The Regional Department of Central and Western Thessaly of TCG organized the 1st meeting of the focus group with the participation of stakeholders in the "Evaluation of educational material of the European project In2C- Integration of Third Country Nationals in the construction sector", on Thursday 28.05.2020, 17.00, in Larissa, on TCG premises.

The In2C Project partnership unanimously approves the DN for the protection of personal data of the participants in the In2C Project according to the European GDPR.

The proposal, prepared and presented by DOCUMENTA at the 2nd Consortium Meeting in Madrid, was definitively approved by the partnership at the last Skype meeting on April 24.

The strong commitment of the partnership, and the application of ICTs to online work, allow important advances in the development of the Work Packages (WPs) of the In2C Project.

Faced with the problems generated by the pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 that affect all the countries of our partnership, the In2C Project, building on the potential and opportunities offered by ICTs, has launched a system of periodic online meetings , to promote coordination and collaboration between partners, the correct execution of the activities of the different WPs designed, as well as the achievement and production of the respective objectives, outcomes and deliverables.

The third meeting of the nine partners of the European project "In2C - Integration of third country nationals in the construction sector" was held via teleconference on 12 and 13 March 2020, instead of Cyprus, as originally planned, due to measures received in all partner countries in order to restrict mobility and avoid coronavirus spread.

Besides TCG – Regional Department of Central & Western Thessaly (Greece) the representatives involved were: DIMITRA (Greece), Municipality of Larissa (Greece), Fundacion Laboral de la construccion (Spain), Documenta (Spain), Federation of the Building Contractors Associations of Cyprus (Cyprus), Mediterranean Management Centre (Cyprus), Folkuniversitetet (Sweden).

A dissemination event, in order to present the European project “In2C - Integration of third country nationals in the construction sector” was implemented by the Technical Chamber of Greece – Regional Department of Central and Western Thessaly, in Larissa, on Monday 21 October 2019. The project, co-funded by the European Union, from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2014-2020, aims to facilitate the timely and effective integration of Third Country Nationals into the construction labor market.

The president, Nikos Papageorgiou, in his inaugural address said:

“It is a great honor for me to be at the helm of TCG-CWT at this time. We are charting a new European course. This project is a huge success for TCG, as it now becomes an interlocutor of the European Commission and helps shape the EU's policies. It is the first time in the history of TCG across Greece that it is involved in a European project.

TCG – Regional Department of Central and Western Thessaly organizes a dissemination event in order to present the project In2C - Integration of third country nationals in the construction sector, Larissa, on Monday, October 21, 2019 at 18: 00-20: 30, at the TCG building ( Kallithea 7, "Ioannis Varnas" event room, 3rd floor).

The In2C project aims to facilitate and encourage the timely and effective integration of third-country nationals into the construction labor market through integrated training aimed at enhancing the language skills of their host countries and networking with employers active in In2C program activities.

The project is co-funded by the European Union, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2014-2020.

On 18th and 19th of July a consortium meeting was held in Madrid. The first evaluation report was presented and a discussion was held regarding the management of the project’s resources and schedule. Another project (MigErEmpower) was presented, in order to identify similar barriers with TCNs.

In the beginning of the meeting, the President of the TCG - Central and Western Thessaly, Nikos Papageorgiou, said:

"I would like to welcome all our partners who are here today. For the next two days, we will discuss and co-decide important issues of the project, both organizational and in relation to the next work packages. We have already completed the National Surveys in Greece, Cyprus, Sweden and Spain, and the project is now in its next phase of implementation.

TCG - Department of Central and Western Thessaly is the coordinator of the European project "In2C - Integration of third country nationals in the construction sector" (funded by the European Union Asylum and Migration Fund). The project aims to facilitate the integration of third-country nationals into the construction market through integrated training in language skills and occupational health and safety issues.

In this context, a national survey is carried out on the basis of two questionnaires.

In2C kick-off meeting was held in Larissa, Greece, on the 5^th and 6^th of March, 2019. In this first Consortium meeting all partners were introduced, and an overview of the project and general guidelines for management and coordination were presented.

Welcoming the meeting, the President of the TCG - Central and Western Thessaly, Nikos Papageorgiou, stated the following:

"As you know, immigration and security continue to be the two main concerns of European citizens today. The EU has in recent years developed an increasingly operational approach to address these challenges. Some of you here today have already contributed to this, helping the EU to implement its policy effectively.

The In2C project’s coordinator, Technical Chamber of Greece – Department of Central and Western Thessaly (TCG-CWT), attended the preparatory meeting for Grant Coordinators of projects funded by HOME funds in the framework of the Annual Work Programmes 2017. The HOME funds cover the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), Internal Security Fund Police (ISF-P) and Internal Security Fund Borders and Visa (ISF-B) as well as the Justice Programme Drugs strand. The objective of the kick off meeting was to inform Grant Coordinators of the latest policy developments in the area of the project as well as to introduce management aspects and specific requirements of projects co-funded by the EU.

The In2C proposal of TCG - Central and Western Thessaly, "Integration of third-country nationals in the construction sector" was signed by the European Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), amounting to EUR 792,966.30.

For many third-country nationals, construction is the entry into the labor market. Due to differences in culture, language barriers and knowledge of national policies, these workers are more likely to be exposed and excluded from work-related risk factors.