European Actions

The Greek Public Employment Service submitted a proposal and secured funding through the European Erasmus+ program for the project “Apprenticeship Inter-network: Bringing together VET institutions and enterprises through a Network of Career Hubs”/AppInterN for the more effective interconnection of vocational education with the needs of the labor market. The proposal of the Greek Public Employment Service was ranked first among 97 applications.

It is a partnership of bodies in which the Greek Public Employment Service from Greece participates, as a coordinating partner, the Municipality of Maroussi, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and the Small Enterprises Institute / IME GSEVEE, from Italy the Municipality of Rome (Roma Capitale) and UNITELMA SAPIENZA (university), from Spain PIMEC, a confederation of employers of small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed of Catalonia and participating from Belgium the European Vocational Training Association (EVTA). The Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) and the Municipality of the City of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat of Catalonia will also contribute to the implementation of the project as “collaborating partners”.

The duration of the AppInterN project is 3 years, until August 2023 and aims to strengthen the links between Apprenticeships, VET and businesses, through corporate social responsibility, inviting employers to offer apprenticeships and jobs to students and graduates of Vocational Education and Training.

In addition, the project includes the creation of an international online platform Apprenticeship Inter-Network, which will host three national CareerHubs and which will inform directly about developments in the labor market, thus ensuring the immediate exchange of good practices, expertise, information and knowledge on workplace learning, Apprenticeship and employment. The main objective of the project is to promote Apprenticeships as a way to enhance the employability of young people in the European Union.

Click here for the AppIntern site

The Greek Public Employment Service participates as a partner in the European KA3 Program Development of National Networks of Adult Education Institutions in the field of Entrepreneurship / ENTRnet. This is a strategic partnership of institutions in which the participants are IME GSEVEE as coordinator and EOPPEP from Greece, from Italy the Learning Digital Institute with specialization in innovative entrepreneurship and education and the Public Service for Microcredit, ENM, from Belgium the Odisee University with specialization in innovative entrepreneurship and education and the European Agency for Adult Education, EVTA, and from Romania the University of UDJG, which specializes in lifelong learning and adult education in the field of entrepreneurship.

The aim of ENTRnet is to support the establishment of new National Networks of Adult Education Institutions in Greece, Italy, Belgium, and Romania. The main objectives of the program are (a) to strengthen cooperation in the field of entrepreneurship at the national and European levels, and (b) to support adult education institutions to improve their capacity to offer high-quality vocational education and to encourage participation by all, including those with difficulties or fewer opportunities to access adult education programs (e.g. young adults, the unemployed and the unemployed youth).

The main actions of the project are: 

• The creation of National Networks of Adult Education Providers in the field of Entrepreneurship in the partner countries of the project

• The strengthening of the European cooperation between Adult Education Institutions and their National Networks

• The development and pilot testing of National Action Plans aiming at the networking

• The development of online training modules on issues related to entrepreneurship

 More information on the ENTRnet website: https://entrnet.eu

In May 2016, the European Commission adopted the new EURES Regulation (589/2016/EU) which aims to provide better job search and recruitment services across Europe and to enhance intra-corporate labor mobility. In Article 19 of the new EURES Regulation, the process of adoption of the European Classification (ESCO) by the Member States is provided, in the context of automated matching, through the Common IT Platform used by the EURES Network. In this context, the use of a European Classification plays an important and primary role. The European classification is a list of professions, skills and competencies to be used as a reference for the EURES Joint IT Platform. To this end, the Commission has developed the ESCO platform – European Skills, Competencies, Qualifications and Occupations. As part of this obligation, our country faces multiple challenges that touch on the actions of many Ministries (Education, Labour, Digital Policy) and Bodies (the Greek Public Employment Service, EOPPEP, ELSTAT), as well as Educational Institutions and Bodies and beyond. 

The Greek Public Employment Service, in this effort, has a dual role: on the one hand, it is the National Coordination Office EURES, on the other hand, it has the National representation in the Working Group of the Member States for ESCO (Member States Working Group on ESCO). In this context, the Service, with the coordination of the Vocational Training Directorate, submitted a proposal, in the context of a relevant Call for Proposals of the European Commission, which was approved

The implementation of the “MATCHING” (Mapping Arrangements and Transcoding CHange IN Greece) project began in January 2020 and lasted until September 2021.

The aim of the project is the adoption of the European Classification of Occupations ESCO tool, as part of the relevant obligations of the country, as an EU Member State, towards the improvement of the matching of supply and demand of the labour market. The actions of the project concern the identification, design and implementation of all the necessary steps in order for the European ESCO classification tool to be successfully installed and adopted by the Greek Public Employment Service, in order to meet the needs of the Greek Public Employment Service and EURES and, subsequently, of all the bodies involved in the classification of professions in the country. In particular, a study of technical specifications has already been completed and the migration work of the European Classification Tool is in progress here. 

The MATCHING project also includes the preparation-training of EURES Advisors and more broadly the staff of the Service, for its operation in the new ESCO environment, the networking with the National and European Key Bodies in this field, the implementation of actions to mobilize the bodies through workshops, workshops and digital material.

The Greek Public Employment Service - (through the Vocational Training Directorate) submitted a project proposal to the European Commission, as part of a call for proposals of the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation - EaSI, on supporting the development of personalised learning, in the field of upskilling pathways. The central aim was to promote flexible learning for the subsidy of low-skilled adults in the field of non-formal adult vocational training.

In the “REFLEX” project (REcommending FLEXible learning for low-skilled adults), approved by the European Commission, the Greek Public Employment Service is the Project Coordinator and collaborates with the GSEE Labour Institute (INE/GSEE) and the National Institute of Labour & Human Resources (N.I.L.H.R.). This partnership ensures that the results are disseminated to a wide range of actors, shaping vocational training policies in one way or another.

It is the first properly structured project of the Greek Public Employment Service, in order to develop, in a systematic way, flexible learning, with a view to responding qualitatively to the serious need to develop effective learning pathways for low-qualified adults, able to facilitate their integration into the labour market. Research is already underway into the needs of businesses in three regions of the country in terms of basic and professional skills. 

In general, as part of the project, professional profiles are developed, according to local demand, modular training programs are developed, for both basic and professional skills, a personalized learning offer is provided, based on skills assessment, taking as a starting point the current level of skills of the trainee in each thematic unit and a recognition/validation scheme is developed per profession. This puts in place all three key steps required under the EU Recommendation on Skills Upgrading Pathways for low-skilled adults.

The REFLEX project encourages national decision-makers to increase opportunities for low-skilled adults by encouraging processes to develop flexible vocational training pathways, seeking to contribute to the development of the relevant national policy, which, in this field, is still in its early stages.

In the field of skills upgrading for low-skilled adults, the Recommendation “Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults” was adopted by the Council of the EU in December 2016. In this context, Member States have made a strong political commitment to upgrade their most vulnerable citizens in order to offer low-skilled/low-qualified adults the opportunity, depending on their individual needs, to acquire a minimum level of literacy, numeracy and digital competence and/or to acquire a wider set of skills, knowledge and competences. The Recommendation allows Member States to identify priority target groups for the implementation of new training pathways and invites them to outline appropriate measures for the implementation of the Recommendation.

In this context, the Public Employment Service attaches high importance to the undertaking of upskilling initiatives, as this priority is explicitly incorporated in the Employment Guidelines, took the initiative, as Coordinator, and in cooperation with the General Secretariat for Education, Training & Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education, the GSEE Education Policy Development Centre, as well as the GSEVEE Small Enterprises' Institute, designed the "Building Alternative Skills' Innovative sChemes – BASIC" Action, as part of a relevant call for proposals of the European Program EaSI-PROGRESS. 

It is a national intervention, of a research and educational nature, on the upgrading pathways of skills and qualifications for low-qualified adults, which includes: (a) mapping and prioritization of the target groups that need skills upgrading, mapping of the upskilling pathways, learning methodologies (completed) and mapping of the skills assessment tools (in progress) (b) development of a professional training package for basic skills and piloting (in progress), for testing and optimising the pedagogical methodology, training material and skills assessment tool to be used, as well as (c) the development of a certification scheme for basic skills: language literacy – numerical literacy – scientific literacy – digital literacy.
Social and horizontal skills are incorporated into the above educational material.

In the context of this strong cooperation between the Greek Public Employment Service, the General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning and the Social Partners, GSEE and GSEVEE, the results of the BASIC will be utilized, in particular the know-how gained from the cooperation with experts from Ireland and France, towards the strengthening of national policy in this field and in particular: The central objective is, after the end of the BASIC Action, to create level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework, in terms of basic skills, building on the integrated package, as it will have emerged, in conjunction with the lessons learned from the evaluation of the Action and the policy proposals, as they will be formulated.

In December 2019, the Greek Public Employment Service, as a Coordinating Body, completed the implementation of the "Innovative Response for Facilitating Young Refugees’ Social Support" – I.ReF.SoS – as part of a Strategic Partnership for Youth, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. The partners included the Ministry of National Education of Turkey, the GSEE Centre for the Development of Education Policy and the DEKRA German Training Organization. 

The aim of the project was to develop an effective transnational reception system, social support and rapid integration of refugees, starting from the empirical finding on the limited use of the long period of time required from their arrival in the countries of entry to the final establishment in the host countries. As part of the project, innovative pathways, methods and tools for vocational education and training have been developed and tested to improve the skills of young refugees and professionals in this field. 

The aim of the project was to develop an effective transnational reception system, social support and rapid integration of refugees, starting from the empirical finding on the limited use of the long period of time required from their arrival in the countries of entry to the final establishment in the host countries. Within the framework of the project, innovative pathways, methods and tools for vocational education and training have been developed and tested to improve the skills of young refugees and professionals in this field. 

It is worth mentioning that the results of the project include significant networking and wide discussion, at local, regional, national and transnational level, in the context of events, with all stakeholders, state authorities, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, social partners, professionals in the field, policymakers. In Greece, the interaction between all stakeholders, at local, national and transnational level, led - in the last months of 2019 - to the finalization of the project results and to a proposal for a national strategy. This result is already bearing fruit, as the lessons, practices and tools of I.ReF.SoS are expected to be utilized, as part of an integrated intervention of the Service, for beneficiaries of international and subsidiary protection, which is already being prepared, in cooperation with the European Commission and the World Bank.