Section SOCIETY
TOPIC

Piraeus Bank Group
Project Future – Connecting the new generation to the labor market

The aim of the program is to bridge the gap between higher education and finding a job in Greece.

New graduates (HEI, TEI, College) up to 29 years old with little or no work experience (up to 3 years).

Project Future is held in cycles 2 times a year. The first cycle was conducted October-December 2018, the second March-June 2019, while the third cycle of the program is currently underway.


Young people in Greece and the labor market

The unemployment rate of young people under the age of 25 in Greece is 42.3%, while in the Eurozone it is 17.3% and in the European Union it is 15.6%. According to a recent study by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), 36% of graduates are unemployed. In the last eight years, the phenomenon of "brain drain" has also arisen and it is estimated that approximately 400,000 people with expertise have left Greece. It is worth noting that 50% of Greeks who go abroad hold a master's degree. Those remaining in Greece face difficulty in finding work, as there is a mismatch between supply and demand. It has been established that to a large extent the difficulty of accessing the labor market is due to the lack of expertise.

Piraeus Bank supports the specialization of young people with "Project Future"

Piraeus Bank developed the Project Future program in October 2018, in collaboration with the Regeneration Academy. The Bank, aware of the challenges faced by new graduates and with the aim of supporting the Greek economy and society, created this unique program that combines on the one hand specialized training in key areas demanded by the market and on the other hand the connection with the labor market.

The aim of the program is to bridge the gap that has been identified between education and the labor market. The process is developed in two parts: the first concerns an educational program targeted at specific pillars, while the second completes the action, through the direct contact of the young people with renowned executives of the market, with the aim of absorbing them into cooperating companies. The areas of expertise emerged following research conducted by the ReGeneration Academy and are: Customer Experience, Digital Marketing, Java, Sales, Data Science and Supply Chain Management. Finally, the CVs of the graduates are available on the Regeneration platform, which with its expertise matches the profiles of the candidates with the needs of the companies for executives, so that cooperation occurs.

Piraeus Bank created the Project Future program as part of its Corporate Responsibility and with the aim of actively supporting young people. The main objectives of Project Future are:

  • The specialized training of young people, so that they can obtain the necessary resources that will make them highly competitive and ready to claim a job that fits their profile.
  • Bridging the gap between new graduates and the labor market, specifically businesses looking for qualified human resources.
  • Highlighting the way in which Piraeus Bank plays an essential role in restarting the Greek economy and in the development of the country, consistently supporting healthy entrepreneurship.
     

The program is implemented in collaboration with the ReGeneration Academy, the Center for Sustainable Entrepreneurship "Evolution", Google, Facebook, Code.Hub, BCA and EASE in order to achieve the goal of the program in the best possible way.

The Project Future program has been dealt with by an integrated working group from the side of Piraeus Bank which dedicated more than 2,100 working hours to its successful completion, in direct communication with its partners.

The first 2 rounds of the program took place in Athens.


The great response of young people to Project Future

The response of new graduates to the call for both the first and second cycles exceeded expectations, with more than 6,500 young people submitting their applications. A total of 1,094 were trained, with 303 of them attending one of Project Future's specialized trainings. Within the first 12 months of the program's operation, approximately 289 young people have found a job in the Greek market.

Project Future - First cycle results (October 2018-December 2018):

  • Enrollment: 4,000 young people
  • Total participants: 153 young people
  • Number of men - women: 86 men, 67 women
  • Ages: 40% (20-24), 60% (25-29)
  • Percentage per school: 13% PaPei, 10% EKPA, 9% OPA, 8% PaMac, 8% Panteio,
  • 4% NTUA, and the remaining 48% are small percentages
  • Placement in the Greek market: 111 (60%) and the process is ongoing

Project Future Second cycle results (March 2019-May 2019):

  • Enrollment: 2,500 young people
  • Total Participants: 143
  • Number of men - women: 69 men, 74 women
  • Ages: 34% (20-24), 66% (25-29)
  • Percentage per school: University of Patras: 11%, PaPei: 9%, OPA: 9%, EKPA: 9%, Panteio: 6%, NTUA: 5%, PaMac: 5%, other universities: 46%
  • Placement in the Greek Market: 80 (52%) and the process is ongoing 
  • Representative Companies: Unilever, Vodafone, Coca Cola 3E

The value that Project Future creates in Greek Society

The Sustainability Center carried out a study on the financial valuation of the "Project Future" program of Piraeus Bank, in order to calculate the value that the program creates in Greek society (Social Return on Investment - SROI).

The Social Return on Investment – SROI methodology was used for the study and assessed the added value created by Piraeus Bank's “Project Future” program to the involved stakeholders. Specifically, the value derived from the significant changes experienced by all involved stakeholders through the program was assessed:

  • The new graduates who participated in the program were trained to:

            -on practical matters such as creating a CV, participating in interviews, contacting companies and the professional environment and also

             -in specialized fields of interest to the labor market.

  • Some of the participants were professionally rehabilitated.
  • The companies that hired the participants in the program integrated the graduates fully qualified into their human resources without incurring the cost and time required in the process of finding and training them.

To estimate the exact socio-economic value generated, the SROI methodology additionally takes into account the various parameters that influence the results (such as deadweight, drop off, attribution, displacement, as well as duration).

According to the results of the analysis, Project Future presents a social performance ratio equal to 2.04:1, which means that for every 1 euro invested by Piraeus Bank in the “Project Future” program, ~2 euro of social value was produced.
 

The program proves in practice and in a substantial way that Piraeus Bank stands next to the young people of our country. As the first bank in Greece, it serves its purpose of having a positive imprint on society and takes care of the new generation, their education and practically their professional rehabilitation.