Purpose and Objectives

The project aims to develop and upgrade human resources and to promote employment in the areas of the Just Development Transition (Municipalities in the Peloponnese Region – Megalopolis, Gortynia, Tripoli, Oichalia, in the Regions of Western Macedonia, North Aegean, Crete, and South Aegean). The main objectives of the project are achieved through the development of an integrated mechanism that includes actions for needs assessment (Transition Skills Observatory), specialized career counseling services, open, flexible learning, and micro-credentialing. At the same time, the project includes networking activities for the effective matching of local labour markets in the areas that are phasing out lignite.

Specifically, the Project aims to:

Upgrade the qualifications and skills of the beneficiaries through counseling, training, and micro-certification actions.
Improve integration/reintegration into the labour market.
Professional development and enhancement of the professional competence of the workforce, which is a crucial factor in the process of restructuring and realignment in the new economic landscape.
Familiarize the beneficiaries with the constantly changing work environment, where there are new data in specialized sectors and work methods.
Raise awareness, inform, and support local markets to ensure the necessary human resources.
Mitigate the impact of local/regional brain drains and simultaneously attract valuable human resources to the Just Transition Development Areas (brain gain).
Promote entrepreneurial initiative.
Highlight emerging and required skills of the workforce through reliable data collection methods.
Continuously record and analyze the needs of local labour markets in the Just Transition Development Areas regarding professional specialties and skills.

Who can benefit

The project ” Skills Development and Employment Centers in the Just Transition Development Areas” is aimed at those affected by the transition away from lignite, supporting and bolstering their professional development.

Specifically, the potential beneficiaries of the project are:

Unemployed

This includes highly skilled unemployed individuals, unemployed people with low formal qualifications and unemployed individuals from vulnerable groups such as youth, unemployed people over 50 years old, women, heads of single-parent families, long-term unemployed, and migrants.

Employees in At-Risk Jobs

People who are directly or indirectly employed in sectors affected by the transition away from lignite and the phasing out of power plants. These workers face the risk of losing their jobs due to changes in energy production. The program offers retraining and the development of new skills, so that they can be absorbed into new positions in emerging sectors of the economy.

Existing and Potential Self-Employed Individuals and Entrepreneurs

People who are already professionally active or wish to start new professional activities in the Just Transition Development Areas. The program offers skill upgrades in modern technologies, digital and green skills, as well as support for new business activities.

Transition S.A.

The “Hellenic Company for Just Developmental Transition S.A.”, known as “METAVASI S.A.”, was established under Law 4872/2021 and operates in the public interest and in support of the areas affected by the transition away from lignite, helping people and communities adapt to new conditions.

METAVASI S.A. has set the following goals: