State upgrade with specialized executives
A total of 200 high-caliber directors will be introduced to key posts in the civil service
of the effort to upgrade Greece's civil service, a new special training program at the National Center for Public Administration and Local Government (EKDDA) will start in February aiming at training executives to fill key positions in the public sector.
The program is expected to be completed by the beginning of June, with the second and final phase of the training involving approximately 200 applicants, who will be divided into four groups that will attend high-level lectures by distinguished instructors from Greece and abroad.
In particular, the program will include a common phase of study with two sections comprising EKDDA graduates and other civil servants. It will also include a special phase with three sections (legal technicians, public policy analysts – i.e. executives who process statistical data, information, surveys and measurements for evidence-based policy making), where trainees will have the opportunity to specialize their knowledge, acquiring valuable skills for their subsequent career as policy makers in the Greek administration.
“The courses include practical training with a direct impact on improving the daily life of citizens, such as designing citizen-centric digital services, implementing law-making techniques, protecting and managing personal data, as well as introducing digital innovation, modeling and redesigning digital processes, advanced technologies, AI, blockchain and cybersecurity,” Evi Dramalioti, president of EKDDA, told Kathimerini.
In a telling indication of how demanding the process is, the introductory written test that took place last December was conducted online remotely, using the most modern AI tools, thus becoming the pilot for further use in critical processes of the Greek public sector. A total of 642 highly qualified candidates participated in the process, of whom 200 passed to the final phase.
Dramalioti said the candidates were asked to fill in an extremely demanding multiple-choice test designed with a special methodology. “Within a two-hour test, candidates answered 100 questions requiring critical-analytical thinking, but also specialized knowledge, broken down into 25 questions of a general nature and 25 questions per speciality,” Dramalioti said.
Upon the program's completion, certified successful candidates will be placed in the core of governance, namely the Presidency of the Government, the General Secretariat for Coordination and the General Secretariat for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, as well as in 17 ministries.