The need to upgrade training and certification programs emphasized the Minister of National Economy and Finance and former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (2021-2023), Kostis Hatzidakisin the discussion entitled “Skills for a new economy” held as part of the event for the European Year of Skills “Empowering Greece with Skills for a Sustainable Future» organized by the Public Employment Service (DYPA).

“We brought to the Ministry of Labor a philosophy that “we pay according to results”, a philosophy that concerned both those who carry out the training and those who receive the training. Have we reached where we envisioned? Not yet. And an effort must be made especially in the matter of certification. The certification backdoor must be closed. When we have regular certification, then we will have regular training. We have to stop this mockery, some people pretending to do training and some pretending to receive training” said K. Hatzidakis.

The Minister of National Economy and Finance emphasized that if Greece wants to move into the new economic era, it must emphasize three factors: human capital, digital skills and lifelong learning. “Lower taxes, lower insurance contributions and a modern labor law are not enough. The notion that a degree will last me the rest of my life is outdated. In Greece we are still paying for the 80s with the logic that “God owes us”. We must get rid of this mentality. The government is trying to change this mentality in the public sector,” said Mr. Hatzidakis. When asked about private universities he said that “clearly we need more and more options and non-state universities can only play a positive role”.

The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Domna Michailidou, stated that: “At the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, in collaboration with DYPA and through a continuous dialogue with the Social Partners, we give high priority to the implementation and also to the future planning of Active Employment and retraining policies to cover the skills gap that exists in the market work. For example, the so-called Integrated Employment Programs are programs that combine a series of interventions: Counseling – Training – Employment and entrepreneurship. In addition, with funding from the Recovery Fund, a DYPA program for training and employment of unemployed 25-45 year olds is currently open. In the immediate future, we also plan to implement actions that will strengthen entrepreneurship among women, micro-financing actions for new businesses, counseling and professional experience actions for various groups of our unemployed fellow citizens. However, in order to achieve our goal, a collective effort is required, with the participation of the government, the private sector and the citizens themselves. Our pursuit, to promote the culture of lifelong learning and an environment that will encourage innovation and equal access to opportunities for all. By investing in the skills of our fellow citizens, we can pave the way for a sustainable future of prosperity, inclusive, for all Greeks.”

Manuela Geleng, Director at the EU’s Directorate-General for Jobs and Skills, emphasized the importance of giving workers opportunities for reskilling, as well as the crucial role that ‘peripheral’ skills will play that will accompany artificial intelligence. Europe we do not have raw materials, our competitiveness is based on the human factor, our innovation and our ingenuity. Digital skills have come to the fore and artificial intelligence is taking over, but we also need the skills to complement artificial intelligence, skills like critical thinking, logical thinking, etc.” write down.

M. Geleng emphasized the need to give opportunities and tools to workers who wish to be trained and retrained, while she also noted the crucial role of certification of different skills. “In many professions businesses need different skills and this way we can increase the pool of candidates for a position with people who may not have the qualifications but have the skills for that position.”

The discussion was moderated by Maria Nikoltsiou, journalist of Alpha TV, and Antonis Fourlis, journalist at Huffingtonpost.gr.

The Minister of Health and former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (2023-2024) Adonis Georgiadis spoke about the introduction of new technologies and skills in the health sector in the discussion entitled “Digital Agenda for Social Transformation”. “It is a great honor for me to participate in the DYPA conference for the European Year of Skills” said A. Georgiadis. “Both as Minister of Labor and now as Minister of Health, one of the biggest problems I have been called upon to deal with is the lack of staff and indeed, specialized staff. Obviously this problem is not only Greek but European, and we must not only highlight it but also find ways to deal with it. With DYPA and Mr. Protopsaltis, I had an impeccable cooperation during the period when I was Minister of Labor and I have complete confidence in the work performed by DYPA and its work. Of course, in the Health sector, which I lead, things are a little more complicated, but I am sure that there too we will do our best to find the necessary solutions to the problem of the lack of human resources. The critical issue of skills can and must be solved, given that we have at our disposal the know-how and staff training and education programs, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund and of course, the contribution of the E.U. which helps us in the direction of European social and economic development”.

The Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou in his statement, among other things, he stated that: “We should not be fearful of the revolution taking place regarding digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Undoubtedly, there are certain occupations that will be eliminated, but at the same time new occupations will be created in their place. A special difference in the age of IT is the implementation of training activities in digital skills that will be in harmony with the technological data and requirements of the time. We all need to work quickly and flexibly, each from his own position of responsibility, to empower citizens with knowledge and skills related to emerging technologies. But at the same time, along with reskilling and upskilling, we should not abandon key elements, such as the cultivation of empathy and emotional intelligence, as a counterbalance to Artificial Intelligence.”

“We need to work more on quality in terms of training and certification. We also need greater visibility of our actions in order to attract the part of the population that is left out of training and the labor market” admitted Gianna Hormova, Deputy Director of DYPA, who emphasized that “we need to change the very culture of learning and development. That’s what we’re trying to do at DYPA,” highlighting the utility for both horizontal and digital skills.

Gianna Andronopoulou, General Manager of Microsoft Greece, Cyprus and Malta, noted the great appeal of the programs aimed at women and the need for more programs for the 40+. “Artificial intelligence is bringing changes to the way we live and work, we need to build skills much faster than in the past. We need a culture of adaptation,” he said, adding that training programs should start at an early age and that artificial intelligence can contribute to DYPA’s education and training programs with personal assistants for trainees.

“We are living a golden four years” assessed Panagiotis Petrakis, Emeritus Professor of EKPA, who warned that in the coming years there will be much greater difficulties and one of the reasons for this will be the lack of human resources. “We need to get people out of their homes and into the labor market,” adding that research has found that citizens don’t quite understand the importance of green and digital skills.

The discussion was moderated by Maria Nikoltsiou, like the next one with graduates of DYPA educational programs, who testified their experience from their participation and talked about immediate professional rehabilitation. Hara Kalpakou, a participant in the DYPA training program for Digital & Green Skills, is currently a supervisor in a lifelong learning center. As she said, she was unemployed for a long time and in search of a way out she found the DYPA program, which helped her to enter the job market almost immediately. Panagiotis Kolokythas, a participant in the DYPA training program for “Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Data Management – Web Applications”, said he was completely satisfied with his experience, saying that it is important to enrich one’s knowledge.

Amalia Kyprioti, an apprentice at DYPA’s Oreiokastro EPAS, in Silver and Goldsmithing, said that her academic career could not fit her into the labor market and through DYPA’s faculty, she turned her hobby into a profession. She added that she got 100% into the industry, made acquaintances and through the practice she was given the opportunity to continue and now make a living from silversmithing. For her part, Valeria Migeleva, a participant in the DYPA training program for Digital Marketing, said that she worked for some years in catering and sales, but when she was informed about the DYPA program, she decided to enroll and train in digital marketing, characterizing the program as a very good and beneficial experience.