Italian Interprofessional Funds: How SMEs Can Fund Training and Digital Consulting
- Roberto Benanti
- Jun 9
- 5 min read
Every month your company pays INPS the mandatory 0.30% contribution on the payroll. Part of that money can come back to the company in the form of funded training, consulting, and internal skills development. Most Italian SMEs don't know this, or know it but don't use it.
Interprofessional funds have existed since 2000 (Law 388/2000), were recently updated with new Ministry of Labour guidelines (Ministerial Decree no. 227 of 11 May 2026), and represent one of the most accessible and least bureaucratic funding tools available to Italian companies. This article explains how they work, what activities they cover, and how they can be used concretely to fund digital transformation journeys, project management training, and business consulting.
What are interprofessional funds?
Interprofessional funds are associative bodies, jointly promoted by the main employer and trade union organisations, that finance training plans for the employees of member companies. They were established under Article 118 of Law 388/2000 and are now governed by the new Ministry of Labour Guidelines (Ministerial Decree no. 227 of 11 May 2026).
The mechanism is straightforward: each month, when paying INPS contributions for employees, a company can choose to direct the 0.30% share to an interprofessional fund instead of the generic INPS pool. Those resources accumulate over time and can be used to fund training and skills development activities, covering up to 100% of costs for many fund-specific calls.
The main funds Italian SMEs can join:
Fondimpresa — Italy's largest fund, open to companies of all sectors and sizes, signed by Confindustria, CGIL, CISL and UIL.
Fondirigenti — dedicated to managerial training and executive skills development.
Fondo For.Te — for companies in the tertiary sector, commerce, tourism and services.
FFAPI — Fondo Formazione PMI — specifically dedicated to small and medium enterprises.
What can be funded: training, consulting and digital transformation
This is the point that surprises most companies we work with: interprofessional funds don't just finance standard courses. They cover a very wide range of activities, provided they are structured as certifiable training plans.
Training on digital tools and PM software. Training programmes on project management tools like Wrike, collaboration platforms, automation tools (Make, Zapier) and business intelligence suites. These programmes are fully fundable, especially when linked to an organisational or digital innovation project.
Consulting and coaching for digital transformation. Consulting activities can be included in training plans when they involve a skills transfer component to internal staff. In practice: a project where an external consultant not only implements a tool but also trains the team on its use and new organisational processes is structurable as a fundable training plan.
Managerial and project management skills development. Professional certifications (such as PRINCE2 or PMP), middle management development programmes, training on agile methodologies and organisational change management. Fondirigenti specifically covers these areas for executive roles.
Organisational innovation and change management. Programmes that support the team in adopting new operating models, redefining business processes and managing change are within the fundable topic areas of almost all major funds.
How the mechanism works: Training Account and training plans
The operational mechanism varies by fund, but in most cases companies can access resources through two main channels.
Training Account (Conto Formazione). The resources the company has contributed accumulate in a dedicated account. The company can use them at any time to launch customised training plans, without waiting for calls or deadlines. It is the most flexible tool: it allows training to be planned based on the company's real needs.
Public calls. Funds periodically publish calls that companies can apply to for funding beyond their accumulated account balance. These calls have specific deadlines and evaluation criteria.
Unlike the Fondo Nuove Competenze (FNC), interprofessional funds do not require formal union agreements for most activities, do not have rigid chronological windows, and allow SMEs to proceed with greater autonomy and more predictable timelines.
How to access: the 5 practical steps
The path to accessing the funds is simpler than most companies think. Here are the 5 main steps.
1. Check which fund the company is enrolled in. The enrolment code can be found in the INPS online portal or in the monthly UNIEMENS payroll flow. Many companies are already contributing without knowing it.
2. Check the Training Account balance. By accessing the fund's reserved area, the company can verify how many resources have accumulated and are available for training plans.
3. Define the training needs. Identify which skills the team needs to develop and which digital or organisational transformation activities are planned. This step is essential for structuring a credible plan.
4. Structure the training plan. The plan must include training objectives, content, duration, methodology and outcome indicators. At this stage it is often useful to work with a consultant who knows both the company's needs and the fund's rules.
5. Submit the plan and deliver the activities. The plan is submitted to the fund, approved, and activities are delivered. At the end comes the reporting phase, which must follow the fund's rules on documentation and actual training hours delivered.
How funds connect to a Wrike digitalisation project
A concrete example: a company decides to implement Wrike for internal project management. The implementation requires platform configuration, team training and a period of post-go-live support. The total project cost can be structured in two parts.
The technical part (platform configuration, template setup, integrations) is the company's direct investment. The training part (contextual training sessions for the team, post-go-live support, internal project management skills development) is structurable as a fundable training plan through the company's interprofessional fund.
In this way the overall project cost is significantly reduced: the training component, which in our projects typically represents between 30% and 50% of the total value, is covered by the fund. The overall return on investment improves substantially. To explore how we calculate the ROI of a digitalisation project, read ROI of Digitalisation: the Formula We Use.
This approach works because the method we use to train teams on Wrike is already structured in documentable phases: contextual training, side-by-side support, adoption measurement. All elements that correspond to the requirements of a certifiable training plan. To understand how we structure this journey, read How We Train Teams on Wrike: the Method for Real and Widespread Adoption.
What changes with the new 2026 Guidelines
Ministerial Decree no. 227 of 11 May 2026 updated the operational rules for interprofessional funds, introducing more homogeneous criteria for activation, management and oversight. The main changes concern the standardisation of reporting procedures across different funds, greater focus on the quality of training interventions, and a clearer definition of eligible activities.
For SMEs, the most relevant change is greater clarity on eligibility criteria: this makes structuring training plans more predictable and reduces the risk of contested reporting. In practice, planning a training programme today is simpler and safer than in previous years.
Want to find out if your company can use interprofessional funds for a digitalisation project?
At SBK Solutions we support Italian SMEs both in digital transformation and in structuring the connected training plans. If you are considering a project that includes Wrike adoption, automation tools or a change management programme, we can help you understand whether and how the training component can be funded through your interprofessional fund.
Or read all articles in the Digital Transformation category.
