Samaras Announces 750 million Euro Programs to Support Employment

Antonis Samaras (credit: Wikipedia)

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday announced programs worth 750 million euros for the support of employment with a focus on the newly hired and the long-term unemployed.

After a meeting with Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis, the prime minister said that they will be supported by "programs financed by EU funds, mainly from the NSRF," adding that "600 million euros from the new NSRF can be disbursed and given to us before the end of the year, in 2014, for the training and on the job experience of 145,000 young people and long-term unemployed".

The premier also noted that the first announcement was issued on Tuesday and concerns private sector programs for 30,000 unemployed, aged 25-29; new jobs will be announced in August for 12,000 unemployed, aged 18-24 and a special program for 8,000 unemployed, aged 18-29, will be launched in September in the sector of tourism, winter tourism and city tourism in particular.

The programs include 80-hour training for mainly inexperienced employees, as well as, internships with a total duration of 450 hours within a period of up to six months, in addition to support services and mentoring of the beneficiaries.

Each beneficiary will receive between 1,740 and 1,950 euros.

     "In September, we will launch a 200-million-euro community service program for another 50,000 unemployed - this time long-term unemployed or unemployed households," the premier added.
     "The total amount approved by the NSRF reaches 600 million and exceeds 750 million, taking into account the kindergarten program for the new school year, namely the 2014-2015 period, and concerns 55,000 mothers and more than 68,000 children. All these programs have been especially designed to facilitate the integration of hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens in the labour market, especially young people".
     "We are doing everything to bring economic growth and investment forward and we help the people most in need to seize opportunities. We are bringing the overall growth forward, but we are also helping people to meet the challenge of development," Samaras said.

On his part, Vroutsis said that "20 pct of the young people hired under financed programs stay in their jobs after the expiration of the programs."

     "We are making use of the European funds, down to the last euro, in the best way possible so as to tackle unemployment and increase employment," the minister added. 

(AMNA)