Σύντομες Ειδήσεις

In order to evaluate the impact of its activities, the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA) has in place a comprehensive system, which was designed by independent external consultants.  Evaluation studies in 2015 covered the participants in two Schemes for Job Placement of Unemployed Young Persons for the Acquisition of Work Experience in Enterprises/ Organisations.  The Schemes were prepared by the HRDA in close cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, following the announcements of the President of the Republic of Cyprus for measures to restart the economy and tackle unemployment. The Schemes show the response and role of VET in dealing with the adverse effects of the economic crisis on the labour market.

The first Scheme catered for tertiary education graduates.  The placement programmes were successfully completed by 1.498 graduates less than 35 years old during the period 2013-2014, while total expenditure amounted to €5.7m.  The second Scheme catered for graduates of lower secondary, upper secondary and post-secondary education of up to 2 years.  The placement programmes were successfully completed by 875 persons during the period 2013-2014, while total expenditure amounted to €3.8m.  Both Schemes aimed at providing unemployed young people with the opportunity to acquire work experience in order to improve their employability, while at the same time providing the opportunity to enterprises/organisations to utilise suitable human resources.  During the programmes, every unemployed was provided with a weekly training allowance of €125.

The two studies were carried out by telephone interviews in a statistically representative sample of the participants in the Schemes, taking into consideration the category of the enterprise/organisation of the placement, that is, whether they were placed in the Public or Private Sectors. 

According to the results of the first study, the Scheme for Tertiary Education Graduates significantly improves the employability of young persons, given that half of the participants (49,8%), at the time of the field research, approximately 6 months after the completion of their participation, were found to be employed.  The employment rate was higher (56,1%) for the people who were placed in enterprises/organisations in the Private sector.  The study also showed that approximately 1 in 4 (23,9%) of the participants in the Scheme who were employed, continued to work in the enterprise/organisation of their placement. 

Results of the second study for Graduates of Lower Secondary, Upper Secondary and Post-Secondary Education showed that approximately 1 in 3 (32,7%) of the participants in the Scheme were employed at the time of the field research, approximately 4 months after the completion of their participation.  Again, the employment rate was higher (37,2%) for the people who were placed in enterprises/organisations in the Private sector.  More than 2 in 5 (42,9%) of the participants in the Scheme who were employed, continued to work in the enterprise/organisation of their placement. 

The outcomes of this evaluation, which were presented to the Council of Ministers, indicate the contribution of these Schemes towards improving the employment opportunities for young people in Cyprus.  They also provide a very significant input to the HRDA´s effort to continuously enhance and improve its activities and more specifically were utilised for the relaunching of these two Schemes in 2015.

http://www.anad.org.cy/easyconsole.cfm/page/project/p_id/174

http://www.anad.org.cy/easyconsole.cfm/page/project/p_id/241