Background information

After the war in Ukraine a large number of Ukrainian nationals moved to other countries. Ukrainian nationals who have sought refugee status in Greece since 24 February 2022 are entitled to temporary protection (Ministerial Decision Νο131035/04.03.2022). As of 31 October 2022, 20,418 temporary protection permits had been issued, of which 69% are women and 31% men. The Ministry of Migration and Asylum, in order to provide a holistic support to Ukrainian refugees, since 20 June 2022, also enabled displaced persons from Ukraine, who are beneficiaries of temporary protection, to participate in the HELIOS (Hellenic Integration Support for Beneficiaries of International Protection) program.

Content of measure

The program HELIOS is a comprehensive intervention for all adult beneficiaries of international protection and their family members, which is implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). In this context, the program provides Ukrainian refugees/ beneficiaries with services such as:

• Ensuring Housing.
• Integration courses (Greek language, social skills, etc.).
• Job-search support with individualized job counselling which includes: Identification of needs and interests, recording of skills according to the EU Skills Profile Tool, covering the cost of obtaining various certificates (e.g., a certificate knowledge of the Greek language, professional driving license, English language certificate, ECDL, etc.), organization of “career days,” connection with employers, the definition of objectives and professional guidance, information on the services of the DYPA and the rights and obligations of employees and employers in Greece.
• Supporting administrative procedures for their integration and raising awareness among host communities to create opportunities for interaction between guests and the host society.

These activities are housed in 19 integration training centers in mainland Greece and Crete, supervised by IOM.

Use of measure

According to IOM Greece (International Organisation for Migration) for the period from 15 July until 11 November 2022, 4,215 Ukrainians were included in the Helios program, 73% of them are women, 60% belong to the 26-49 age group, and 30% are over 50 years old. Regarding their professional profile, 20% are teachers, 14% have worked as administrative or commercial managers and 11% have engaged in legal, social or cultural professions. Smaller shares include engineers (8%), health professionals (7%) and administrative officials (6%); 20% have no previous professional experience.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Migrants or refugees

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Other social actors (e.g. NGOs)	European Funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

There is no involvement of social partners.

Views and reactions

There are no social partners' reactions to the measure.

Sources

• 20 June 2022: Πρόγραμμα HELIO (migration.gov.gr)
• 21 November 2022: Πάνω από 4.000 Ουκρανοί πρόσφυγες έχουν εγγραφεί στο ενταξιακό πρόγραμμα Helios έχουν εγγραφεί στο πρόγραμμα Helio (www.insider.gr)