EU Funding
Employee digital training as a related cost in digitalization projects
There is no single answer. The same usage course is an eligible related cost in one programme, an excluded cost in another, and the entire object of funding in a third.
The question of whether employee training is an eligible cost usually gets a generic yes. The programme documents are blunter. Under SME Eco-Tech, open until 24 September 2026, staff training appears on the ineligible list of the implementation procedure, alongside commissioning, assembly and labour. Under the PNRR C9 call for SME digitalization, now closed and in implementation, employee training was among the eligible categories, next to websites, ERP, licences and cybersecurity. At the other extreme, Investment 19 of PNRR component C7, managed by the Romanian Digitalization Authority, granted de minimis aid of at most 17,000 euro per SME exclusively in the form of training programmes, with implementation closing on 31 December 2025 — there training was not a related cost but the whole object of the funding. Verified on 30 July 2026: we re-checked the three regimes and the authority's announcement for the PEO call on digital skills, where MySMIS2021 opened on 28 May 2024 at 16:00 and submissions closed on 23 August 2024 at 16:00, with no extension and no later round. The practical conclusion for a budget: the treatment of training is read in the guide of your own call, never assumed from another.
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How we help
Training by role, not a general demo
The stock keeper learns intake and inventory, the accountant learns invoicing, the manager learns reports — each session covers exactly the flows that role operates daily.
A budget line with measurable content
Hours, participants, syllabus and materials — we size training like any technical deliverable, so the evaluator can judge its proportion against the rest of the budget.
Correct placement when training is not eligible
Where the guide excludes it, the sessions sit on a separate own-funds line, visible — never hidden inside a licence or configuration item.
Reimbursement documentation included
Signed attendance sheets, the course materials handed over, the protocol of each session and the final user assessment are standard in our delivery pack.
Three different regimes, in three programmes
Regime one — training as a cost related to the system. This is the most frequent case in digitalization schemes: the course accompanies a new system and is budgeted in the same project. That is how the PNRR C9 call treated it, listing employee training next to websites, online stores, ERP and CRM, licences, cloud services, automation and cybersecurity.
Regime two — training excluded outright. Under SME Eco-Tech the implementation procedure lists staff training among ineligible costs, together with commissioning, assembly and labour. For a software component that means the service side stays entirely with the company, even though the product is reimbursed.
Regime three — training as the object of the funding. Investment 19 of PNRR C7, managed by the Romanian Digitalization Authority, granted up to 17,000 euro per SME as de minimis aid, exclusively as training programmes in nine technology fields, with implementation closing on 31 December 2025. No licence and no software development could be bought with that money.
The fourth case is not a regime but a warning about the calendar: a dedicated training call is not open merely because it once existed. The digital-skills call under the Education and Employment Programme, managed by MIPE, received projects in MySMIS2021 from 28 May 2024 at 16:00 until 23 August 2024 at 16:00, and the authority's announcement carries no extension and no later round. On training as the exclusive object of funding we can confirm no open session as at 30 July 2026, and that changes the planning: the training line is budgeted inside the investment project or from own funds, not in anticipation of a dedicated call.
How we size and document training inside a project
Our practical rule: every delivered module gets sessions for its direct users, plus one session for the system's internal administrator. Calculating by hours and participants produces a defensible figure — neither symbolic nor inflated against the value of the system.
What does not work is a round percentage of the project value with no content behind it. Training is the only line in a software vendor's budget that leaves no technical artefact behind, so its documentation has to be built in advance rather than reconstructed afterwards.
At the end we run a short usage assessment: each participant performs the basic operations in the system. The result goes into the protocol and becomes the adoption evidence that monitoring reports often ask for during the sustainability period.
Where our role stops
Northdan Soft is not an accredited training provider and does not run certified courses. The training we deliver is usage training on the system we build. If your budget needs a certified training line, it cannot come from us and must be contracted from an accredited provider.
The limit that costs us: where the guide excludes training, we do not relabel it as documentation, configuration or technical assistance on the invoice so that it fits the reimbursable part. The refusal means a smaller invoice for us and an extra own-funds amount for the client — and it is far cheaper than an invoice line that does not describe what was actually delivered.
Frequently asked questions
Is employee training eligible in digitalization projects?
It depends on the call, and the difference is real. Under the PNRR C9 call for SME digitalization, employee training was among the eligible categories; under SME Eco-Tech, staff training appears explicitly on the ineligible list of the implementation procedure. Read the guide of the call you are submitting under, not a general list.
What do I do if my programme does not reimburse training?
It is budgeted separately, from own funds or from the investment loan if the financier accepts it there. What is not done is moving it into a licence, configuration or documentation line: the real nature of the service is visible in the contract, the protocols and the course materials.
How is the training budget calculated in a software costing?
By session: number of participants, hours, syllabus per role and course materials, with a separate session for the system's internal administrator. Training sized against real modules and real users can be compared with the market; an arbitrary percentage of the project value offers nothing to compare.
Which documents prove training at reimbursement?
Attendance sheets signed by participants with the date and duration; the course materials handed over, versioned and dated; the protocol of each session with the syllabus covered; and a final assessment in which users perform real operations in the system. The last item also serves later as evidence of use during the sustainability period.
Are there programmes that fund only training, not software?
Yes. Investment 19 of PNRR component C7, managed by the Romanian Digitalization Authority, granted at most 17,000 euro per SME exclusively as training programmes, with implementation closing on 31 December 2025 — no licences or development could be bought with it. On pure training, however, we could confirm no open session as at 30 July 2026: the PEO digital-skills call closed on 23 August 2024 at 16:00, with no extension announced and no later round on the authority's page.
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Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247