Circular No. 152/2016/TT-BTC on the management and use of funds for vocational training at the primary level and under three months

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON MANAGEMENT AND USE OF TRAINING SUPPORT FUNDS FOR PRIMARY LEVEL TRAINING AND TRAINING LESS THAN THREE MONTHS

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, promulgated by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg dated September 28, 2015 of the Prime Minister on policies supporting primary level training and training less than three months (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg);

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP dated May 31, 2018 of the Government on certain policies for multi-dimensional poor households;

The Minister of Finance hereby issues this Circular amending and supplementing some Articles of Circular No. 152/2016/TT-BTC dated October 17, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on management and use of funding for vocational training at the primary level and training under three months (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 152/2016/TT-BTC).

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Administrative and Public Financial Affairs;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to regulate the management and use of funds for supporting primary level training and training less than three months.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular regulates the management and use of funds from state budget special-purpose funds to support primary level training and training less than three months.

2. This Circular does not apply to the following sources of funds:

a) Financial contributions and grants from organizations and individuals both within and outside Vietnam, except where the donor or its authorized representative and the Ministry of Finance have not agreed on expenditure levels, which shall be governed by the provisions of this Circular;

b) Funds for supporting the training of general workers who are ethnic minorities residing legally in the Central Highlands provinces, mountainous areas, and particularly difficult regions working in state-owned limited liability companies in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; forest management boards; cooperatives; and non-state enterprises: such funds shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 52/2013/TT-BTC dated May 3, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance guiding support for organizations and units employing ethnic minority workers in mountainous areas and particularly difficult regions pursuant to Decision No. 42/2012/QĐ-TTg dated October 8, 2012 of the Prime Minister and any subsequent amendments or supplements thereto;

c) Funds for supporting the training of fishermen in operating steel-hulled vessels, new material-hulled vessels, and new technology fishing and product preservation techniques for vessels with main engine power of 400 horsepower or more: such funds shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 67/2014/NĐ-CP dated July 7, 2014 of the Government on certain policies for developing fisheries, Decree No. 89/2015/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2015 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 67/2014/NĐ-CP, Circular No. 117/2014/TT-BTC dated August 21, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance guiding certain articles of Decree No. 67/2014/NĐ-CP, and any subsequent amendments or supplements thereto;

Article 2. Applicability

1. Subjects eligible for support for primary level training and training less than three months as stipulated in Article 2 of Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg.

2. Agencies, units, organizations, and individuals related to the management and use of special-purpose funds from the state budget to implement primary level training and training less than three months.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Female workers who have lost their jobs are female workers who were previously employed (under labor contracts, production output contracts; working for organizations and individuals without labor contracts; self-employed in the commune) and now are unemployed and seeking employment, confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune in the application for vocational training.

2. Individuals who have been supported for training but have lost their jobs due to objective reasons are those who have completed the training and are working in the profession they learned but have lost their jobs under the following circumstances:

a) Workers employed by businesses, organizations, and individuals under labor contracts or production output contracts that have expired, completed the work as stipulated in the labor contract or production output contract, or terminated due to technological changes; mergers, divisions, or dissolution; natural disasters, fires, or other reasons;

b) Workers employed by businesses, organizations, and individuals without labor contracts who are no longer able to continue working due to technological changes; mergers, divisions, or dissolution; natural disasters, fires, or other reasons;

c) Self-employed workers in the commune who can no longer continue their previous work due to changes in production planning, natural disasters, fires, or other reasons.

3. A day of actual training for which meal allowance is provided is a day of training during which the trainee participates fully in the training time recorded in the class schedule or training plan.

Article 4. Conditions for trainees to be supported in training

1. Within the working age (females from 15 to 55 years old; males from 15 to 60 years old), having a desire to learn a trade, possessing educational qualifications; in cases where learning a trade or apprenticeship is for employment with an employer, they must be at least 14 years old; those who cannot read or write may participate in suitable trades through mentoring and vocational transmission and must have health conditions appropriate for the trade they wish to learn.

2. Having a self-generated employment plan after completing the trade that ensures feasibility confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune or township or being committed to recruitment by the employer or having a commitment from an entity to purchase products after completing the trade.

3. For rural workers: Workers with permanent residence registration in the commune, workers with permanent residence registration in the township or town directly engaged in agriculture or belonging to households with agricultural land that has been reclaimed.

4. For persons with disabilities: Holding a disability confirmation certificate or a disability identification card or a monthly allowance receipt.

5. For unemployed workers

a) In case of working under a contract, holding one of the following documents: Decision on termination of employment, forced termination of employment; decision on dismissal; notification or agreement to terminate the labor contract or work contract; expired labor contract or work contract or completed tasks according to the labor contract;

b) In case of working without a contract: Confirmation letter from the employer;

c) In case of self-employment: Valid business registration certificate or confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune (in case there is no business registration certificate).

6. For individuals who have previously received training support but lost their jobs, in addition to the documents specified in Clause 5 of this Article, they need to provide certificates or confirmation letters of completion of previous training courses.

7. For members of households whose agricultural land or business land has been reclaimed: Land reclamation decision still within the period stipulated in Article 4 of Decision No. 63/2015/QĐ-TTg dated December 10, 2015 of the Government Chairman regarding policies to support vocational training and job placement for workers whose land has been reclaimed (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 63/2015/QĐ-TTg).

Article 5. Source of funds for implementation

The implementation funds include central budget, local budget, support funds from organizations, individuals, enterprises, and other lawful sources.

1. Central budget

a) Supplemental funds from the Target Program for Building New Rural Areas in the national budget to be allocated to localities that cannot balance their budgets to implement policies supporting basic level training and training under three months for rural workers and persons with disabilities in urban areas;

b) Allocating funds from the regular budget of the Vietnam Women's Union to implement basic level training and training under three months for women in urban areas.

"1. For funding allocated in the regular expenditure budget: the process of preparing the budget, managing, using, and settling accounts for funding shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on State Budget and guiding documents thereof. Agencies and units assigned the task of conducting vocational training at the primary level and under three months for urban women must prepare detailed budgets and send them to the finance authorities at the same level. The budget must include detailed explanations of the number of female workers expected to be trained and the training costs for each profession in the planning year, along with reports on the results and effectiveness of vocational training linked to employment targets for the current year to serve as the basis for allocating the budget."

a) Localities that can balance their budgets ensuring full funding to implement policies supporting basic level training and training under three months as per Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg;

b) Localities that cannot balance their budgets should proactively allocate local budget funds to complement the central budget to effectively implement policies for basic level training and training under three months as per Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg;

c) Apart from the direct funding allocated for implementing this policy, localities are responsible for arranging and balancing additional funds from regular training budgets, other programs, and projects within their jurisdiction to organize basic level training and training under three months for women, rural workers, and persons with disabilities.

3. Ministries, sectors, and localities shall mobilize additional resources from international organizations, vocational education institutions, enterprises, individuals, and communities to implement policies supporting training.

Article 6. Provisions on budget preparation, management, utilization, and settlement of expenses

1. For sources of expenses allocated in the regular expenditure budget: the process of budget preparation, management, utilization, and settlement of expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents of the Law.

2. For sources of expenses allocated in the budget for the National Target Program on New Rural Development: implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, Investment Law, and regulations on the management and execution of National Target Programs.

3. Units directly using support funds for basic vocational training and training under three months shall be responsible for managing and utilizing such funds for their intended purposes, for the designated beneficiaries, and effectively.

Chapter II

SUPPORT REGIME AND FORMS OF SUPPORT

Article 7. Content and level of support

1. Training cost support

a) Persons with disabilities as defined by the Law on Persons with Disabilities and guiding documents of the Law: up to six million dong per person per course;

b) Persons from poor households of ethnic minority groups; persons from poor households in particularly difficult communes, villages, and hamlets as defined by the Prime Minister: up to four million dong per person per course;

c) Ethnic minorities, persons entitled to preferential policies for those who have contributed to the revolution as defined by the Preferential Treatment Ordinance for Those Who Have Contributed to the Revolution, persons from poor households as defined by the Prime Minister, persons from households whose agricultural land or business land was reclaimed according to Decision No. 63/2015/QĐ-TTg; unemployed female workers, fishermen: up to three million dong per person per course;

d) Persons from near-poor households as defined by the Prime Minister: up to two million five hundred thousand dong per person per course;

đ) Persons enrolled in training who are women or rural laborers not falling within the categories specified in Points a, b, c, and d of this Clause: up to two million dong per person per course;

e) In cases where a trainee falls simultaneously within the categories specified in Points a, b, c, d, and đ of this Clause, they shall only be entitled to the highest level of training cost support;

g) Apart from the categories specified in Points a, b, c, d, and đ of this Clause, provincial and centrally-administered municipal People's Committees may allocate and mobilize other legitimate sources of funding based on local budget conditions and capabilities to provide additional support to other eligible recipients (including those from poor households according to local poverty standards) who wish to learn trades.

2. Food and travel support

a) Recipients of support: persons entitled to preferential policies for those who have contributed to the revolution, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, persons from poor households, near-poor households, persons from households whose agricultural land or business land was reclaimed, unemployed female workers participating in basic vocational training and training under three months;

b) Level of food support: thirty thousand dong per person per day of actual training;

c) Level of travel support: two hundred thousand dong per person per course if the training location is more than fifteen kilometers away from the place of residence;

Specifically, for persons with disabilities and trainees residing in communes, villages, and hamlets in difficult or particularly difficult areas as defined by the Prime Minister: the level of travel support is three hundred thousand dong per person per course if the training location is more than five kilometers away from the place of residence;

d) Apart from the recipients of food and travel support mentioned above, ministries, sectors, localities, and training institutions may mobilize additional sources of funding based on their conditions and capabilities to provide additional food and travel support to trainees during the training period.

3. Each individual can only receive training support once from the state budget under the support policy stipulated herein. Individuals who have previously received training support under other current national policies shall not be eligible for further training support under the policy prescribed in this Circular. In cases where individuals who have been supported for training lose their jobs due to objective reasons, the People's Committee at the commune level shall consider and decide to continue providing training support for job transition under the policy stipulated in this Circular, but not exceeding three times per person.Supplement

Article 8. Forms of training support

1. In the case where learners register to study at training institutions that are state-owned public service units with the necessary conditions for vocational education activities:

a) Support through the form of task assignment between the agency assigned the task of implementing the policy and the affiliated public training institution. The preparation of the budget estimate, allocation of the budget estimate, and settlement of the task implementation costs shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents thereof;

b) Support through the form of placing orders between the agency assigned the task of implementing the policy and public training institutions that are not subordinate units of the agency assigned the task as stipulated in Chapter III of this Circular.

2. In the case where learners register to study at non-public training institutions with the necessary conditions for vocational education activities: support through the form of placing orders between the agency assigned the task of implementing the policy and non-public training institutions as stipulated in Chapter III of this Circular;

Specifically, for the case where learners are persons with disabilities, the agency assigned the task of implementing the policy shall enter into training contracts with training institutions or production and business establishments having a project to organize vocational training linked to employment for persons with disabilities (vocational training in the form of apprenticeship and work-study).

3. Training institutions or production and business establishments (hereinafter referred to as training institutions) shall accept learner applications, examine admission conditions, organize training; at the same time, based on the funding for implementing the task of training at the primary level and training under three months, they are responsible for paying food and travel expenses for learners in accordance with Article 5 of Decision No. 46/2015/QĐ-TTg or additional support levels determined by local authorities (if any). In cases where workers voluntarily withdraw from or abandon studies or are forcibly withdrawn from studies, training institutions or production and business establishments shall settle the vocational training support funds according to the actual number of trainees and the actual time spent in training, deducting direct costs for trainees such as raw materials, food during periods of absence, and travel expenses (return trips).

Chapter III

PROVISIONS ON PLACING ORDERS FOR TRAINING

Article 9. Unit price for placing orders for training

1. Placing orders for training shall be implemented through placement orders contracts with training institutions selected by competent authorities in accordance with current regulations on placing orders for the provision of public services funded by the state budget.

2. For placement orders contracts implemented by Ministries, central agencies: The unit price for placing orders for training shall be set by the Minister, Head of a Ministry equivalent to a Minister, or other central agency (the agency allocated the budget estimate to implement the placement orders training task) after obtaining written comments from the Ministry of Finance and based on economic-technical norms, cost standards prescribed by competent authorities; implementation period, completion time; volume, quality of training. In cases where Ministries, central agencies implement training in localities that have established placement orders prices, they may choose to apply the local prices.

3. For placement orders contracts implemented by localities: The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall determine the target groups requiring primary level training and training under three months to establish annual placement orders targets for approval by the provincial People's Committee. The unit price for placing orders for training for each trade shall be determined based on national economic-technical norms, cost standards or local economic-technical norms, cost standards (in cases where there are no national economic-technical norms, cost standards or when it is necessary to specify national economic-technical norms, cost standards) suitable to the actual situation of the locality.

4. For cases where economic-technical norms, cost standards cannot be established as the basis for setting placement orders prices, agencies and units shall refer to the guidelines in Article 10 of this Circular to develop placement orders prices for primary level training and training under three months for each trade in the list of training trades consistent with the training programs and duration.

5. For trades with actual placement orders prices higher than the maximum support level specified in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Circular, localities and training institutions shall proactively use local government budget funds, corporate support, and lawful donations to ensure training costs.

Article 10. Establishing unit prices for orders in cases where there are no economic-technical norms or cost norms.

Agencies and units shall base on the following contents and expenditure levels to establish unit prices for orders ensuring the principles of thrift and efficiency:

1. Expenditure on enrollment, opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and issuance of certificates.

2. Expenditure on purchasing materials, office supplies, textbooks, and training materials.

3. Remuneration for teachers and vocational instructors participating in primary level training and training lasting less than three months:

a) Regular teachers working at training institutions: Apply the salary level and allowances currently enjoyed by lecturers and teachers.

b) Vocational instructors who are technical staff, engineers, skilled workers with high skills from enterprises, industrial promotion centers, agricultural extension centers, forestry extension centers, fisheries extension centers, and excellent farmers at the district level or higher: Apply the expenditure level for lecturers and speakers who are officials, civil servants, and employees working at district-level units and equivalent units according to current regulations.

c) Vocational instructors who are Doctor of Science, Doctors in agriculture, aquaculture, artisans at the provincial level or higher: Apply the expenditure level for lecturers and speakers who are Deputy Chairpersons of People's Councils and Deputy Heads of People's Committees at provincial level cities directly under the central government, Deputy Directors-General and Deputy Deputy Directors-General of Ministries, Deputy Directors and Deputy Deputy Directors of Institutes under Ministries; Deputy Directors and Deputy Deputy Directors of Bureaus and equivalent positions; Associate Professors; Doctors; and Senior Lecturers according to current regulations.

4. Mobility allowance for teachers, vocational instructors, and training managers who must frequently travel to villages, hamlets, and communes in areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions for at least fifteen days in a month. The allowance rate is 0.2 times the basic wage as stipulated in Point a Clause 2 Section II Circular No. 06/2005/TT-BNV dated January 5, 2005 of the Ministry of Home Affairs guiding the implementation of mobility allowances for officials, civil servants, and employees.

5. Expenditure on purchasing raw materials, fuels, and materials serving training activities.

6. Renting classrooms and renting specialized teaching equipment (if applicable).

7. Renting transportation means for moving teaching equipment in mobile training situations.

8. Depreciation expense of fixed assets serving classes according to Circular No. 45/2013/TT-BTC dated April 25, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, use, and depreciation of fixed assets.

9. Expenses for revising and compiling programs and textbooks (if applicable).

10. Other expenses.

11. Management costs for classes not exceeding 5% of the total training class budget, including: travel expenses for class managers; expenses for monitoring, evaluating, and assessing training outcomes and quality; office supplies, postal charges, and other expenses to serve class management (if applicable).

Article 11. Advance payment for training order contracts

Advance payment for contracts shall be specifically agreed upon in the training order contract, ensuring the advance payment level and advance payment documentation as follows:

1. Contract advance payment level

a) First advance payment immediately after signing the contract, equal to 50% of the contract value.

b) Second advance payment applies to training courses lasting three months or more when the training institution has completed at least 30% of the course duration. The second advance payment amount is based on actual workload and value, but the total advance payment for both payments should not exceed 80% of the contract value and should not exceed the approved annual budget estimate for that expenditure item.

2. For the second advance payment, the training institution needs to submit: a request for the second advance payment; a decision to open the class, accompanied by a list of students; a training program and class-by-class training plan; a list of students eligible for meal and travel support, confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune (if applicable), and a report on the progress of contract implementation.

Article 12. Settlement of Training Order Contracts

1. After the completion of the class, the training institution shall submit a written request to the agency or unit that placed the training order for the settlement of the contract, along with the following documents:

a) Report on the implementation results of the contract;

b) Decision recognizing graduation and list of trainees who have been issued certificates;

c) List of trainees employed after completing their trade: list of trainees recruited by enterprises with confirmation from the enterprise; list of trainees whose products are guaranteed by enterprises committing to product guarantees; list of trainees who have created jobs in their localities from the trade they learned, with confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune for cases where production groups, cooperatives, enterprises, or trades learned locally are established;

d) Summary table of settlement and final accounts for class expenses;

đ) Expense vouchers related to training organization costs, meal allowances, travel expenses, with signatures of trainees receiving money (for verification, the direct training institution shall retain these according to current regulations);

2. Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of all documents from the training institution as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the agency or unit placing the training order shall be responsible for inspecting and settling the training contract, transferring the remaining payment amount according to the inspection and settlement report of the training contract to the training institution.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 13. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from December 4, 2016.

The content and level of support for初级法律翻译部分已经完成，剩下的是完整准确的中文翻译部分，请继续专业严谨地完成剩余段落的翻译，注意保持格式和术语的专业性。不要添加任何解释或评论，直接提供官方文件风格的翻译文本。

2. This Circular abolishes the relevant provisions concerning support for primary vocational training and training under three months as stipulated in Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4 of Article 4 and Point 7.1, 7.2 of Clause 7 of Article 6 of the Joint Circular No. 112/2010/TTLT-BTC-BLDTBXH dated July 30, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs guiding the management and use of funds to implement the Program "Vocational Training for Rural Laborers until 2020" promulgated pursuant to Decision No. 1956/QD-TTg dated November 27, 2009 of the Prime Minister; Point 3.2 of Clause 3 of Article 4 of the Joint Circular No. 48/2013/TTLT-BTC-BLDTBXH dated April 26, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs stipulating the management and use of funds to implement the Assistance Program for Persons with Disabilities during the period 2012-2020.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution./.