One of the most challenging gaps in Bogota’s labor Market is youth unemployment. Due to this, the Government of the city, hand in hand with the National Government, offers different alternatives to stimulate companies to hire young people.
To boost employment, especially among young people (between 18 and 28 years old), the Governments of Bogota and Colombia have created different incentives to benefit companies and the human talent of the city. Among these, we highlight Empleo Joven (Youth Employment) and Sacúdete (Shake yourself).
(Discover more attractive incentives in Bogota)
Empleo joven (Youth Employment)
A city program for companies registered in Bogota. It offers companies 55% of the minimum wage salary for every job created for young people. It includes social security expenses, mandatory benefits, and a transport allowance.
The objective of the program is to employ 15,000 youths during its first year of operation, starting in October 2021. Its baseline is June 2021, which means that during the verification process, the number of employees that a certain company had in June will be compared with the number of new positions that the company is creating for requesting the incentive.
To access this benefit, companies and youths must visit www.bogotatrabaja.gov.co/empleojoven/ and follow the guidelines.
Sacúdete (Shake Yourself Strategy)
A National Government program that gives 25% of a minimum wage payment for up to 12 months to natural or legal persons for every new job created for young people in 2021.
The baseline of this program, which started in July of 2021, is March of the current year. To access this benefit, the applicant must present the requirements to the bank where the company has its financial products.
Once the bank has verified all the documents, the Ministry of Work disburses the money to the bank. The bank transfers the money to the account of the beneficiary company.
Q&A
- Are these benefits just for Colombian workers?
No, both incentives cover Colombian and foreign workers provided that they have all valid documents needed to work in the country.
- Are these benefits just for the city of Bogota?
Empleo Joven is just for companies registered in Bogota. Sacudete works in all the national territory.
- How can it be proven that companies don’t fire people in order to hire a young person and access the benefits?
The goal is to create new job positions, not to replace people. To control this, both programs have a baseline, that serves to compare the original number of employees with the number of new positions created.
- Is it possible to receive both benefits?
Yes, both programs are complementary.
