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Unemployment measures worth €31.5mln to hinder Greece’s “brain drain”

Greece’s Labor Ministry plans a series of measures to combat unemployment. The measures worth 632.5 million euros will be implemented in the first half of 2019 and will affect 88,500 unemployed young scientists. The measure should be considered as an effort to stop the brain drain.

“The government’s plans include the introduction of 11 new programmes worth 632,500,000 euros in the first quarter of 2019 aimed at 88,500 unemployed people,” Labour Minister Effie Achtsioglou said on Thursday in an interview.

According to the data presented, of the total, 31,500 positions will concern newly unemployed people.

Achtsioglou presented five new programmes covering three major groups of people: young scientists expected to work either in public services or in the private sector, or to receive vocational training according to their experience and qualifications. These programmes’ aim is to support labour and knowledge, the Greek minister stressed.

The first group covers 10,000 young scientists who will work in dynamic, productive sectors.

The programme subsidises up to 50 pct of total labour costs for full-time jobs, allowing enterprises to pay monthly wages up to 1,600 euros to a young worker. This programme is budgeted at 112 million euros and will last for 12 months.

The second group covers 5,500 young scientists who will work for the institutional upgrading of public services. The programme has a 12-month duration. Young scientists will work on specific projects in the public sector, such as a digitalization of social insurance records. The programme has a budget of 90 million euros and pay a monthly wage up to 1,140 euros.

The third group covers 16,000 young people who will receive training, certification, practice and job subsidy. The programme has a budget of 90 million euros.

“All three programmes safeguard wages significantly higher from the minimum wage and can act as an effective tool of halting or even reversing a brain drain trend,” Achtsioglou said.

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