The draft Law of Apprenticeship, developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research aims to better equip the labor force in order to meet the needs of the labor market and the economy as a whole.
One chapter of the draft law is dedicated to apprenticeship at the workplace, as a training program, while another refers to apprenticeship in a dual educational program through vocational training. The project regulates apprenticeship relations in the workplace as civil law relations. The apprenticeship at the workplace is set up for obtaining qualification, including in the fields that are not stipulated in the Classification of Occupations of the Republic of Moldova.
A natural person can sign an workplace apprenticeship contract starting with the age of 18, for a period of up to 6 months. The economic agent cannot sign an apprenticeship contract at the workplace with a natural person that previously was an employee of the respective economic agent, unless the apprenticeship contract concerns qualifications for a different position than the one the former employee held. An apprenticeship contract can only be signed once for a certain position.
The number of apprentices depends on the number of qualified mentors in the relevant field. A mentor can coordinate up to 15 students at a time. During the workplace apprenticeship, the apprentice will receive a monthly remuneration, the size of which is negotiated by the parties. It cannot be less than 2/3 of the minimum guaranteed wage in the private sector.
The economic agents that initiate vocational training programs and involve apprentices in their activity receive expense deductions related to the organization and implementation of apprenticeship programs during the period of the apprenticeship contract, except for the period when the contract is suspended. Both the economic agent and the apprentice pay the obligatory state social insurance contributions and the compulsory health insurance premiums, which are calculated based on the 2/3 of the minimum guaranteed salary in the private sector, regardless of the apprentice's real remuneration. The apprenticeship period will be added to the apprentice's work seniority.
The draft law provides that apprentices involved in dual education have legal and fiscal status assimilated to the employees of the economic agent. They are exempted from placement based on the needs of the state, with the exception if they express such a request. The salary during apprenticeship in dual education is a non-taxable source of income. The expenses of the economic agents that carry out vocational training programs in dual education will be tax deductible.
