It was tabled in Parliament the bill for the “Strengthening the National Vocational Education and Training System”, with the main objective of improving vocational education and training in Greece and better aligning it with the needs of the labor market.

With the bill, Vocational Training Institutes (VET) are renamed Schools of Higher Vocational Training (VET). and, respectively, the I.E.K. of Special Education and Education in S.A.E.K. for Persons with Disabilities. According to the introductory report of the bill, in addition to the symbolic nature of the name change of these structures that have existed in the Greek education system since the early 1990s, the legislation in question is based on the need for these training structures that are at level 5 of the E.P.P (National Qualifications Framework), to develop new dynamics, with structure and possibilities to provide programs and services that will actively contribute to the connection of trainees and their graduates with the labor market at local, regional and sectoral level.

The restructuring of S.A.E.K. consists in distinguishing between:

  • a) The Vocational Training Sector, which provides, in addition to initial professional training programs, programs to upgrade skills and update knowledge to non-certified graduates of S.A.E.K.s, as well as training programs for internship trainers of host companies
  • and b) the Professional Development and Counseling Sector, which includes the Professional Development and Career Offices (G.E.A.S.), which play a crucial role in supporting and guiding trainees and graduates, and provide counseling on issues professional orientation and career. In addition, they promote networking with host businesses and help monitor the progress of the internship.

The bill introduces provisions regarding the operation of Vocational Education and Training Centers (VET). In the introductory report it is noted that the K.E.K.E.C. they are the key pillar for the realization of the integration, the coordination of vocational education and training, as well as the strengthening of extroversion and their connection with the labor market. The central axis for their establishment, which is guided by the common local determination of the educational structures that are part of them, is the investigation of the special characteristics of the local society and the needs of the labor market and the optimal utilization of the results of this diagnostic process, the which aim at their proper functioning. The aim is to provide specializations that align with these characteristics and the needs of the local economy. With the proposed provisions, matters related to the possibility of setting up Thematic Research Institutes of Vocational Education and Training (THEIEC) are regulated, with the mission of actively investigating the needs of the local economy of a specific area.

In every K.E.K.E.C. the Professional Development and Career Office (GEAS) will operate, which will perform an auxiliary role, will focus on finding internships or apprenticeships, will have a role for the personalized guidance of each student, apprentice or trainee regarding the profession he intends to follow, so as to direct him appropriately for professional prospects and possibilities development, depending on the special qualifications of each one, as well as in cooperation with other agencies.

The Vocational High Schools, which are the main pillar of vocational education, are also being restructured and, as noted in the introductory report, “they are transferred to the EPA.L. the good practices that have been piloted in P.EPA.L. (Standard Vocational High Schools) and modernize, overall, the organization and mode of operation of vocational education with particularly important arrangements for the Laboratory Centers (E.K.), in which all the students/apprentices/trainees of the educational units exercise equally Vocational Education and Training (E.E.K.) of Levels 3, 4 and 5 of the E.P.P. In addition, with the aim of the overall upgrade of the EPA.L, the following are introduced:

  • a) New educational methods with innovative approaches to teaching and practice,
  • b) new management and operation standards of these structures,
  • c) new specializations based on the findings of the various bodies as well as the Council for the Connection with Production and the Labor Market (S.S.P.A.E.) and the Orientation Week and the introduction to entrepreneurship are established.

Finally, the prospect of developing research and educational European and international collaborations, the further training of teachers in the subjects of their teaching and the cooperation with public or private sector enterprises for the implementation of practical training are strengthened.