The date is approaching when the final program of the Ministry of Labor will be submitted for the new NSRF 2021/27 with a total amount of €2.3 billion. euro.

The final program of the new NSRF 2021/27 will be formed at the beginning of next year, after its final approval by the competent services of the European Commission that process the data following its official submission.

Sources say that the Ministry of Labor is actively participating in the Sectoral Program "Human Resources & Social Cohesion", of the Period 2021/27. The total amount amounts to EUR 4.1 billion. Euro for the entire programming period, which is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

The file corresponding to the projects under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs submitted to the Sectoral Program. Has a budget of around EUR 2.3 billion. euros and is formulated as follows, per priority of the Programme:

Employment and Labour Market Priority: €1.2 billion euros

This priority is aimed at drastically tackling unemployment, increasing employment, enhancing access to the labour market. Emphasis will be placed on the groups of the population with the highest unemployment rates (long-term unemployed, women). There will also be interventions to promote equal participation of both sexes in the labour market, etc.

Youth Employment Priority: EUR 500 million euros

This priority includes actions to tackle unemployment among young people up to the age of 29 who are not in employment, education or training and their sustainable integration into the labour market through the implementation of apprenticeships, skills acquisition and promotion actions in the labour market, including information and awareness-raising actions.

Special Priority "Food Aid and Addressing Material Deprivation" (FEAD): €430 million euros

It includes actions to provide practical support to the most deprived and those living at risk of extreme poverty in general. Accompanying actions to support the socialisation and social inclusion of the most deprived persons are also foreseen.

Priority "Horizontal-Systemic Interventions": €50 million euros

The aim is to modernise, adapt and strengthen labour market institutions and services, social inclusion and health, improve the capacity to involve social partners and civil society actors, etc.

Objectives of the NSRF 2021/27

According to the same sources, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs through its proposed actions through the NSRF 2021/27, aims to:

• Improving access to employment, with a particular focus on young people up to 29 years old not in Employment, Education and Training (NEETs)
• Promoting equal access to quality and inclusive training, education, training and lifelong learning
• Addressing material deprivation
• Promoting social inclusion and combating child poverty

It is noted, according to sources, that from the total budget corresponding to the actions of the ministry from the new NSRF 2021/27, 850 million Euros will be allocated to Social Inclusion actions and the fight against child poverty. Actions that run through most priorities with their respective sub-objectives.

These actions under the Sectoral Programme "Human Resources and Social Cohesion" will be complemented by additional actions that will be financed by the Regional Programmes, whose budget will exceed EUR 1 billion. euro.

Finally, the Program also includes emblematic projects of strategic importance, such as the "Nannies of the Neighborhood" program, which starts as a pilot in early 2022. Also open programs for integration into the labor market with emphasis on long-term unemployed and women, etc.

BOX: Preparations for the actions of the Recovery Fund are underway

In parallel with the preparations of the new NSRF 2021/27, the Ministry of Labor is "running", as it has already announced the six action modules of the Recovery Fund with a budget of €5.1 billion; for the next 5 years.

These modules concern the following fields:

• New technologies
• The projects that will be "run" among others are the Unified Information System for Monitoring the Labor Market and the Integrated Information System for Labor Inspection.
• Digital Work Card - Digital insurance upgrade
• The Digital Work Card will "run" first with its pilot application in some major sectors of the economy and then gradual expansion to the entire labor market
• However, the project of the Digital Upgrade of Social Security will also proceed, which, among other things, will take actions such as the digitization of EFKA archives.

Instruction

The relevant projects will be e.g. training and retraining with actions such as:

• Training in digital and "green" skills and the reform of vocational education and training (eg training from upgraded OAED centers)
• The strengthening of apprenticeships (e.g. partnerships with businesses/chambers, etc.)

NSRF 2021/27 - New policies for the unemployed

Specifically, they will run actions such as:

• 15,000 six-month jobs accompanied by three months of intensive training in high-demand sectors (mainly digital)
• 5,000 15-month jobs under the Green Jobs Initiative
• 22,500 jobs in local economies accompanied by training tailored to personal needs and skills of the unemployed

Modern Social Protection Tools

For people with disabilities, actions are foreseen, such as the Disability card for at least 180,000 people with disabilities and the Personal Assistant Program for 2,000 people with disabilities (with the corresponding training of 2,000 professionals). For children, actions such as 50,000 new places for infants and toddlers in nurseries are foreseen. For the homeless, it is planned to renovate 100 apartments that remained unused for a long time in the Municipalities of Athens and Thessaloniki.

Equal opportunities for all through the NSRF 2021/27

Among other things, 120 childcare units for infants and toddlers within large enterprises are foreseen for two years.

It will also "run" a training program for private and public sector employees on equality and diversity in the workplace.