1. Active employment policies IN EUROPEAN UNION AND GREECE
Dr. Miltiadis Staboulis
Labor Economics, PhD
tel. (+30)

2. Active Employment Policies
attracting and retaining more people in employment
Passive/traditional employment policies
cash benefits for the unemployed

3. Active employment policies
Objectives:
Increasing employment and reducing unemployment
Conservation of the quantitative size of the workforce and increase its working skills
Strengthen mechanisms for matching of labor supply and demand
Management of insurance for the unemployed

4. Active employment policies
Basic prerequisites for effective implementation:
Accurate and clear targeting of active intervention programs
Combination with:
General employment policy
Needs of companies
Overall framework of objectives for growth and employment

5. Active employment policies in EU
Amsterdam Treaty (1997):
Objectives:
Employability: combating long-term unemployment and youth unemployment
Entrepreneurship: establishing clear, stable and predictable rules concerning the start-up and running of businesses and the simplification of administrative burdens on small and medium size enterprises (SMEs)
Adaptability: modernizing work organization and flexibility of working arrangements and putting in place of a framework for more adaptable forms of contracts
Equal opportunities: combating the gender gap and supporting the increased employment of women

6. Active employment policies in EU
Lisbon Strategy (2000)
Objectives by 2010:
EU: “to become the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion and respect for the environment”
Increasing the employment rate from 62.2% (1999) to 70% and 60% less for women (2010)

7. Active employment policies in EU
Revision of Lisbon Strategy (2005)
Active and preventive measures for the unemployed and inactive people focus on training and career guidance and job creation
Developing National Reform Programs by each Member State

8. Active employment policies in EU
Revision of Lisbon Strategy (2005)
Two cycles:
: Implementation of employment policies

9. Active employment policies in EU
Financing
“Progress” Program (2006)
Areas:
Employment
Social inclusion and protection
Working conditions
Non-discrimination
Gender equality

10. Active employment policies in EU
“European Union 2020”
Priorities:
Growth based on knowledge and innovation
An inclusive high-employment society
Green growth: a competitive and sustainable economy

11. Active employment policies in Greece
Objectives:
Wage subsidy
Temporary reductions in social security contributions
Creating jobs in areas like the environment through specific incentives
Local employment initiatives
Education and training

12. Active employment policies in Greece
Implementation of active employment policies
Initiative co-financed by structural funds and programs managed by the European Commission:
Local Employment Pacts
Local Development Initiatives
Projects funded under Article 6 of the ESF

13. Active employment policies in Greece
Period
The creation of local employment was mostly horizontal objective of the ESF measures.
Interventions :
Local Initiatives for Employment
Integrated Actions Intervention in Local Small Scale Urban Areas
Integrated Projects for Rural Development
Operational Program: “Employment and vocational training ” : Improvement of the access and participation of women into the labor market

14. Active employment policies in Greece
Greek National Employment Agency (OAED) through funding the Account for Employment and Vocational Training (LAEK):
Integrated interventions for areas in crisis or deindustrialization with redundancies

15. Active employment policies in Greece
NSRF
Operational Program: “Human resources development ”
Objectives:
Utilization of all human resources as a moving force for the country’s growth
Reinforcement of social cohesion
Priority axes:
Supporting Adaptability of Human Resources and Enterprises
Facilitating Access to Employment
Complete Integration of all Human Resources into a Society of Equal Opportunities
Establishment of Reform in the Mental Health Sector -Development of Primary Healthcare and Promotion of Public Health

16. Conclusions The active employment policies:
were not the only tool for tackling unemployment, but also a means to achieve a sustainable, competitive and dynamic EU economy
have not brought the desired results
The new strategy “EU 2020” aims to create potential for growth and employment growth with actions at local / national and Community level, based on the achievements of Lisbon Strategy and new guidelines (innovation, green economy)

17. Conclusions The Greek active employment policies:
Applied with considerable delay
Did not have the desired effects as the youth and woman unemployment rate remained at high levels
Include in the period :
National scale and local employment actions
New jobs to exploit new sources of growth based on:
Knowledge and innovation
Green growth
The modernization and sustainability of the productive sectors of the Greek Economy