The development of skills is not just a necessity, but is a foundation for the personal, social and professional progress of every young person, but also the progress of every state, said on Thursday, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, in his address to the 8 National Skills Competition SkillsCyprus 2024 held from today until Saturday at the State Exhibition in Nicosia, also announcing the doubling of the amount of the first three of the Competition prizes, which will be contested by 130 contestants.
The President of the Republic noted that in order for young people to be able to cope with the constantly changing demands of modern life, they need more resources than theoretical knowledge, they need skills and expertise.
He also mentioned that, in this context, the European Commission had designated 2023 as the "Year of Skills", recognizing the need for further deepening and investment in the development of innovation and skills, so that the Member States can successfully cope with the challenges in today's international competitive environment.
He pointed out that in a time full of challenges, where the competitiveness of the EU is being tested, in a period when the aim is to strengthen and make the Cypriot economy more resilient, "skills development is not just a necessity, but a foundation for personal, social and professional progress of every young person, but also the progress of every state".
At the same time, he stated that the role of education concerns the wider society and the local economy, saying that "we have an obligation to connect education with the labor market. That's why we decide that vocational guidance should start from elementary school." At the same time, he spoke about the strategic goal of strengthening the interconnection of the labor market with Higher education in Cyprus in order to remove the mismatch between the demand and supply of qualifications.
President Christodoulidis said that the decision to end ATI was a big mistake by the State, noting that "we want through the post-high school institutes, through our decision to establish from 2025 the Technical High School on the basis of the successful institution of Sports and Music High School, let's give impetus to technical education because there is a basic problem we face and there is the future of our country".
He added that horizontal skills are now necessary for young people to be fully in tune with the changes and new needs of the labor market. With this in mind, President Christodoulidis continued, "we have set as our goal the establishment of a framework for the evaluation and certification of micro-skills, i.e. specialization in specific professional fields".
President Christodoulidis also said that the National Skills Competition SkillsCyprus 2024, is a competition that has been organized every two years since 2010, by the Productivity Center of the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance, adding that it is "a competition that we constantly upgrade because we really believe in this institution".
He noted that his presence together with the Minister of Labor, states, among many other things, "our commitment to the growth and development and the development of skills of our young people, which is a necessary component both for the progress of our country and for the strengthening of of its competitiveness".
The President of the Republic announced that the Council of Ministers will approve the doubling of the prizes and "the first prize will be 2.000 euros, the second 1500 euros and the third 1000 euros".
"As a State we have a duty to strengthen the skills and knowledge of our young people so that on the one hand they are fully qualified to face the needs of the labor market and on the other hand to improve their personal and economic development", said President Christodoulidis.
The Director of the Productivity Center, Maria Nikolaou Christou, said for her part that the competition, among other things, offers an excellent opportunity for young men and women to develop time and stress management skills, skills which, she said, are essential in any work environment and boost their self-confidence.
He added that in the next three days, eleven competitions spanning many different specialties will be held, noting that approximately 250 young men and women expressed interest in participating in the competitions. He further explained that in competitions with great interest, preliminaries were held and a total of 130 young men and women, 32 schoolboys, 65 students and 33 workers will compete this three days.
Also, Ms. Christou said that the skills competition is just one of the actions of the Ministry of Labor in the direction of linking education with the labor market and reducing the skills mismatch observed in Cyprus. At the same time, continued Ms. Christou, the Ministry of Labor is also developing other actions for the same purpose, such as presentations of the prospects for advancement in technical professions in the current multicultural labor market of Cyprus which will start from next January.
Source: KYPE
