The SOC has opened a new grant call which, for the first time, includes private companies as beneficiaries. The application period opens on 16 October and lasts only 10 working days.
The Public Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) has opened the 2026 call of the Joves en Pràctiques programme, which aims to facilitate the labour market insertion of young people aged between 16 and 29 who are unemployed, through training contracts to gain professional experience.
The main novelty this year is that private companies can also access these grants, whether they are natural or legal persons, including workers’ cooperatives that qualify as private companies.
The call has a total budget of 19.3 million euros, of which 5 million are allocated to private companies.
Each company may apply for a grant to formalise a 12-month full-time training contract. The grant amount varies according to the social security contribution group of the person hired:
Contribution groups 1 to 2: 2,224.09 euros per month, up to a maximum of 26,689.08 euros.
Contribution groups 3 to 7: 1,597.12 euros per month, up to 19,165.44 euros.
Contribution groups 8 to 11: 1,583.52 euros per month, up to 19,002.24 euros.
The contract must be formalised after the grant is awarded and may start, at the latest, on 31 March 2027.
The hired persons must be aged between 16 and 29, be registered with the National Youth Guarantee System and be listed as unemployed job seekers (DONO).
They must also hold a university degree, intermediate or higher vocational training, a professional certificate or an officially equivalent qualification that allows the contract to be formalised. In addition, the job position must be related to the hired person’s qualification.
The call provides for three lines of action: the hiring of women in male-dominated sectors; the hiring of young people in contribution groups 3 to 11 in the industrial, digital and agricultural sectors; and other hires not included in these priority areas.
The application period opens on 16 October and lasts only 10 working days. Grants are awarded on a non-competitive basis and, in the case of companies, the order in which applications are submitted is taken into account.
For this reason, it is important to submit all the essential documentation correctly, since if it needs to be corrected, the initial order of precedence is lost.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the procedure “Grants for the execution of training contracts for obtaining professional practice for private entities”.
Please note that it is not necessary to submit the employment contract with the application, as it must be formalised after the grant is awarded. Likewise, the selection of candidates must be managed with the reference Job Office, at least 15 days in advance of the selection process.
Interested companies can consult all the requirements, conditions and necessary documentation in Resolution EMT/3653/2026, of 30 September.