Komerční banka has entered into a contract with the European Investment Bank, which extends corporate clients’ eligibility for EIB resources. The programme is focused on companies that support young workers at the beginning of their career.
This contract marks the first EIB loan granted in the Czech Republic under the EIB youth employment programme “Skills and Jobs – Investing for Youth”, which is focused on the implementation of the key EIB priority to support Europe’s fight against youth unemployment.
The position of young people on the labour market is rather uncertain. They have minimal working experience and their rate of unemployment is permanently high. The EIB, in cooperation with Komerční banka, is therefore focusing on supporting youth employment. The aim is to (i) link theoretical education of young people with practical skills in the form of training and practice and (ii) support the direct employment of young people.KB is the first group on the Czech market to provide this unique programme to its clients.
Companies can obtain an interest rate advantage amounting to 0.30% p.a. The programme, called EuroPremium Young, is open to companies with fewer than 3 000 employees which:
- have hired a young person in the previous six months who is still employed or commit to hiring a new young person within the following six months;
- offer work experience and internships for students; or
- cooperate with a technical school or university on the recruitment of graduates.
Young people are defined as people aged between 15 and 30.
The total volume of the contract between KB and EIB is some CZK 680 million. Medium or long-term loans can be provided via the facility. The purpose of the financing will be the purchase of tangible or intangible assets or working capital financing. Expert support with the loan is provided by the networks of regional KB EU Point specialists.
"Employment of young people is essential for our society and for our economy. Moreover, young people can bring new views and ideas to the companies and are the condition of their sustainability. Therefore, we would like to support the entering of young people into the active life by partially compensating the costs associated with their training and induction process by EuroPremium Young loan programme. This new programme further extends KB product offer prepared in cooperation with international financial institutions, which is highly demanded from our clients," says Albert Le Dirach, Chief Executive Officer of Komerční banka.