Administrative Organization and Structure of the Greek Public Employment Service
DIRECTORATES / SERVICES UNDER THE GOVERNOR
- DIRECTORATE OF ADMINISTRATION SECRETARIAT
- DIRECTORATE OF LEGAL SERVICES
- INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT
- DIRECTORATE OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY POLICY PLANNING
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE DATA PROTECTION OFFICER
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS & WHISTLEBLOWER INVESTIGATIONS
A GENERAL DIRECTORATE - GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF PERSONNEL POLICIES DEPUTY HEAD OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE KONSTANTINOS GEORMAS
- DIRECTORATE OF COORDINATION OF OFFER & DEMAND OF EMPLOYMENT & COUNSELING (DIRECTORATE A1)
- DIRECTORATE OF ACTIVE POLICY PROGRAMS (DIRECTORATE A2)
- DIRECTORATE OF INSURANCE AND SOCIAL POLICIES (DIRECTORATE A3)
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF DIRECT ACTIONS AND INTERVENTIONS
B GENERAL DIRECTORATE - GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF ECONOMIC SERVICES HEAD OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE ATHANASIA GEROSTATHOU
- DIRECTORATE OF REVENUE & BUDGET (DIRECTORATE B1)
- DIRECTORATE OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & PAYROLL (DIRECTORATE B2)
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF MANAGING CO-FUNDED AND OTHER RESOURCES
C GENERAL DIRECTORATE - GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF SUPPORT & DIGITAL GOVERNANCE OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE ATHANASIA THEODORIDOU
- DIRECTORATE OF REAL ESTATE & HOUSING SUBSIDY (DIRECTORATE C1)
- DIRECTORATE OF HUMAN RESOURCES (DIRECTORATE C2)
- DIRECTORATE OF PROCUREMENT (DIRECTORATE C3)
- DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES (DIRECTORATE C4)
- DIRECTORATE OF DIGITAL GOVERNANCE (DIRECTORATE C5)
D GENERAL DIRECTORATE - GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING DEPUTY HEAD OF THE GENERAL EUGENIA LAINA
- DIRECTORATE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & APPRENTICESHIP (DIRECTORATE D1)
- DIRECTORATE OF PROGRAMS, TEACHING METHODS & INTERCONNECTION (DIRECTORATE D2)
- DIRECTORATE OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING (DIRECTORATE D3)
- DIRECTORATE OF STAFF TRAINING (DIRECTORATE D4)
- AUTONOMOUS DEPARTMENT OF NURSERY SCHOOLS
Governor - General
The Greek Public Employment Service is structured in the organic units of the Central Service (Central Management) and in the 8 Regional Directorates which supervise and coordinate its work. The local structures of the Public Employment Service are responsible for the realization of its work. It is a network consisting of:
117 Employment Promotion Centers (EPC2)
2 Offices for Special Social Groups (SSG)
Educational Units consisting of:
51 Vocational Apprenticeship Schools (V.A.S.)
7 Experimental Vocational Schools (E.V.A.S.)
30 Professional Training Institutes (P.T.I.)
6 Adult Professional Training Centers (A.P.T.C.)
2 A.P.T.C. Schools for Disabled People
30 Professional Education Interconnection Offices (P.E.I.O.) &
26 Nurseries
- Central Service - Administration
The Headquarters – Management is structured into the Management Services and the 4 General Directorates which direct and coordinate the work under their responsibility. They are:
Α΄- General Directorate for Labor Force Policies
Β΄- General Directorate for Financial Services
C΄- General Directorate for the Support & Digital Governance and
D΄- General Directorate for Professional Education and Training
The responsibility of the Directorates and Services of Headquarters which are under the control of the Governor of the Greek Public Employment Service, it is about matters of the Secretariat and Management Support, Communication & Public Relations, Legal Services, Audit, Strategic Design, Political Emergency Design, Personal Data protection and complaint investigation.
The responsibility of the Directorates and Services under the control of the General Directorate for Labor Force includes issues related to the application of government policy for the employment of the country’s work force, aiming at the connection of supply and demand, subsidies policy in relation to unemployment and the spiritual and social development of the work force and their families.
The responsibility of the Directorates and Services under the control of the General Directorate for Financial Services regards the coordination and the supervision of all subordinate financial organizational units and the responsibilities with financial interest, including the management of Co-financed and Other Resources.
The responsibility of the Directorates and Services under the control of the General Directorate for Support & Digital Governance addresses matters of staffing of the Greek Public Employment Service, coordination for the fast and safe adjustment to the domestic and international of digital governance, procurement & public contracts and coordination for the fulfillment of the obligations of the Employment Service, as universal successor of the former Workers’ Housing Organization (WHO) and former Workers’ Hearth Organization (WHO) (completion of construction work, housing protection of the workforce, support in its collective organization and action etc.).
Under the responsibility of the Directorates under the control of the General Directorate for Professional Education and Training are the application of government policy for the improvement of the work force through the promotion of professional education and training and their connection with employment, the constant development of the personnel of the Public Employment Service through targeted educational actions and the infant care of the children of the work force.
- Regional Services
- Regional Divisions
The local responsibility for carrying out the decisions made by the Management of the Public Employment Service lies with the 8 Regional Directorates subjected directly to the Governor of the GPES, the EPC2, SSG Offices, as well as the educational units (VAS, E.VAS, PTI and APTC, Vocational Training School for the Disabled of Athens, Educational Center for Vocational Training of Adolescents and Young Persons with Special Needs of Thessaloniki, Nurseries).
Besides the realization of the decisions of the Management, one of the operational targets of the 8 Regional Directorates is to ensure the decentralized operation of the Organization through: (a) coordination, oversight and support of the local organizational units under their local responsibility, (b) covering the needs arising during the examination of objections, during the application of active and passive policies by local Employment Promotion Centers 2 and SSG Offices, (c) the unimpeded operation of the local Educational Structures & Nurseries and (d) the administrative, economic and information support of the local organizational units, in the application of housing support policies.
The 8 Regional Directorates are:
Attica, with the seat in the Municipality of Athens
Piraeus & the Islands, with the seat in the Municipality of Piraeus
Eastern Macedonia-Thrace with the seat in the Municipality of Kavala
Central & Western Macedonia, with the seat in the Municipality of Thessaloniki
Epirus, with the seat in the Municipality of Ioannina
Thessaly, with the seat in the Municipality of Larisa
Crete, with the seat in the Municipality of Heraklion
Peloponnese, with the seat in the Municipality of Patras
- Employment Promotion Centrers (KPA2)
The Employment Promotion Centers (EPC2) of the GPES operate on a Sub-directorate or Department level and are one-stop shops for unemployed, employees and businesses. These structures provide the most important provided services for the promotion of employment and unemployment insurance. Indicatively the following are mentioned:
Individualized approach, consulting and placement at an employment post (combination of work demand and supply)
Provision of allowances and other social protection subsidies (passive policies)
Application and management of programs and active employment policies.
Simultaneously, in some remote areas there are GPES Correspondents’ Offices in order to serve permanent residents.
There are also 2 Offices for Special Social Groups (Athens and Thessaloniki) aiming at the inclusion in the labor market of groups threatened by social exclusion:
Persons with Disability
Persons Released from Prison
Former Drug Addicts
Young delinquents or Persons in social danger
Other vulnerable social groups as applicable.
- Education and training units (Apprenticeship Vocational Training Schools- Vocational Training Institutes of the Greek Public Employment Organizations - Vocational Training Centers of the Greek Public Employment Organizations)
Education and Training Units of the GPES also operate on Department level under the Regional Directorates. These Units include:
51 Vocational Apprenticeship Schools (VAS)
7 Experimental Vocational Schools (EVAS)
30 Professional Training Institutes (PTI)
6 Adult Professional Training Centers (APTC)
2 APTC for Disabled Persons
30 Professional Education Interconnection Offices (PEIO) and
26 Nurseries
The GPES applies the Apprenticeship system for the vocational education of pupils in various Vocational Schools (VAS) of the country, combining the vocational education in class and salaried practice in businesses.
The aim is for the person under training to acquire professional experience in real working conditions, so they can be appropriately prepared for their inclusion in the labor market. The on the job-training system has been shown effective in practice as the pupils after the end of their studies continue at a significant rate working in the practice jobs.
The GPES founded in 2021 seven new Experimental Apprenticeship Vocational Schools (EVAS), which will operate in seven cities, with three specializations in the sector of tourism and hospitality. The EVAS guarantee the placement of all apprentices in apprenticeship places in distinguished businesses of the tourist sector (4- and 5-star hotels), but they also enhance the perspective of their professional rehabilitation after completing studies.
Also, the GPES operates throughout Greece 31 PTI (Professional Training Institutes) for initial professional training after the Lyceum, by participating in theoretical and laboratory courses. They are supervised by the General Secretariat for Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and provide the persons in training with initial professional training.
By developing the necessary skills and qualifications, providing scientific, technical, professional and practical knowledge, the PTIs of the GPES seek the smooth inclusion in the productive process.
The GPES has two Special Education training structures for the professional training of Persons with Disabilities: The Professional Training School for Disabled Persons in Galatsi and the Educational Professional Training Center for Adolescents and Young Persons with Special Needs (APTC for Disabled Persons) in Lakkia-Thessaloniki.
These structures aim at professional training (theoretical and practical) and socialization of unemployed persons with disabilities and consequently at their employment in the various sectors of economy. At the same time, persons in training receive psycho-social support and counselling by Specialized Scientific Personnel (psychologists, social workers, psychiatrist etc.).
- Regional Divisions
