-
.
- Ελληνικά
On 13 June 2024, the Cyprus Human Resources Development Authority (HRD) held a very successful press conference at its offices, as part of the events celebrating 45 years of its uninterrupted and successful course.
The Cyprus Industrial Training Authority, as it was originally called, was established in 1974, just before the tragic events of the Turkish invasion and became operational in 1979. Having already charted a continuous creative path of contribution, on 1 November 1999, it was renamed the Cyprus Human Resources Development Authority.
The highlight of the conference was the speech of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Dimitris Kitenis, who, having completed nine years of fruitful leadership as Chairman of the Board of Directors of ANAD, took the opportunity to refer to the most important chapters of this journey. As he said, AnAD has contributed to upgrading the knowledge, skills and competences of our country's human resources, increasing productivity and strengthening the competitiveness of businesses and organizations.
Mr. Kittinis, in his speech, stressed that in its first decade of operation, ANAD developed the first vocational training programmes to upgrade the knowledge and skills of human resources and provided grants to enterprises for the training of their staff.
Particular emphasis was placed on ANAD's offer in the 1990-2000 decade, as in this critical period international economic changes were rapid and Cyprus had to adapt both to the new demands of tourism development and the rapid expansion of the service sector and the introduction of technology in business. ANAD adapted accordingly, significantly expanding and enriching its activities to cover all economic sectors of Cyprus as widely as possible. Kitenis, in the field of research and studies, since the studies it conducts examine issues related to human resources in sectors of the economy and evaluate, at the same time, the programmes offered in order to formulate strategy and individual policies in the field of training and development.
In addition, he stressed that ANAD contributed significantly to the preparation of the Cypriot economy for the accession of Cyprus to the European Union. It introduced special training programmes, which promote the adaptation of human resources to new innovations, responding directly to the training needs of the country's human resources in an increasingly competitive environment.
As mentioned, ANAD operated the Evaluation and Accreditation System for Training Providers and the Vocational Qualifications System (VQS) in an effort to enhance the quality of the human resources training system.
It also operates new projects co-funded by the European Social Fund and ANAD for the placement of unemployed young graduates of higher and secondary education in enterprises and organisations to gain work experience, contributes to the integration of unemployed people into employment by operating schemes that provide incentives to enterprises to employ and train long-term unemployed people. It provides training programmes for young graduates of higher education schools, and continues its support to enterprises to upgrade their human resources through multi-company and single-company training programmes. Kitenis, reaching today, ANAD has decades of effective and continuous enrichment of Cyprus' human resources with the appropriate knowledge and skills.
By way of indication, it was mentioned that in the last five years alone, 275,000 people participated in 30,500 ANAD training programmes, with a total expenditure on training activities of €102.3 million. In addition, 4,100 people were certified in Vocational Qualifications, 390 Centres and 650 Vocational Training Structures.
Mr. Kittinis concluded by referring to the vision of ANAD, which is the continuous enrichment of Cyprus' human resources with the appropriate knowledge and skills to respond effectively to the ever-changing conditions of the economy and labour market and to contribute to enhancing the competitiveness and increasing the productivity of businesses and organisations.
Deepest thanks were expressed to all those who have served as Ministers of Labour over these 45 years, both living and absent, for their unstinting and constant support to the ANAD, as well as to the management and staff of the ANAD.
The conference concluded with a tour of the retrospective photo exhibition, which is hosted in the atrium of the ANAU building, and refers through rare and collectible photographic material to its various activities and its course over the decades.
(MS/NYAN)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
