On 31 May 2023 the Council of Ministers approved the action plan for the European Year of Skills, as proposed by the labour minister. The action plan was presented on 2 June 2023 at a press conference in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus. It comprises of three pillars and aims to upskill/reskill various target groups –with particular focus on vulnerable groups (e.g. young people aged 15-29 who are not in employment or education (NEETs), people with disabilities, inactive women, etc.); the action plan aims to help them cope with labour market needs brought about by the digital and green transitions, and develop a healthy working culture and a sense of professionalism. The activities envisaged by the plan will be funded by the European Social Fund+ under the national programme ‘Thalia 2021-27’, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), and the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA).
The action plan and its three pillars
The action plan, entitled ‘Modern professional development for the green and digital transition’, focuses on promoting green, digital, quality at the workplace and professionalism through the following three pillars:
- developing a modern professional culture;
- providing professional training to vulnerable groups to enhance social cohesion;
- promoting professional specialisation/expertise and certification.
Implementation
Under the three pillars the following actions are planned:
- providing learning under the format of informative seminars, training workshops and e-learning programmes for upgrading the knowledge, skills and (professional) culture of the participants;
- strengthening links between education and the economy/labour market and enhancing vocational training by upgrading the political framework, improving social dialogue and setting up the necessary procedures;
- developing partnerships with the European Union and international organisations, as well as bilateral partnerships with European States and other countries, to utilise their expertise, exchange know-how and receive support;
- implementing promotion and publicity activities.
Under the first pillar, it is planned to train 100 000 persons (employed, unemployed, students, soldiers) by the end of 2024 in four key areas: (a) green development/environment, (b) digital skills, (c) health and safety at work, and (d) quality of work.
The second pillar will be mainly addressed to socially vulnerable groups, people not in education, employment or training aged 15-29 (NEETs), people over 55 years old, inactive women and people with disabilities.
The aim of the third pillar is to promote professional specialisation/expertise and certification for occupations in the green and digital economy, and in the construction, hospitality and retail sectors.
Read more
- Announcement of the approval of the action plan by the Council of Ministers (in Greek)
- Press conference for the presentation of the action plan for the European Year of Skills
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Please cite this news item as: ReferNet Cyprus; Cedefop (2023). Cyprus: action plan approval for the European Year of Skills. National news on VET |