Lanbide will invest 2,619,599 euros for local organizations to hire unemployed youth

Lanbide-Basque Public Employment Service has approved a new line of subsidies for local entities to hire unemployed persons under 30 years of age, within the framework of the ESF Plus program. The call was published in issue number 187 of the Official Gazette of the Basque Country on September 30, 2026, with official reference 2026/4055. These grants have a budget of 2,619,599 euros and applications must be submitted before October 30, 2026.

Specifically, the general director of Lanbide-Basque Public Employment Service, Francisco Pedraza Moreno, has published the agreement approved on the same day by the organization’s Administrative Council through the Resolution of September 21, 2026. This agreement approves the regulatory bases for the subsidies and the 2026 call, within the 2021-2027 program of ESF Plus in the Basque Country. The resolution will take effect the day after its publication.

The bases were approved according to the organization’s statutes, via Decree 93/2025, of April 29, and the subsidies are subject to the regulation of Law 20/2023, of December 21. The call is included in Lanbide’s Strategic Plan for Subsidies for the 2026-2029 period, approved via Order of January 14, 2026, under strategic key 4.2: access to quality employment for youth.

For whom and how much money

• Beneficiary entities: municipalities, mancomunidades, cuadrillas of the Basque Autonomous Community, and the local development agencies dependent on them, provided they are outside the financing of Lanbide’s “pilots for cooperation with local entities” program.
• Number of contracts: a maximum of 50 contracts per beneficiary entity.
• Duration of contracts: 8 or 12 months, full-time, as contracts linked to active employment policy programs (code 405).
• Subsidy modules: 39,159.56 euros for 12 months and 26,106.38 euros for 8 months for higher degrees; 29,135.31 and 19,423.54 euros for intermediate cycles and baccalaureate; 26,419.77 and 17,613.18 euros for basic training; 22,636.69 and 15,091.13 euros for persons without qualifications.

Youth requirements and selection

• Being over 16 and under 30 years of age.
• Being unemployed and registered as a job seeker with Lanbide, with the training level corresponding to the job position.
• Being registered in the Youth Guarantee System file, according to Law 18/2014.

A blind curriculum will be used in the selection process to ensure no discrimination, and the following order of priority will be applied: residents of the geographical area, holders or beneficiaries of RGI/IMV, those close to turning 30, and finally, the remaining youth. Contracts must generally be notified and started within the following two months, and in no case later than December 30, 2026.

Deadlines and procedures

• Applications: from the day after the call is published until October 30, 2026, inclusive.
• Resolution: maximum of six months after the call is published; if no notification is received within this period, the application may be considered rejected.
• Justification: within a maximum period of one month after all contracts have ended, and always before December 16, 2027.
• Communication of contracts: via the Contrat@ application, within ten business days from the start, using the reference «Gel-2026».

Proceedings are electronic, and the competent body for issuing the resolution is the Director of Administration and General Services of Lanbide-Basque Public Employment Service; the management body, meanwhile, is the Director of Business and Entrepreneurship. Grants will be processed through a continuous selection procedure, in order of submission, until funds are exhausted.

Financing and controls

Contracts may be co-financed by ESF Plus, and beneficiary organizations must keep the documentation for five years, according to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060. The grant is incompatible with any other aid or subsidy for the same purpose, except for Social Security contribution supplements and reductions. Failure to comply with the sponsorship obligation may result in the return of 10% of the aid granted, and repeat offenses may result in the return of the full aid.

The call will allocate 2,619,599 euros to local projects for youth employment, which will allow municipalities, consortia, and councils to create new jobs in their services. The impact is twofold: improving youth employability and strengthening local public services, with co-financing from European funds.

Fuente: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, n.º 187, 30 de septiembre de 2026, Otras Disposiciones, pp. 1-15 (official reference: 2026/4055).