In just a week, as many as 37,000 persons have enrolled in the basic IT online course which seeks to boost the chances of employment, Tamás Schanda, the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology said at the Sunday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.

The State Secretary said applicants may enrol in the training course until 22 May. The eight-week-long course is free of charge, and lessons can be arranged according to individual needs.

Completion of the course is a prerequisite for participation in the adult training courses inducing structural changes to begin in August 2020, Mr Schanda stressed, adding that those attending these courses will also be able to avail themselves of any-purpose loans of up to HUF 1.2 million and the interest-free Student Loan Plus product.

He indicated that on the website vali.ifka.hu there are more than 1,100 training courses on offer, including 240 which are partially free or completely free of charge.

In the context of training, Mr Schanda spoke about the importance of the individual development time available as part of the wage support scheme, and said it is important to pay attention to young people who have not yet emerged on the labour market.

Marketable skills are essential for reinforcing the economy, and this is why we are supporting people in refreshing and extending their skills and knowledge, he confirmed.

Regarding the final examinations, the State Secretary said young people have taken examinations in some fifty subjects throughout the country, and vocational examinations are also under way. At the press conference, Mr Schanda said supporting students in higher education is essential. Since May 1 almost 8,700 students have applied for the interest-free any-purpose Student Loan Plus product specifically created for them with a maximum amount of HUF 500,000, while from August the limit of the Student Loan1 product that can also be requested retroactively will be doubled.

In the context of the awarding of degrees in the absence of language certificates, Mr Schanda said so far higher education institutions have issued some 24,000 such degrees, and they are working at full speed to ensure that all other former students, too, may obtain their degrees.

So far more than two thousand persons have enrolled for online language examinations, and their number is continuously rising. Four examination centres have been accredited for online examinations to date; three of them are planning to organise examinations already in May, the State Secretary listed.

Regarding the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic, the politician highlighted that the latest data clearly shows that so far Hungary has overcome the hurdles more easily than many other countries. Industrial production has decreased by twelve per cent in the whole of the European Union, while in Hungary it has decreased by ten per cent, he added.

In this situation, it is the government’s responsibility to continue to support the preservation of jobs and to create as many new jobs as will be destroyed by the virus, Mr Schanda highlighted.

(Ministry for Innovation and Technology/MTI)