The main providers of post-secondary, initial vocational training are the  Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK). 

Pursuant l. 4763/2020 on the national system for vet and Lifelong learning and  l. 5082/2024 on the enhancement of VET, higher vocational training schools operate in the context of formal education, i.e. education offered in an organised educational context, leading to certificates recognised at national level by the public authorities.

In accordance with l. 4763/2020 and  5082/2024, Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) aim at:

1. providing initial vocational training to graduates of non-compulsory secondary education, ie General upper secondary schools (GEL) and vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL), as well as to holders of equivalent degrees and

2. providing corresponding qualifications to the trainees, with the teaching of scientific, technical, professional and practical knowledge and the cultivation of appropriate skills, in order to facilitate their professional integration and to ensure their adaptation to the changing needs of the production process.

Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) operate as flexible bodies for the continuous provision, adjustment and modernization of the qualifications of the human resources. The aim is to provide essential and standard professional knowledge tools and qualifications in order to facilitate the mobility of employees, while strengthening economy and contributing to the growth of productivity. 

Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) may be public or private.  Attendance in public Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) is free of charge. 

Public Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) refer to either the Ministry of Education or to the Ministry of Labour. SAEK pertaining to the Ministry of Education are supervised the General Secretariat for Vocational Education, Training and Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of Education, which is also responsible for drafting the vocational education framework.  

The National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications & Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP) is responsible for the certification of SAEK ‘outputs’.

In every public Higher Vocational Training School (SAEK), under  responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Religion and Sports, there is a Professional Development and Career Bureau (GEAS). Its responsibilities include:

•  information and advisory support of SAEK trainees and graduates
•  information of the educational community, businesses and trainees and the general promotion of SAEKs
• the organization, supervision and monitoring of the apprenticeship and practical training of SAEK trainees
• monitoring the integration of SAEK graduates in the labor market and the drafting of relevant reports or studies regarding the professional development and careers of  graduates
•  cooperation with the competent services of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports or co-competent ministries and other organizations.
•  counseling in matters of  career orientation for the trainees, with the establishment of scheduled individual sessions at the beginning and at the end of each semester of training
• cooperation with host companies and  monitoring of the trainees' internship progress
• monitoring and supporting the careers of certified graduates
• the alignment of supply and demand in local and sectoral labor markets, for which cooperation agreements may be established with local businesses to develop collaborative relationships
• guidance and advisory support in the development of business activities and ventures by trainees and graduates

Specialized Vocational Training Schools for people with disabilities may be established. These are addressed to individuals who are documented as unable to attend general Vocational Training Schools (SAEK).

Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) operate an electronic portal and a specialized electronic application, also fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, through the Unified Digital Portal (gov.gr), with the following functions:

• Initial vocational training, skills and knowledge updating, such as providing educational material, distance learning, and the use of training applications on portable devices (Mobile Learning),
• Educational administration and networking of the Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK), organization of a digital network for managing educational resources and promoting collaborations between school units,
• Continuous evaluation and feedback on the work of the Centers for Vocational Education and Training (KEEK) to which the SAEK. is affiliated, from all involved groups as end users of the  services provided,
• Development and management of human resources, with rational allocation of teaching staff and evaluation of the work of all contributors to the SAEK.
• Information dissemination, social outreach, and promotion of SAEK. activities.
• Management of the national graduates network registry (alumni) and recruitment of potential mentors and collaborating business professionals from the national alumni network registry
• Providing career counseling and information (e-counseling), and
• Collaboration with organizations and businesses to facilitate transition to the labor market.

Finally, l. 4763/2020 and  5082/2024, provide for the establishment of Experimental and Thematic vocational training schools.

 Public and private SAEK may provide vocational training either in situ or virtual. Distant learning can be either synchronous or asynchronous or mixed, depending on the relevant training guides per specialty.

Regional secondary education Coordinators, work in collaboration  with secondary education experts for Apprenticeship,  the Directors of the Laboratory Centers and  Directors of vocational upper secondary schools, to define the Apprenticeship Class specializations to be offered by each school, provided that apprenticeship positions have been secured with employers.

Post-secondary non-tertiary education includes Colleges. Colleges are private institutions and provide non-formal post-secondary education and training services. Study programmes are based on validation and franchising agreements with higher education institutions located abroad and recognised by the respective authorities of their country. The progammes they offer lead to bachelor or master’s degrees and last for 3 years.

Degrees, qualifications, credentials, certificates and any other documentation administered by colleges are professional equivalent to higher education qualifications gained through the formal Greek education system.

The students of the Colleges can carry out the internship provided by the curriculum of their specialty, as it is defined by the partner Higher Education Institution of the foreign country, under the responsibility of the College.

There are 125 public Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) operating throughout the country.  They provide specialties and organise departments in accordance with the national and regional needs of the national economy, as well as the recommendations of the competent educational authorities. Two SAEKs also operate in Detention facilities/Prisons.

The public SAEKs may have organized laboratories to provide laboratory training.

Public SAEK may merge with other public SAEK (Vocational Education and Training Schools) when having less than 100 students, however, when operating in remote, insular, border areas and in regional units with a population of less than fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants, may operate with a total annual number of students / trainees less than one hundred (100).

Post-secondary year – apprenticeship class

The post-secondary – apprenticeship class is an additional optional year and is post-secondary vocational training level. The apprenticeship class constitutes an education path that, upon completion and relevant  certification exams leads to level 5 of the National Vocational Education and Training System (ESEEK).

 In the post-secondary apprenticeship class, specialties offered are based on the needs of the local labor market and the developmental priorities of the national economy, taking into account the specialties of vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL). 

Higher Vocational Training Schools can be attended by graduates of upper secondary school, General or Vocational or equal level structures. Trainees are not allowed to attend more than one specialty at the same time included practical training/internship or apprenticeship.

In the Post-secondary- Apprenticeship Class, students are enrolled in the following order of priority:

a) holders of a diploma and a degree from vocational upper secondary schools (EPAL) and the Unified Special Vocational secondary and upper secondary school (ENEEGY-L), as well as holders of equivalent degrees in related specialties.

b) holders of a general upper secondary school (GEL)  graduation certificate or a degree of secondary cycle of studies in a vocational upper secondary school  EPAL in related specialties. 

Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) are attended by secondary level graduates who usually are 18 years or older.  

Aiming at the uninterrupted monitoring and completion of the training in public (SAEK) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, it is possible to grant scholarships to trainees based on social and economic criteria.

By decision of the General Secretary of  Vocational Education, Training and  Lifelong Learning alignment of specialties between vocational upper secondary  schools (EPAL) and SAEK may be determined for enrollment in  SAEK.

According to l. 4763/2020, the Post-Secondary Year - Apprenticeship Class is addressed to the graduates of the secondary technical education of non-compulsory formal education, using a scoring process defined by the relevant Regulation. The age of the apprentices is, therefore, from 18 years and over.

The Operating Regulation of the  SAEK (Κ5/160259/15-12-2021)  regulates matters related to the organization and operation of student life, the procedure and criteria for enrollment, transfers, and mobility between specialties, as well as issues related to the theoretical and practical aspects of the courses.

According to the above-mentioned Regulation, the teaching year in Higher Vocational Training Schools (SAEK) starts on the first Monday of October, and ends on 30 June. It includes two semesters.

Enrollments are completed by the last working day of September while trainees' applications for Transfers  are submitted twice a year:

1. for the winter semester from the 1st to the 10th of July 
2.  for the spring semester, after the publication of the study results of the winter training semester and before the beginning of the spring semester courses. Special   transfer procedures and deadlines are provided for trainees attending courses in detention facilities.

Dates and deadlines differ for Private SAEK according to their Regulation.

Mobility procedures (classification and change of specialty) are also foreseen, based on the specialties' curricula Trainees are not allowed to attend   classes and complete their   internship at the same time.

In case one or more (SAEK) scheduled teaching hours are not completed, teaching hours will be covered either by increasing the hours of the weekly program (Decision of  SAEK Administration) or by semester extension decided by the competent General Secretary.

Training and any training procedures do not take place during the Christmas and Easter holidays, official public holidays and summer holidays, as well as on the days of local holidays, due to religious festivities or anniversaries.

Pursuant to law 4763/2020, the study at SAEK is determined by the following:

• Vocational training begins during the winter or spring semester, lasts at least four (4) and may not exceed five (5) semesters in total, according to the Specialty Training Guides, including those of the internship or apprenticeship period.
• The trainees of SAEK carry out the internship or apprenticeship, under the responsibility of the SAEK in which they study.
• The internship period may be continuous or partial, after the successful completion of the theoretical and laboratory training of the fourth semester, unless otherwise specified in the Training Guides, and must be completed, in any case, within twenty-four (24) months from the end of the last semester of theoretical and laboratory training. Intership can be subsidized.
• The training of the graduates of the upper secondary vocational education (EPAL), as well as of the holders of equivalent vocational education degrees, after registered in SAEK, lasts from two (2) to three (3) semesters, including an internship or apprenticeship period, provided that the degree is in a specialty of the professional field from which they graduated from upper secondary vocational school (EPAL) or equivalent institution of secondary vocational education.

The Post-Secondary Year - Apprenticeship program starts on September 1st of each year and ends on August 31st of the following year. The period of providing the specialty laboratory courses may start on October 1st. The work-based learning period can take place from October 1st of each year to August  31st of the following year. The program is considered complete upon the fulfillment of the hours for the specialty's laboratory course and the  duration of workplace learning, as  specified in the Specialty's Training Guide.

Teaching in SAEK takes place 5 days a week, Monday through Friday, while the weekly training timetable is set by the specialty training guides.

The teaching is organised according to specialties.  Each specialty has its own, unique and comprehensive set of courses, organised in specific teaching hours per week.  

Training in public higher vocational training schools takes place mainly in the evenings, while the duration of the teaching session for all subjects is 45 minutes.  
SAEKs are housed on the premises of secondary education institutions, although other buildings may as well be used, provided they fulfil the relevant requirements.

The programme for the post-secondary year – apprenticeship class includes: 

1. laboratory subjects of specialty  classes that last 203 hours.  Lab classes take place one day per week for 7 hours in laboratory centres and/or at the school laboratories of upper secondary vocational schools (EPAL.
2.  Work-based education of 32 hours/4 days duration per week. The work-based training programme has a duration of 11 months.   The workplace training programme is carried out in public sector organizations,  in private legal entities or businesses or  in fields corresponding to the specialties being advertised