The first program funded by “Bazooka” opens the door for applications to train young people and adults. There are 252 million euros to apply – Business

Training is one of the pillars the National Recovery and Resilience (PRR) plan wants to promote and applications are now open for the launch of Impulso Jovem STEAM and Impulso Jovens, two eligible programs associated with NCoDE.2030. The initiative will be presented at a conference at the Teatro Thalia in Lisbon and represents the first competition linked to PRR, with Notice No. 01/PRR/2021, which has earmarked €252 million, of which 122 are for STEAM Youth Momentum and 130 for Adult Momentum.

Impulso Jovem STEAM will support initiatives directed solely to increase higher education for young people in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), while Impulso Adults is open to all areas of knowledge. The latter is betting on “re-transformation and modernization of skills through the development of flexible qualification solutions”.

The document states that the notice refers to “two distinct but related PRR investments, to be implemented together and through a single competitive process for appraising and selecting applications.”

In both cases, the goal is to support projects promoted and implemented by higher education institutions (HEIs), in partnership or in union with companies, public and/or private employers, municipalities, local, regional and national public entities, and thus and in close contact with secondary schools.

Enhancing skills in technological fields, increasing youth participation in higher education and reducing school dropouts, and diversifying post-secondary training are some of the objectives of the programs that should be developed. References for preparing programs and actions to be developed are “Skills 4 after COVID – Skills for the Future”, developed within the scope of the “Labour Market Relevancy and Outcomes – LMRO” project, implemented by the OECD and the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sports and Culture For the European Commission, “University Without Walls”, EUA, February 2021.

Expressions of interest must be delivered between August 16 and September 10, after which the evaluation phase follows, with acceptance of applications and preliminary selection of applications scheduled for October 10, 2021. According to the information, contracts must be signed until December 20, with training programs beginning later this year . Programs must be completed by June 30, 2026.

What does the Digital Transformation and Resiliency Restoration Plan envision?

In early March, Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transformation, Provide an overview of the plan and detail what is expected in the area of ​​digital transformationWhich will receive 18% of the financing of the so-called “Bazooka” or “vitamin” financing, as Prime Minister Antonio Costa called the European Funding Group.

The plan is part of other forms of financing such as PT2020 or the Multi-Year Financial Framework and has three pillars: resilience, climate change and digital transformation, and provides a total financial volume of 16.643 billion euros, of which 13.944 billion is in grants and 2,699 billion in loan form.

But the PRR will be applied to very specific areas in the various axes of the digital transformation plan, such as digital education at €559 million, Company 4.0 at €650 million, the quality and sustainability of public finances at €406 million, and the economy. Justice and Business Environment, with a value of 267 million euros, and Public Administration – digitization, interoperability and cybersecurity, which get the largest share, with a value of 812 million euros.

18% of the PRR amount is allocated with 8 renewal procedures and 17 investments. Document details Desired results:

Acquisition of 260,000 computers for individual use (students and teachers);

▪ Training of 800,000 trainees in digital skills with individual training plans and access to online training;

Promoting the digital transformation of companies, retraining 36,000 workers, supporting 30,000 small and medium-sized enterprises;

Promoting the digitization of public administration, enhancing interoperability and facilitating access to public services, in particular health, social security, finance and justice, thereby significantly reducing context costs for citizens and businesses;

▪ promoting the qualification and renewal of the human resources framework for public administration;

▪ Promote the development of advanced information systems, integrate artificial intelligence and use advanced computing methods in Portugal, and motivate public administration and companies to use them.