The Hellenic Initiative Australia is under way, as eight young graduates from Greece arrive in Australia.
Hailed as one of the most important initiatives to address the Greek economic crisis, the six-month paid internship program will give 40 young Greeks the opportunity to work in 22 Australian companies, gaining new skills and valuable experience that they can put to use in their future ventures.
The program equates to a $1.8 million investment over two years; the choice of eligible graduates was made in partnership with the successful ReGeneration program in Greece.
Placements will be spread across Australian states in a variety of industries, from finance to pharmaceuticals and technology, including major banks ANZ and National Australia Bank.
The first eight young graduates were expected to arrive to Australia by this weekend; a formal welcoming reception will be held for them next week at the Hellenic Museum.
The eight interns are to start work this week; four of them are graduates of economic and finance studies and are to start internships in the bank sector – two of them will be working with ANZ and two with NAB.
Amonb the other four, two are engineers (they will work with Hickory group in Melbourne), one is an architect, who will work with Cox Architecture in Perth and one is a marketing studies graduate, placed at the Lonsdale Institute.
Last Friday, the eight interns met with the Australian Ambassador in Athens, John Griffin, who expressed Australia’s support to the efforts of THI Australia to provide an opportunity for young people who have hit by the effect of the ongoing economic crisis in Greece.