Another step towards the definitive consolidation of vocational education as an equal and attractive route next to the university, the Minister of Education, Sofia Zacharakis, described the bill on the university. Establishment of Vocational Training Academies and their integration into National Vocational Education and Training Systemvoted by the plenary by a majority (ND in favor, PASOK and Freedom Freedom “, during the other parties).

The new Vocational Training Academies come from the partnership of the state, productive bodies and businesses.

As provided for in the bill:

– Businesses will provide know -how, equipment, facilities and secure the practicality and apprenticeship positions.

– Attendance will be accompanied by compulsory learning in the workplace (practice exercise or apprenticeship), with remuneration and with complete insurance coverage in EFKA, while affiliated companies are committed to hiring at least 40% of graduates.

– The themes of each training guide will be made by certified trainers of the SAEK Vocational Training Registry with pedagogical and professional competence, while

– the graduates will obtain a professional specialty diploma with certification exams and Ability to continue studying in related sections of HEIs.

According to the Minister of Education, Administratively, each academy is supervised by a five -member steering committee with a majority of publicso that strategy, transparency and decisions remain in the responsibility of the state

. Innovation also – as he said – is not a decorative word: for the first time, the public and private partnership is not mere “counseling”, but the living cooperation hub that links learning with production and gives tangible results for thousands of children choosing modern technical professions.

In response to the opposition who argued that with the academies “ SAEK cease to be public, ”the minister made it clear that Attendance remains freeinternships or apprenticeships is paid, secured by the economic operator and organized without the burden of the trainee and public control is stronger, no weaker. The Academies are established as Public SAEK branches, subject to and supervised by the General Secretariat of ECT.

“The responsibility for operation and supervision belongs to the ministry and contrary to what is supported, the arrangements aim to enhance public vocational education, not to substitute it,” he added.

In February the start

The minister stressed that the ministry’s approach is for a quick start with a visible horizon of implementation Starting the first Academy in February and with commitments to secure it absorption of at least 40% of graduates by economic operators.

Zacharaki: “Targeted investment in human capital”

In the face of the positions for “cheap labor” that will be channeled into businesses, he categorically disagreed with that the purpose is to produce specialized staff who are best paid than the unskilled, especially when there is demand and absorption clause. He added that the economic operator does not “exploit”, is committed to infrastructure, modern equipment, internships or apprenticeships and the absorption of a minimum percentage of graduates after being certified by EOPEPP.

Ms. Zacharakis also referred to the favorable dimension of the region for the region, since – as she underlined – decentralization from large urban centers is not rhetorical, it is a strategic choice. The academies have regional scope and specialization, they are knots of knowledge in local value chains and act as levers of symmetrical growth, and when training, internships or apprenticeships and absorption clause are linked, you give the new reason to stay in its place, to work.

“The Academies” Receive Roots “where value is produced: in the regions, in the island and mountain zones, next to businesses and local HEIs. We do not transfer children to Athens to find opportunities, we transfer opportunities to the place of children to study, to do so to do so. In local chains. “Study-Work” from wish to practice, “the Minister of Education noted.

Finally, he noticed that in our country, for years, vocational education has been carrying taboo, today we tell our children that there are no renowned and discredited choices in the labor market, there are essential options for everyone who respond to modern needs, highlight talents, serve slopes and cultivate skills. “This is the new social contract we seek: Public Education, Real Learning Positions, Institutional Guarantees of Rights and Transparency, and, yes, requirements for all, including economic operators in this partnership.”

“I do not claim that we solved all the problems. But we took a step with courage. We heard, corrected, clarified. We chose to” marry “the power of the state with the market dynamics so that the diploma can translate into professional power and the young man to find his way to us. We envision it is not a country with young people studying to leave or leave to study, it is a country holding its children, investing in their talent and offering decent conditions of entry to work, “the minister concluded.