€102.3M spent on 275,000 people trained on 30,500 programs

In the last five years, 275,000 people participated in 30,500 training programmes of the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA) and the total expenditure reached to 102.3 million euro, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HRDA, Demetris Kittenis said on Thursday, during a press conference on the occasion of 45 years of operation of the Authority.

Kittenis said that during its 45-year history, HRDA remains committed to its work and to its contribution to the continuous growth of the economy, through the upgrading of the knowledge and skills of human resources and the best possible and rational use of the businesses and organizations.

Kittenis said that within the framework of the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Authority as the implementing body of training programmes for the employed and unemployed, undertakes the implementation of projects for the acquisition of digital skills and knowledge and skills related to green economy, the blue economy and entrepreneurship.

He pointed out that the transition to the green and blue economy, the increasing use of new technologies, digitalization, artificial intelligence and new forms of labour, have a significant impact on the required knowledge and skills.

He said that in the past five years 4,100 people were certified in professional qualifications, 390 Centers and 650 Professional Training Structures.

Kittenis also said that the studies carried out by the Authority are also important, such as the forecasts of labor demand and supply in the economy for 2022-2032, the studies on employment and training needs and the long-term trends of human resources indicators in Cyprus .

He also said that the Authority is cooperating with European and international organisations for exchange of expertise and good practices.

In addition, a press release by HRDA says that the Authority has approved multi-business training programmes to be implemented by Vocational Training Centers in the 2nd semester of 2024.

Applications can be submitted via Ermis platform of the vocational centers and information can be found on the Authority's website.

Programmes aim at training the employees in order to improve their productivity, strengthen their competitiveness and develop business resilience. Topics include business management, new technologies and innovations, green and blue skills, renewable energy, energy saving, occupational safety and health etc.

Unemployed can also register for the programmes via Public Employment Service. The total cost reaches €16.1 million for 2,393 training programmes.