The Prime Minister visited the first Vocational Training Academy in Tripoli, which focuses on training for the pharmaceutical industry.
The facilities of the model Vocational Training Academy in Tripoli were inspected by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, marking a new era for specialization in the pharmaceutical sector.
This is the first educational structure of its kind in the country, which began operations last February, offering targeted knowledge in one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy.
The implementation of the project has been quick, as the academy’s gates opened just four months after the law was passed.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accompanied by Minister of Education Religious Affairs and Sports Sofia Zacharaki and Deputy Minister Kosta Vlasis, had the opportunity to talk to teachers and students.
As part of the tour of the Academy’s facilities, the Prime Minister was briefed on the free theoretical education and practical training programme offered by AEK Pharmacou, with graduates receiving a Level 5 qualification in the National Qualifications Framework.
The Vocational Training Academies are created through a partnership between the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sport and economic operators, in this case the Panharmaceutical Industry Association, and are part of a broader strategy to upgrade vocational education.
Through the Academies, trainees gain access to free study, training or apprenticeships with pay and insurance, a recognised qualification and the opportunity to continue to higher education. Professional bodies, which undertake the provision of infrastructure, laboratory equipment and any additional resources, contribute to the training of staff who gain experience and skills in real business settings.
An indication of the opportunities created in the labour market through the Academies is that the members of the WFP are committed to absorbing at least 40% of the certified graduates of the Tripoli Academy.
Completing his visit to the Academy, the Prime Minister said:
“We know that the labour market is changing at a dramatic pace and what is happening here in Tripoli, I would say, is an image of the future, as the first Pharmacy Vocational Training Academy was established here. What is that, in simple terms? It is a partnership between the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Industry Association and the Ministry of Education so that we can offer young children that training and paid internship so that after two years they can be absorbed into jobs nearby, in the Industrial Area of Tripoli, where Greek pharmaceutical companies are investing hundreds of millions of euros to create new production units.
Our government is actively supporting vocational education and training. And it is very important to pass on a message that in today’s labour market one can find very good employment opportunities by following exactly this path. And here, in this very nice school-centre of education in Tripoli, there are vocational high schools, second chance schools, up to the Vocational Training Academy of Pharmacy. A living cell that shows that vocational education and training not only has a pulse and a heartbeat, but is a first and not a second choice for many young people who want to follow this path.
So congratulations to all those who support this effort. I look forward, Minister, to soon having other vocational training academies in other parts of the country, so that together with local entrepreneurship, together with industry, together with manufacturing, together with production, we can formulate specialized curricula that will ensure that graduates, at a young age, will have a very good professional rehabilitation, with good salaries and very good job prospects.”
For his part, Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Costas Vlasis said:
“I would like to thank Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for visiting us today in Tripoli. What I want to say and emphasize is that from the first moment I took up the duties of Deputy Minister, I understood the great interest that the Prime Minister has in vocational education and training, which I think is the most important thing, to show that it is a real option for young children and not a second choice, as it was in the past.
So today we visited the Pharmaceutical Academy, which is essentially the first private-public partnership, where the Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Industry Association has come in and we are contributing together with the Ministry of Education, we are taking out the first trainees, those who will find jobs directly in the pharmaceutical companies, and this really shows how we can link vocational education to the labour market. Mr. President, thank you for your presence.”
