Prospects of the ICT sector in Greece

Study of the ICT sector in Greece: Current Situation and Future Trends
Deliverable 14: Prospects of the ICT sector in Greece-policy implications
education and training the population and the entrepreneurs are required. Otherwise, Greece
could be in danger of staying behind on developments regarding the Information Society,
which could hamper its competitiveness. Public policies aiming at narrowing the digital gap
and promote the use of new technologies must, therefore, focus on social groups of lower
educational level and income and older age, in order to inform, train and familiarize them
with the ICTs. By using the computer labs that have been created in schools for further
educating older people on ICTs is such an activity. Moreover, motivating groups of citizens
and volunteers that can support this activity could also be effective.
…with more motives for citizens and businesses to adopt ICTs…
The support of the ICTs use by firms is a fundamental priority of the new ‘Digital
Convergence’ Operational Programme. Subsidies involving equipment and connection to the
Internet have been and will still be used as a motive, in order to achieve the first step
towards digital economy. Nevertheless, cost does not horizontally affect every group of
people / firms at the same extent. That means that cost is not the main deterrent factor for
the limited use of ICTs in the country. Consequently, apart from these motives, efforts to
stress the benefits from the use of ICTs must be intensified. Discounts for electronic
transactions with the Public– since the offered services have been upgraded and expanded
(e.g. taxisnet) – better e-services through the one-stop shops, but also real benefits of cost
reductions, could affect the adoption of ICTs rather than just subsidizing equipment. Hence,
motives should involve this new dimension: promote the use of ICTs and not just a purchase
of the relevant equipment. The ‘Digital Convergence’ Programme supports actions for more
digital content and more effective services from the public’s side. These actions in
conjunction with the provision of specific, for each case, motives for their use (contrary to the
old procedure), could substantially improve the willingness of citizens and enterprises to enter
into the digital economy.
...as well as motives for firms regarding training and further education of
their employees on new technologies
Given that one of the main deterrent parameters regarding the slow ICTs adoption from firms
is the fact that the majority of the employees – especially the older ones– do not master ICTs
skills, the need for their further education is evident. However, the actions towards that
direction that firms undertake by themselves in terms of training and further education are
limited and lie on the initiatives of the owner / entrepreneur. A more active promotion of such
training activities (subsided seminars, etc) is required, in order for the employees to develop
an adequate level of ICTs skills, which will help these firms enter into the digital economy.
Support of ICTs teaching at all levels of education
October 2006
Observatory for the Greek IS 46