NEWS

Government scraps voucher program for scientists

Government scraps voucher program for scientists

The government has scrapped its distance training voucher programs for scientists and self-employed professionals amid criticism from opposition parties that they were a makeshift and below par initiative.

In a statement, Labor Minister Yiannis Vroutsis said the program, which was drafted to offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on six scientific disciplines, aimed not only to supplement the incomes of beneficiaries with 600 euros but also to upgrade their digital skills “with obvious benefits for the digital transformation of the respective sectors and consequently for the Greek economy.”

However, he conceded that program's content was not up to par and did “not fully serve the purpose for which it was originally chosen by the government.”

Vroutsis clarified however that beneficiaries would receive the 600 euros for the month of April. 

The program aimed to provide support to 166,000 scientists from six disciplines: lawyers, doctors, engineers/architects, economists/accountants, educators and researchers.

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