The Government provides HUF 6.9bn for young people aged 18-35 years aiming to become entrepreneurs, and thus the objective is to extend the number of employment options available for Hungarian young people, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference in Budapest.
As the Minister of State said, the tender consists of two parts; in the first half of the year winners of the tender participate in entrepreneurship courses, for which some HUF 2bn are earmarked, while in the second half of the year, after participants have prepared a business plan, they may receive grants of HUF 3 million or HUF 6 million each to realize their business ideas. On this latter goal HUF 5bn will be spent.
The Minister of State stressed that in four regions -- Northern Hungary, Southern Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia and Northern Great Plain – courses related to the tender have already begun with altogether 2130 young people. In two other regions – Central Transdanubia and Southern Great Plain – courses with 1100 participants are to begin in the coming days.
In the second phase of the programme, some 1500 people are expected to receive support. Young people who win these tenders are anticipated to secure a job not only for themselves but for other young people as well.
President of Young Entrepreneurs Association Hungary (FIVOSZ) Patrik Kovács pointed out, among others, that the share of young people among Hungarian entrepreneurs is slightly below 4 percent. In Europe, and all over the world, youth unemployment has been one of the most pressing social issues, and helping these people through assistance schemes to become entrepreneurs may be one of the remedies for this problem.
Sándor Czomba emphasised that the youth unemployment rate in Hungary was 28.1 percent in 2012, while this figure improved to 21 percent by the last quarter of last year, and the employment rate for young people was 18.6 percent in 2012 and as high as 21 percent by the last quarter of 2013.
(Ministry for National Economy)
