300,000 workers have been trained in green skills since 2019, what it said to boost employment

The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameosparticipated in Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Policy (EPSCO), held in Budapest.

The central topic of the discussion was finding solutions for the further boosting employmentthrough the mobilization of specific categories of valuable human resources, in relation to the demographic challenges facing Europe.

During her speech, Mrs. Kerameos analyzed the answer to the question “How can we further strengthen employment in our countries and in the European Union as a whole”, focusing on two indicative axes:

• Training, upskilling, retraining. Equipping workers with up-to-date relevant skills.
• Targeted actions to stimulate employment in specific categories of workers.

With regard to the first direction, the Minister pointed out that in a dynamic and ever-changing environment, the challenges that member states are called upon to face constitute a growing urgency. Skills, but even professions that did not exist a few decades ago, are in great demand today. For example, “green” occupations such as renewable energy technicians are necessary to enable the transition to greener economies but so are occupations that require digital skills.

“There is a lot of work to be done in this area. Indicatively, only 55.6% of the citizens of the European Union have at least basic digital skills, even more so when the goal set for 2030 is 80%,” he said.

He even added that “In Greece, we have undertaken a great effort to upgrade our human resources, emphasizing “green” and digital skills. From 2019 to date, more than 300,000 citizens have completed training programs designed and implemented by our Public Employment Service (DYPA). Our goal is to reach 500,000 by the end of 2025.”

With reference to the second direction, Ms. Kerameos indicated indicatively categories of workers in which there are significant opportunities to stimulate employment:

• Women
• Young people
• Elderly people

As far as women are concerned, the Minister noted that despite the great progress that has been made in this particular category, there is still considerable room for improvement through the adoption of measures such as extensions to maternity leaves, tax incentives for business benefits to working parents, greater flexibility in work of new parents.

Regarding young people, Ms Kerameos emphasized that in the last 5 years there has been a reduction in youth unemployment by 48% and this trend can be continued with targeted policies such as internships, career days in schools, Vocational Training Schools and Universities, subsidized employment programs designed specifically for young people.

Finally, for the elderly and especially for pensioners, the Minister stated that “we must carefully examine the institutional framework regarding their participation in work” highlighting as a characteristic the fact that the elimination of the withholding of 30% of the pension for working pensioners led in their rapid increase which exceeded 190,000.

The Deputy Permanent Representative of Greece to the EU, Mr. Efthimios Georgios Kostopoulos, attended the Council of Ministers together with the Minister.

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