The initially sluggish uptake of the training lay-off scheme run by the Unemployment Insurance Fund is beginning to gather pace as employers are affected by the tough economic climate. UIF spokesman Makhosonke Buthelezi said this week: " Interest is steadily growing in light of the current trading conditions."The scheme was launched in 2009 to save jobs by providing training as an alternative to retrenchments in situations where employers are in distress.Like the youth tax incentive and the national skills fund, it is a government-initiated programme to intervene in the unemployment crisis.But to date only 4% of the R1.2-billion allocated to the training lay-off scheme has been disbursed to firms eligible to take part.story_article_left1This includes companies in manufacturing and related services and the textile and hospitality sectors.Buthelezi said 10,094 jobs had been saved in these sectors through the scheme.Under the scheme, employers can temporarily suspend work for employees but they have to retain employment contracts and continue to carry the cost of the basic package and social benefits.The scheme is limited to employees earning R180,000 a year or less. They have to forfeit normal wages and attend a training programme during the time they are laid off, but receive a monthly training allowance of up to R6,239.Buthelezi said the programme was available nationwide and on average eight companies were assisted every year...