DYPA expands cooperation with Huawei for women’s employment
Public Employment Service (DYPA) and the Chinese tech giant Huawei signed on Monday a new Memorandum of Cooperation about the extension and expansion of the “Women in Tech” program, they have been running jointly for the last two years.
The meaningful joint project will benefit some 1,000 female workers in Greece, per the deal signed in Thessaloniki, in the context of the city’s international fair.
Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameus, expressed her satisfaction with the MoC in a recorded video shown during the event.
“Warm congratulations for the extension of the program that has already benefited hundreds of unemployed women in the development of digital skills and the acquisition of IT and communications knowledge,” Kerameus pointed out in her message and added that DYPA practices an active employment policy in the most efficient way targeting specific groups, in this case women, who have significant room for improvement in terms of employment stimulation.
At the same time, she added, DYPA runs vocational training programs in subjects with a high demand in the labor market, such as IT, utilizing the latest technological tools, such as modern education and with the aim “to immediately and easily bring the trainer closer to the learner”.
Referring to Huawei’s act of corporate social responsibility, Kerameus noted that the project “proves that,from the investment in the human capital of our country, through social contribution and solidarity, everyone wins” and in this context she expressed the hope that they will follow and other opportunities for partnerships for the benefit of society.
In addition, the minister thanked and congratulated the thousands of women who applied to participate in the “Women In Tech” program, as well as the hundreds who attended and completed it, and all those who aim high, strive and improve. “We admire them, we support them and we make every possible effort for a better tomorrow for them and for all of us,” she said.
Two out of three unemployed people in Greece are women, pointed out in his brief statement the head of the DYPA, Spyros Protopsaltis. “That’s something a lot of people don’t know. Women face significant challenges and obstacles in terms of entering the labor market,” he stressed.
In this context, referring to the “Women in Tech” program, he noted that “we are always happy to participate in new initiatives and invest in new programs that provide targeted assistance to those who need it most.” He also emphasized that DYPA has been focusing for years now on creating opportunities to upgrade skills for the unemployed, “so that we can give them the digital skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing economy”.
Announcing that with the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation, the two sides agree to extend the program, but also to increase the number of benefiting unemployed women to 1000 (from 500), Protopsaltis emphasized that “cooperation is always the key to success for everyone”.
Expressing her great joy for the success of “Women in Tech,” but also for its extension and expansion with DYPA, the senior vice president of Huawei, Selina Wen, emphasized that Monday’s event was a celebration of its success, but also for the fact that it will continue to “run” in the long term.
Underlining the indisputable, as she said, economic growth in Greece in recent years, she formulated the position that “a well-trained and digitally adequately equipped workforce will ensure the further improvement of the economic environment in Greece, taking it even higher.” Among other things, she emphasized that every woman can thrive in the field of technology and all that is needed is for each one to trust herself and the possibilities she has.
“The cooperation between DYPA and Huawei also reflects our own commitment to promoting digital innovation and strengthening digital capabilities in our region,” stressed, in his statement, the Deputy Regional Governor for Digital Governance of Central Macedonia, Nikolaos Tzollas, saying that there are continuous efforts to connect citizens with the latest developments in digital expertise so that, as he explained, they stay aligned with the demands of the labor market.
Among other things, he announced that the Region of Central Macedonia, on September 19, will host an event on the need to develop and further increase citizens’ digital skills.
The goal of Huawei’s “Women in Tech,” implemented through DYPA, is not only training, but also the successful integration of participants into the labor market, and the purpose of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two is to achieve the following objectives:
– To bridge the gap between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) knowledge and skills
– To offer training and educational solutions to meet the demands of the industry in the ICT sector by offering specialized seminars in the field of routing and switching networks and the development of social skills of the workforce
– Create an ecosystem of talent in the ICT industry and support the existing ICT workforce
– To promote the training of unemployed women in the field of digital skills.
Upon completion of the program, the beneficiaries acquire basic knowledge and skills required in the field of networks, as well as – among others – basic principles of routing, switching, wireless networking, network security and automation. In addition, upon completion of each thematic unit, all beneficiaries have the opportunity to take part in corresponding free exams that confirm their knowledge level, with the aim of joining the labor market.
