The action to train conscripts in digital skills has been approved and integrated into the projects of the ESAA (National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Greece), which has also been approved by the Council of the EU. in 2021 (https://greece20.gov.gr/to-plires-sxedio/) and belongs to the 3rd pillar (Employment, Skills, Social Cohesion).

It is financed by resources of the Recovery Fund through the Ministry of Digital Governance, a fact which naturally implies that this fund cannot be used for defense purposes, but also that it does not absorb resources of the Ministry of National Defense for the Armed Forces.

The funding is part of the improvement of the digital skills of European citizens, an indicator that is measured annually at the European level through the DESI (Digital Economy and Society Index).

The Project “Digital Skills Upgrade Program for Recruits” is carried out based on the 10-3-22 Program Agreement (No. Prot. KtP MAE 5408/31-3-22) between the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Digital Governance and the Information Society, as amended on 5-1-23 and 20-3-23 (No. Prot. KtP MAE 342/10-1-23 & 5982/23-3-23 respectively).

The Contest, which is ongoing, is implemented by the Information Society, a specialized support and implementation body for IT and Communication Technologies projects in the public sector.

According to the approved plan, the implementation decision concerns the procurement of 50,000 tablets and not 10,000, as the Ministry of Digital Governance proceeded to modify the inclusion decision, in the context of harmonization with the approved ESAA (2021).

Specifically, with no. prot. 33943/02.03.2023 (ADA P2OKH-81O) decision, the initial decision was issued to include the project entitled “Program for Upgrading Digital Skills in Military Service” (OPS code TA 5203025 of the action with ID 16826) in the Recovery and Resilience Fund, which was amended by no. 42451/16-3-23 (AD 9OOPSI-KST).

The total budget of the project (after the two amendments to the agreement) amounts to €50,201,132.00, excluding 24% VAT and consists of 6 total sub-projects which are analyzed as follows:

• No1 “Implementation of educational software and provision of training services for the design and operation of the Army Digital Skills Laboratory” (Budget 47,857,132.00 euros without VAT)
• No2 “Technical support consultant for the provision of specialized management and technical support consulting services for the project” (Budget 1,072,500.00 euros without VAT)
• No3 “Provision of audit services by an independent specialized institution of higher education for the structuring of the content of the study programs and the produced educational material” (Budget 200,000.00 euros without VAT)
• No4 “Implementation & Interoperability Services for LMS Platform” (Budget 751,500.00 euros without VAT)
• No. 5 “Publicity services, information for conscripts, websites (Communication Actions)” (Budget 300,000.00 euros without VAT)
• No6 “Services of independent auditors for the certification of project milestones”. (Budget 20,000.00 euros without VAT)

The analysis of the above amounts shows that the project budget is €50,201,132.00 (without VAT), and it has no relation with the publications referring to amounts of around 72 million euros, which also include the cost of exercising the option of the tender concerning sub-project No1 (it is emphasized that the possibility of exercising the option is not mandatory and is included in the majority of tenders, so that it can be used in the event of a change in the service needs of an organization).

Today, it is in the completion phase of the Tender (submission of supporting documentation by the contractors) the sub-project No. 1.

The above tender concerns the conclusion of a framework agreement, the contractors who were successfully evaluated are six (6) and it is required on the one hand to conclude executive contracts and on the other hand to start the other sub-projects for the start of operational operation of the Project.

Regarding the cost of supplying the tablets, this amounts to up to €500 each, i.e. €25,000,000 (+VAT 24%), and this includes the telecommunications fees for connecting the devices in question to the internet. It should be noted that the above equipment should be in accordance with the statutory documents of the Ministry of Health (disabled camera, GPS, internet access control, etc.).

Also, the devices will be handed over by the recruits at the end of the training process in order to be used throughout the duration of the Project. In total, it is estimated that at least 100,000 conscripts will be trained within the framework of the project over a period of three years, a number that will increase since both the material and the educational content will be the property of the Ministry of National Defense and can be used for the training of other ESO of conscripts after the end of the Project.

A large part of the Project is also the creation – certification – control of the educational material. Sin total, a portfolio of three hundred and fifteen (315) training programs is to be created, which will be delivered through asynchronous distance learning, lasting ten (10) study hours each, which will be in full harmony with the DigComp 2.2 framework. All the educational material will be checked by an independent specialized institution of higher education before the start of operational operation of the project. Each conscript will be able to choose up to 3 units. The Character of the training (asynchronous), ensures the possibility of accessing the material without affecting the operational function of the Units – Formations.

The project also includes knowledge and skills certification services from accredited and recognized bodies, in accordance with European standards, so that the obtained certificate has international recognition and can also be used by conscripts, after their discharge, both in the public and in the private sector.

Finally, the technical support of the equipment concerns the 50,000 devices for three years throughout the territory with a response time of up to 6 hours within working hours, or the next working day.

If the costs for the tablet, as well as for the management and publicity of the project (Sub-projects No2 and No5) are deducted, the costs for development – control of educational material, technical support, certification, etc. amounts to €238.28 (without VAT) per conscript (Budget 23,828,632 euros for 100,000 conscripts). From all of the above, it follows that the cost of the project is absolutely within reasonable limits.

The project covers the educational needs of conscripts during their service, within the framework of the “Service Opportunity” Program, which will support them with the appropriate resources for their subsequent professional employment as citizens, as is the case with corresponding programs for obtaining certified professional skills during military service in countries such as Israel, Finland, Sweden, etc.). Regarding the digital skills programme, can benefit from it and conscripts who they already have basic or advanced knowledge in the specific subject, since the program includes a combination of courses concerning multiple digital objects at different levels of knowledge.