Asiakasnäkymä
Short-term studies while on unemployment benefits
Language
Charges
The studies may include course fees, study material fees and other similar fees that are paid by the client.
Implementation
You may have the right to undertake short-term studies without it affecting your unemployment benefits if:
- you are 25 or older at the start of the studies
- you are entitled to unemployment benefits
- you are working part-time or under a zero-hour contract, or you are unemployed or working as a part-time entrepreneur, for example.
Who is the service for?
Municipality of residence
Age
Situation
You can apply for short-term studies lasting up to six months that provide you with vocational skills or support your business.
You can also complete previously interrupted studies as short-term studies, provided that it has been at least one year since the interruption, of which you must have proof, and you complete the remaining studies within six months.
You can only undertake one study module at a time as short-term studies, which means that you cannot start both a taxi course and a course in real estate accounting during the same six-month period, for example.
You must provide your assigned specialist with information on your studies, including where you are studying, what course or study module you are taking, and the start and end dates of your studies.
During your short-term studies, you will be subject to the normal obligations of an unemployed jobseeker, including the obligation to look for a job as agreed on in your employment plan.
Benefits of participating in the service
Short-term studies are a good option if you do not have a broader need to develop your skills, but you would like to improve your professional skills or support your startup business.
Conditions for participating in the service
As a jobseeker, you may be entitled to short-term studies without it affecting your unemployment benefits if:
- you are 25 or older at the start of the studies
- the studies provide you with professional skills or support your business
- you are entitled to unemployment benefits.
If you have previously completed short-term studies that lasted longer than three months but no longer than six months, you will only be entitled to undertake new short-term studies once you have fulfilled the 12-month work requirement for the unemployment allowance and the maximum period of unemployment allowance has reset. (Unemployment Security Act, chapter 5, sections 4–11external link, opens in a new tab)
- Each calendar month with earnings of at least EUR 930 counts as one month towards the work requirement, while each calendar month with earnings of EUR 465–929 counts as half a month towards the work requirement. You can work to meet the 12-month work requirement over a 28-month reference period, which also allows brief, fixed-term employment to count towards the work requirement. As a general rule, pay-subsidised work does not count towards the work requirement. By way of exception, however, pay-subsidised work starts to count towards the work requirement after 10 months of work for long-term unemployed persons aged 60 or older and persons with reduced work ability.
If the duration of your previous short-term studies is or was three months or less, you can
start new short-term studies without having to complete the previous short-term studies or meet the work requirement.
How can I participate in the service?
The implementation method, location, language of instruction and duration vary depending on the studies.
- You can apply for the studies independently and inform your assigned specialist about it.
- The studies may lead to a qualification or degree or consist of other courses or study modules that do not lead to a qualification or degree. The studies may also be for the purpose of completing studies that you have previously started.
- You can study for up to six (6) months (continuously or in periods not exceeding six months in total, even if the studies are spread over a longer period of time) without the studies being deemed as being either part-time or full-time studies, i.e. without the studies affecting your right to unemployment benefits.
- ‘Study module’ refers to the set of studies that you are supposed to undertake according to your study plan. This module may include several courses, as long as their total duration does not exceed six months. If you do not have a study plan, the decision on the study module will be made based on an assessment of your notification.