Greece was in last place in the EU for adult participation in education: only 5.2% compared to the Union average of 13.7%. At the same time, hundreds of millions of euros have been allocated through the Recovery Fund for advanced training and retraining programs.
New data Eurostatpublished on September 14, look extremely unfavorable for Greece.
In 2025 only 5.2% of residents aged 25–64 reported having participated in formal or informal learning during the previous four weeks.
This is the lowest figure among EU countries.
| Country | Adult participation in learning |
|---|---|
| Sweden | 38.2% |
| Denmark | 31.0% |
| Finland | 28.1% |
| EU average | 13.7% |
| Greece | 5.2% |
That is, the participation of adults in education in Greece is almost three times below the EU average.
But a lot of money has been allocated for training
This is what makes statistics especially inconvenient.
Through the program Greece 2.0 and the Recovery Fund are funding large-scale DYPA programs to:
- digital skills;
- “green” professions;
- financial literacy;
- retraining of the unemployed;
- improving the skills of private sector workers.
Only one major DYPA project on upskilling and retraining had a budget of approx. €380.7 million.
Another program for 170 thousand unemployed and workers received a budget €259.1 millionand the new cycle for private sector workers in 2026 is still €173.9 million.
A separate green skills program for 75 thousand workers was funded by €63 million.
In total, just these four directions give approximately:
€877 million
And this does not take into account other projects, administrative systems, individual industry programs and certification.
Why does the result remain weak with such budgets?
There is an important nuance here.
The Eurostat indicator does not measure the number of vouchers issued or the number of people who ever took a course, but the proportion of adults who actually participated in the training during the last four weeks.
That is, a large one-time program can train tens of thousands of people, but this does not yet create a permanent culture of continuous education.
In addition, critics of the system have long pointed out problems:
- courses are often perceived primarily as an opportunity to receive benefits;
- the quality of programs varies widely;
- it is not always clear to what extent training corresponds to the real demand of employers;
- The certificate itself does not guarantee a new job or salary increase.
For program participants they still have practical meaning
This does not mean that vouchers are useless.
For an unemployed person or private sector worker, training through DYPA can provide:
- free course;
- certification;
- educational aid;
- new professional skills.
Athens News analyzed in detail how such programs work and where to look for existing kits:
Vouchers and free training for the unemployed in Greece: DYPA programs and payments.
The main problem is not the number of courses, but the result
After spending hundreds of millions of euros, the main question is no longer how many people sign up for the next voucher.
Much more important:
- how many participants actually received a new qualification;
- how many found a job;
- how much did the income increase?
- How long do they continue their studies after finishing the subsidized program?
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