This measure seeks to redirect resources to training and education as tools to generate real opportunities.
, beneficiaries must register voluntarily and choose courses within a network of training centers that is expanding across the country
.This decision marks the close of a cycle. Empowering Work, which had more than 1.3 million beneficiaries, had been frozen at the beginning of the current administration, along with the elimination of the intermediation of social organizations
The Government of Javier Milei will move forward starting in April with a profound transformation of the social assistance system, eliminating nearly 900,000 social plans worth $78,000 per month and replacing them with a voucher scheme for job training.
The decision, which implies the definitive closure of the inherited model of Empowering Work, is part of a strategy aimed at prioritizing training and employment over direct assistance, which proved to be ineffective.
The measure was promoted by the Ministry of Human Capital, headed by Sandra Pettovello, and responds to a roadmap defined since the beginning of President Javier Milei's administration.
As it transpired, the Back to Work program, which had partially replaced Empower Work, will no longer be paid, giving rise to a new system focused on training.
According to the available information, beneficiaries have already started receiving notifications through the My Argentina application and by email, informing them of the completion of the plan and the possibility of enrolling in the
new scheme.The number reached was around 900,000 people, corresponding to the segment that functioned as an instance of transition to employment.
The change represents a significant shift in the social policy that Argentina has historically applied, especially during Kirchnerism.
Instead of holding generalized monthly transfers that do not generate anything, the Milei Government is committed to a model that promotes vocational training.
At that time, the Government had already set a deadline of 24 months to sustain the scheme, a period that is now completed with no intention of
extension.After the initial restructuring, the system had been divided into two large groups: about 900,000 beneficiaries under the Back to Work program and about 300,000 others under a more permanent assistance scheme, aimed at people with greater difficulties entering the labor market. This last group will not be reached by elimination, reinforcing the differentiated approach of the new policy
.The previous model, based on mass transfers and different levels of intermediation, failed to achieve its objective of facilitating employment. On the contrary, it ended up consolidating structures that hindered direct access to employment
.Faced with this diagnosis, the new strategy seeks to reorient resources towards training and education as central tools to generate real opportunities.
The implementation of the voucher system thus appears to be one of the main goals of Javier Milei's administration in social matters.
With less emphasis on direct assistance to adults of working age and greater focus on training, the Government aims to structurally transform the link between the State and the beneficiaries, promoting autonomy and inclusion in the formal labor market, and leaving behind permanent state dependence.
