View of conference room, during the speech of Mrs Olga Kafetzopoulou, General Secretary of Vocational Education and Training and Lifelong Learning
Athens, 20 November 2025
IDEC S.A. organized for the 7th consecutive year the Transnational Conference Discuss Learning 2025, titled “Vocational Education in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Climate Change,” on Thursday, 20 November 2025, in Athens, under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training & Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education.
The conference opened with Xenia Chronopoulou, Vice President and Managing Director of IDEC, who presented the framework and thematics: Centres of Vocational Excellence, skills development and links with the labour market, green transition and skills.
From left to right Nikos Moraitis, Theodor Grassos, Paolo Nardi, Olga Kafetzopoulou, Natassa Kazantzidou, Paraskevas Lintzeris, Xenia Chronopoulou
In the opening speeches, Olga Kafetzopoulou, General Secretary for Vocational Education, Training & Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education, presented the recent developments in the legislative framework of VET and the Ministry’s initiatives for outward-looking actions, including Greece’s second participation in the Euroskills competition and the hosting of the Forum on Vocational Excellence in 2027 during the Greek Presidency.
Olga Kafetzopoulou
Next, Paraskevas Lintzeris, Executive Director of IME GSEVEE, focused on continuing vocational training and the challenges concerning quality, relevance of qualifications, and their value in the labour market.
In the policy discussion, moderated by Zoe Batsi (IDEC), Paolo Nardi (Executive Director of EfVET) and Theodoros Grassos (Secretary General of EVBB) participated, focusing on EU policies in VET and the role of European VET provider associations.
Policy discussion: Paolo Nardi, Theodor Grassos, facilitator: Zoe Batzi
Section 1 concerned the Centres of Vocational Excellence in Greece. In the roundtable discussion, moderated by Natassa Kazantzidou (IDEC), representatives of the CoVEs INVESTech, Catalyst, Portability, SECοVE, Shorewinner and BuildSkills Academy presented how the Centres shape excellence practices, collaborate with academic and industry bodies, and plan the sustainability of their projects after funding ends.
Round table: Dimitris Souliotis, Eleni Toli, Georgios Petrou, Kleanthis Kaldellis, Stavros Pitsikalis, Nikos Moraitis, facilitator: Natassa Kazantzidou
Section 2 focused on the European project INVESTech, a Centre of Vocational Excellence in the ICT sector. Representatives from Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Cyprus highlighted cross-border cooperation, micro-credentials, advanced technologies, entrepreneurship and innovation, hackathons, and emerging fields such as quantum technology.
Section 3, co-organized with the Hellenic Association of S.A. & Entrepreneurship, focused on the green transition and skills. The projects OASIS (solar energy and construction sectors) and GREEN ON (sustainable business practices) were presented. The section concluded with an interactive workshop on forming green strategies in organisations, using a card game developed under the GREEN ON project.
The conference closed with a brief summary by Eirini Gotsi (IDEC), an evaluation of the sessions, and final thanks.
The conference was co-funded by the European Union, with simultaneous interpretation to/from English, as well as to/from Greek Sign Language. A total of 187 participants attended, 31 of whom came from abroad.
Check our Social Media:
- FB: IDEC.SA https://www.facebook.com/IDEC.SA
- Linkedin: idecsa https://www.linkedin.com/company/idecsa/
Author: Natassa Kazantzidou, Head of International Projects Department, IDEC SA.