employer must determine whether the job is related to the production of green products/provision of green services or directly related to the environmentally friendly production processes and practices. To receive support, a job must meet one of two definitions.

A job that is directly related to the production of green products/provision of green services must be confirmed by the employer with:

• a clear and concise description of the overall business,
• an indication of the products and/or services from which the economic operator generates revenue, which is considered green, with a clear and concise description of how they can be classified under one or more than 4 categories,
• estimation of income from the sale of green products/services at the level of the economic entity,
• inclusion of a link on the official website of the economic operator (if created),
• a job description from which the connection with the introduced environmentally friendly production processes and practices can be established.

The position that is directly related to the introduction of environmentally friendly production processes and practices is confirmed by the employer with:

• a clear and concise description of the business process from which the economic entity generates revenue, and within which an environmentally friendly technology or practice has been introduced,
• a clear and concise description of the introduced environmentally friendly production technologies and practices and an explanation of how they can be classified under one of 3 categories,
• a job description from which the connection with the introduced environmentally friendly production processes and practices can be established.

As far as a grant for digital jobs is concerned, this grant can be allocated to all economic operators, regardless of the activity they perform. They must meet the criterion of belonging to a digital workplace. For a digital job, the employer must provide:

• a clear and concise description of the overall business and
• a job description from which it can be established that to perform tasks a person must possess highly specialized, advanced ICT skills.

Objective and amount of grant

The main goal of support for green and digital jobs is to employ disadvantaged and disabled people. The cost of the gross 1 salary amount is co-financed.

There are two target groups:

• disadvantaged persons registered in the register of unemployed persons kept by the Croatian Employment Fund – the measure lasts 12 months,
• persons with disabilities registered in the register of unemployed persons kept by the Croatian Employment Fund – the measure lasts for 24 months.

In the following table, you can find the monthly lump sum amount of support that is independent of the employer’s cost but depends on the level of education and the possibility of using the tax relief for the co-financed person.