IVT, or Individual Vocational Training, is a form of training whereby an employee works in a company for a period of 1 to 6 months to learn certain skills. This is very interesting for companies because no social contributions or taxes have to be paid on the employee’s salary.
The salary of an IVT employee is almost as high as the salary of a ‘normal’ employee in the company. It is important to note, however, that no social rights are accrued; so IVT does not count towards a pension or unemployment benefits. Likewise, no holiday entitlements are accrued nor is there any entitlement to other benefits such as lunch vouchers or an end-of-year bonus.
What happens after the IVT period?
At the end of an individual vocational training programme, the employer is obliged to offer the employee a contract for at least the same period of time. So, those who have worked for 6 months under the IVT system should get a contract of at least 6 months.
What are the conditions for IVT?
A number of conditions must be met to qualify for individual vocational training.
- A candidate must be registered as a jobseeker with the Flemish employment and training service VDAB;
- A previous job may not have been terminated to start an IVT;
- One may not have worked for the company before as a ‘normal’ employee. Previous employment as a student is allowed.
An exception is allowed for temporary workers who have worked in the company for less than 2 weeks.
For more information please contact the B-HRMS team.