Available funding in Greece
Background information
Funding opportunities for upskilling and reskilling to support the digital competences of individuals and organizations are available in form of loans, grants and financial instruments. For the period 2021 – 2026 most of the activities in digital transformation are financed through Recovery and Resilience facility but also as activities in Horizon, Erasmus+, ESIF and EEA grant schemes. You may find more on the page of Greek National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.
Recovery and resilience facility
Greece’s recovery and resilience plan supports the digital transition with investments and reforms in the digitalisation of public administration and private sector companies, in connectivity, and in digital skills. It will invest €160 million for the development of 5G networks, €1.3 billion in the digital transformation of the public sector and another €375 million for the digitalisation of businesses, promoting the integration of digital technologies in SMEs. Furthermore, the plan will invest more than €500 million to promote the digital transformation of the education and health system, while nearly €750 million will be invested in digital upskilling. In 2022, several measures to modernise and digitalise the public sector are launched, e.g., projects to digitalise archives and related services (EUR 598 million); developing interoperability and web services; and modernising the public administration’s, reform to deliver on the cybersecurity strategy for the public sector and measures to improve connectivity.
Digital Transformation of SMEs introduces a support scheme that supplies vouchers to SMEs which can be used for the purchase of digital technologies and related services. Via an online platform, SMEs can easily apply for support and select a digitalisation solution that fits their needs. The project also includes advisory support for developing new digitalisation solutions. Upon completion, the project is expected to provide digitalisation support to at least 100,000 SMEs via the voucher scheme and help at least 1,000 SMEs to develop new digital solutions.
More than 500,000 students, ages 4 to 24, from low-income families and more than 150,000 teachers of primary and secondary institutions were provided with a voucher of EUR 200 towards the purchase of a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. The measure "Vouchers to students for laptops and other IT stuff" targeted low-income individuals while promoting the digital transformation of the education system. During the pandemic, when schools were closed and lessons were delivered exclusively online and required the use of an IT device, the initiative facilitated access to e-learning.
In 2023, training programmes for unemployed and private sector employees seek to train an additional 150,000 private sector employees, including SME employees, in digital, environmental, and financial literacy. Training providers belong to both the public and private sectors and satisfy certain quality assurance criteria. Combined with a reform of the national lifelong learning system, the investment improved the delivery model of upskilling and reskilling programmes, as well as the skills intelligence tools used to forecast skills needs, which enhanced the system's ability to provide high-quality and labour market-relevant training to those who require it. More information.
National Funding
The program for acquiring and upgrading the skills of the unemployed is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0" by Public Employment Service. The objective of the action is the qualitative upgrading of the knowledge and skills of the unemployed through professional training programs that meet the needs of the economy, in order to strengthen their employability and achieve their work reintegration more quickly. Trainees attend a training program and after its completion participate in certification exams. Each beneficiary who obtains the certification is entitled to receive an allowance of 5 euros per hour of training, so for a program of 200 hours it reaches 1,000 euros.
EPICENTRE, a project funded by the European Union through the European Innovation and SMEs Executive Agency (EISEMA), has opened a call for funding to support SMEs and start-ups in the development of innovative cross-sectoral/cross-border value chains in following sectors: ICT, financial technology, health and agri-food products.
Other funding options
The DiGiYouth Initiative, a Microsoft partnership with ReGeneration, offers unique training and employment opportunities for young and new graduates to reduce youth unemployment. It started in 2020 as part of Microsoft’s GR for Growth Initiative and the company’s broader commitment to educating 100,000 people, including students, graduates, unemployed and public and private sector professionals, the DiGiYouth Initiative is now in its third year and has expanded with three new intensive training programs through innovative academies with a focus on digital transformation. The new cycle of the DiGiYouth Initiative includes:
- ReGeneration Academy on Technical Business Analysis 4 Women, an intensive program aimed at strengthening the female presence in the field of Technology,
- ReGeneration Academy on CyberSecurity & DevOps Engineering, an innovative academy specializing in network security
- ReGeneration Academy on Cloud Tools & Technology vol. 4, offering access to unique Microsoft digital tools
Different funding options are also available on the Digital Skills and Jobs platform, you may find a listing for Greece on this link.
