Gianna Hormova has recently taken the helm of a crucial organization for promoting employment and reducing unemployment. She is the first female director of the Public Employment Service (DYPA), with the design of new subsidized programs ranking high on her agenda, as she believes that reducing unemployment “is a promise of social cohesion, dignity and equal opportunities.”
Already 11 programs are underway and open for covering job positions in the private sector with subsidies both in money and insurance contributions, as she mentions in the interview she gave to “P”. She notes that DYPA plays a pivotal role in restarting housing policy, emphasizing that out of 9,191 registrations, 5,379 housing assistance applications have been approved so far, and €43.1 million has already been committed as the total budget for approved applications, out of the program’s total budget of €50 million.
What are your priorities for the coming year?
From the very first moment, we set a clear goal: to transform DYPA from an outdated, welfare-dependent organization into a modern, flexible and effective agency that will be a real ally for workers, unemployed people and businesses. In this direction, the work of my predecessor, Spyros Protopsaltis, was significant and constitutes a solid foundation on which we continue to build. Tomorrow’s DYPA invests in people. Our priorities for the coming year focus on supporting employment, quality training and developing modern skills, based on the real needs of the labor market. Reducing unemployment is not just an indicator. It is a promise of social cohesion, dignity and equal opportunities. We will utilize every available funding tool – national and European – with transparency, planning and speed, to offer substantial solutions and new tools to all those who need us. DYPA is becoming a modern public agency that listens, understands and acts. An agency that inspires trust and builds relationships, practically, with citizens, because our basic goal is one: to continuously invest in people and their potential.
Are new employment programs for the unemployed expected? What are they and how many people do they concern?
Of course new employment programs are expected. Our goal at DYPA is to continuously design new policies that respond to the real needs of the labor market and put the worker at the center. Right now, we already have 11 open employment and entrepreneurship support programs, which provide, among other things, business subsidies for hiring unemployed people, as well as entrepreneurship support for unemployed people aged 30-59, with particular emphasis on women. At the same time, 4 training programs are open that aim to upgrade skills. The new skills upgrading and retraining program concerns 170,000 unemployed and employed people, with emphasis on digital, green and economic skills. A second DYPA program focuses on skills upgrading in cutting-edge sectors for the unemployed. Additionally, DYPA’s pilot program is currently running, with a total budget of €55 million, which aims to provide training and create new jobs in five selected areas of the country, such as the Municipalities of Perama, Keratsini-Drapetsona and Salamina, the Regional Unit of Achaia, Kastoria, Rhodes and Serres. Finally, the training program for 10,000 unemployed beneficiaries of Minimum Guaranteed Income and homeless people is underway, with the possibility of subsidizing businesses that will employ them. We are planning even more targeted and expanded programs, which will cover a wider range of citizens, with particular emphasis on vulnerable social groups, such as the long-term unemployed, young people, women and people with disabilities. Soon, once our planning is completed, we will be able to announce specific actions that will concern thousands of our fellow citizens.
How much can DYPA contribute to strengthening housing policy and what do the plans provide?
DYPA played a pivotal role in restarting the country’s housing policy, after a decade of inaction. As the universal successor of the former OEK, we took on all pending issues and proceeded to complete long-suffering projects, providing solutions to thousands of our fellow citizens. With the “Jobs Again” laws and the “My Home” program, DYPA acquired a leading role in designing and implementing the government’s new housing policy. We were given the necessary tools and flexibility to effectively manage our reserves as well as our real estate. Also, the “Renovate – Rent” program is running. Out of 9,191 registrations, 5,379 applications have been approved so far and €43,106,700 has already been committed as the total budget of approved applications, out of the program’s total budget of €50 million. We will continue to contribute by launching new actions, so that our national goal becomes reality, which is to provide opportunities for thousands of young people and vulnerable families to gain access to quality and affordable housing. Towards this direction we are in close cooperation with the Minister, Ms. Domna Michailidou, and the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, which also exercises supervision of DYPA in our housing actions.
How do you see the future of employment and unemployment?
The reduction of unemployment to 7.9% in May 2025, the lowest rate in the last 17 years, is not accidental. It is the result of comprehensive, strategic planning based on international best practices as well as the particularities of Greek reality. DYPA is the implementing body of government employment policy. The government has proven that it designs actions for all age and social groups, without ignoring the importance of locality. Programs announced for affected areas – such as Evros and Thessaly – confirm this targeted approach.
Published in the MoneyPro supplement of Parapolitika
