The plans will cost €40 mln and five will be co-financed by the European Social Fund by up to 95%. Emilianides referred to two of the schemes concerning young people, noting that the aim is to “offer them opportunities”. The first is for the employment of 2,500 university graduates to be employed or start a traineeship either in the public or the private sector, whereas the second targets 2,500 unemployed youth, graduates of secondary education or holders of post-secondary education diplomas to be employed for six month with a view to acquiring work experience.

The Minister also launched a subsidy scheme for retail businesses that employ up to four people, a practical training scheme combined with employment in retail trade enterprises employing up to 49 persons, a training scheme for employees in hotels that partially or totally suspended their operation between November 2013 and March 2014 and training scheme for unemployed new recruits in the hotel industry.

Emilianides said that three more schemes will be launched within a few days, two of which will be for low-wage pensioners and a new scheme for the ‘social economy.’ The programmes will be coordinated by the Labour Office (www.mlsi.gov.cy/dl ), the Department of Social Insurance (www.mlsi.gov.cy/sid ), the Higher Hotel Institute (www.hhic.ac.cy ) and the Human Resources Development Authority (www.anad.org.cy ).

Source: Financial Mirror