K. Hatzidakis: New program of OAED for the employment of 10,000 young unemployed

A new program of OAED for the employment of 10,000 young unemployed up to 29 years, 100% subsidized by the Organization and with a duration of seven months equal to each month with the minimum wage for the beneficiaries announced the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis.

At the same time, Mr. Hatzidakis announced the strengthening of the incentives of the “First Seal” program of the Ministry of Labor – which “runs” since the beginning of the year and is addressed to young people aged 18-29 without previous service – so that the subsidy provided is at least equivalent with that of the new program of OAED. The changes in the “First Seal” will have retroactive effect and will lead to a significant strengthening of the incentives given for the creation of new jobs in relation to the current framework which provides for a subsidy of 1200 euros for six months – which is divided equally between employee and employer- for each new position with a full-time employment contract. The specification of the settings for the “First Seal” will be announced next week.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs announced the new initiatives – which underline the great importance given by the government to the strengthening of youth employment – in a meeting he had with the Governor of OAED Spyros Protopsaltis, with beneficiary programs of the Organization and of the companies that utilized the programs.

The meeting was attended by 10 employees, young people, 5 men and 5 women, who work in different companies with different subjects and through OAED programs found jobs in positions corresponding to their job profile. Stella S. was hired as a Digital Marketing executive in an advertising company, having acquired the relevant skills through the Digital Marketing training program implemented by OAED in collaboration with Google. Giannis R., NTUA Chemical Engineer, found a job in a pharmaceutical company through the New Jobs program “Smart Specialization”. Katerina S. found a job as an office clerk in a technical company. Stelios S., engineer, found a job in a car repair company, Antonis K. and Vasiliki P., economists, found employment in company accounting offices, Olga Z., mechanical engineer, found a job in a mechanical engineering company, while Dionysis F. was hired as a salesman in a food import company. Two young women, Argyro Th. And Eugenia M, thanks to OAED’s special programs to support business initiatives, started their own businesses, with the first opening a gym and the second opening an office as a business consultant. Also present at the meeting were representatives of three companies that took advantage of OAED programs to proceed with recruitment.

Both employees and employers said they were satisfied with their cooperation with OAED. Most of the employees pointed out that they did not have high expectations that they would find a job through the Organization, however they were pleasantly surprised, emphasizing the great contribution of the Labor Consultants with whom they had contact. Drawing on their experience so far, they submitted proposals for improving the design of OAED’s new programs. They highlighted, among other things, the need to use digital tools for the better coupling of employees with companies, with Mr. Protopsaltis pointing out that a relevant action is being prepared with funding from the Recovery Fund. The employers, for their part, noted that OAED’s programs facilitated the recruitment, emphasizing that the communication with the competent services of the Agency is satisfactory and highlighting the need to simplify and speed up some procedures.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis stated: “In the last 2.5 years the pace of OAED programs has tripled. With the bill” Jobs Again “we seek to give additional momentum to OAED to be more useful to employees and the unemployed Today we announce a new program of the Organization for 10,000 new jobs.It concerns young people up to 29 years old, covers Attica and Central Macedonia -that is the two largest regions of the country- and based on this program there will be support for the recruitment of 10,000 new , each of which will correspond to the amount of the minimum wage for seven months.It is a very important program with a large aid intensity, which covers the needs of both businesses and young people.At the same time, next week we will announce an adjustment of the “First Seal” Program in order to make it at least as attractive as the program we are announcing. “Young people are a priority for the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.”

The Governor of OAED, Spyros Protopsaltis, stated: “The new program that will start soon is one of the new co-financed actions announced by OAED and is part of the 86,000 subsidized jobs that will” open “in 2022. We continue to give “Emphasis on active policies, because our job is to help the unemployed find work. The programs we activate do just that. We will continue to take action and we hope to have a high response from businesses.”

The “identity” of the new Program

The aim of the new program, lasting 7 months and with a budget of 65 million euros (co-financed by the NSRF) is to enhance the access of young people to the labor market by gaining work experience and tackling the outflow of scientific workforce.

Beneficiaries are 10,000 unemployed young people, aged 18-29, excluding education, employment and training, graduates of at least compulsory education, registered in the registers of unemployed of OAED Employment Promotion Centers located in areas under the jurisdiction of the Attica Region (6,500 unemployed) Macedonia (3,500 unemployed). Participants are paid a monthly compensation by OAED equal to the legal minimum wage. In addition, a proportion of holiday gifts and leave allowance is paid. The participants in the program, for the time of their participation in it, are subject to the mixed insurance of e-EFKA.

Regarding the process, the companies submit applications to the Integrated Information System of OAED and determine the specialty and the required qualifications of the position.

OAED confirms that the company meets the conditions and then the employment consultants of the Organization nominate candidates to the company according to the required qualifications for the vacancy.
The company chooses from among the candidates and hires the unemployed.