IEK
)[33] offer postsecondary courses accredited by Ministry of Education and the National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP, Greek: Εθνικός Οργανισμός Πιστοποίησης Προσόντων και Επαγγελματικού Προσανατολισμού – Ε.Ο.Π.Π.Ε.Π.).
With the Joint Ministerial Decree 3691/7-4-2014 (Government Gazette 945/B/15-4-2014) they founded the Special Education Public IEKs (Δ.Ι.Ε.Κ.
[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63] Admission into an IEK’s programme requires adult-only applicants who have graduated from upper secondary education school in Greece[64][65][66][67][68][69][5][70][71] at National Qualification Framework (NQF) of Greece Level 4 (EQF 4; lyceum) or its international equivalent officially recognized by the Greek Ministry of Education.
It has to be granted on the basis of the upper secondary leaving certificate grade and other criteria include age, the social insurance stamps of applicants having prior employment relevant to the subject of the study applied for, and specific criteria on an individual basis will be assessed.
Prescribed textbooks and some required materials are not provided by the public IEKs, and thus students (enrollees) will have to be purchased at their own cost, subject to the chosen specialty.
Practical training, either internship or apprenticeship, can only be taken until the twenty four (24) months time limit since the IEK specialty fourth semester graduation.
[83] The Certificate of Vocational Training (Greek: Βεβαίωση Επαγγελματικής Εκπαίδευσης) signifies completion of four semesters of full-time post-secondary vocational education and training (VET) programme of 1200 hours at IEK classes and 960 hours from an internship or apprenticeship programme.
Graduates from a public or private IEKs having a Certificate of Vocational Training entitles eligible them to participate, if they wish, in the qualifying examinations of the National Accreditation Examinations (Greek: Εξετάσεις Πιστοποίησης) will be held at EOPPEP examination centers of Attica (Athens), Central Macedonia (Thessaloniki), Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Komotini), Peloponnese (Tripoli), Western Greece (Patra), Thessaly (City of Larissa), Epirus (City of Ioannina), Crete (Heraklion), North Aegean (Mytilene), South Aegean (Rhodos).
[84][85][86][87][88][89][90] Once, they have been passed all examinations then are awarded Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (VET)[91] (Greek: Δίπλωμα Επαγγελματικής Εκπαίδευσης και Κατάρτισης),[92] also known as Certified EOPPEP Diploma of Vocational Education and Training (VET), or Vocational Training Diploma, that denotes to a level of knowledge equivalent to a Level 5 of the National Qualification Framework (NQF) of Greece which is officially named Hellenic Qualification Framework (HQF) (Greek: Ελληνικό Πλαίσιο Προσόντων),[93] to European Qualifications Framework (EQF) (Greek: Ευρωπαϊκό Πλαίσιο Προσόντων) Level 5, to ISCED Level 4.
All IEK programmes of study (specialties) run in terms of demand and vary by different geographical locations depending on the decisions issued, while over time can be changed, updated, completely withdrawn, replaced or new can be launched.
