Labour minister advocates opening job market to foreign students

Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou on Tuesday said opening the labour market for students from third countries is “useful and essential”.

Combining foreign students’ university education with professional development could be the means to upgrade local services and fill seasonal needs, as well as generate jobs, Panayiotou said, following a ministerial council over the matter.

“Correct utilisation of expanded access to labour for third-country nationals will have a positive effect on Cyprus’ development […] through legal and transparent staffing [practices] and the further expansion of Cypriot higher education,” the minister said.

Panayioutou estimated the number of foreigner workers to be at around 1,500, and students from third countries about 5,000.

The market’s staffing needs need to be balanced within various parameters, with the priority being full utilisation of local staff and workers from the EU, the minister said.

He detailed that entry of foreign students into the labour market would be expanded through coordinated activities by the ministries of finance, interior, education and labour. These include the strengthening of the supervisory framework, expanding available professions, extending permitted work hours, and introducing the possibility to stay for work upon completion of studies.

The ministries of labour and education plan to work together to tighten supervision of foreign students and ensure they are actively participating in their programs of study while working, penalising individuals and institutions found to be remiss.

It has been decided to renew the decree, valid through March 2024, allowing foreign students to work, and to expand the list of permitted professions which now includes retail sales, Panayiotou said.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry is set to amend the legislative framework to increase the maximum number of permitted working hours per week during study periods from 20 to 25, and to provide the possibility to stay in the country for work for 12 months upon graduation with an undergraduate degree.

Integrating foreign students into the labour market would have a positive impact, since “they are already in Cyprus, are acclimated to the culture, may communicate in Greek, and have already been screened for studies by our universities,” the minister noted.

“Handled in a way that does not deprive locals of opportunities, the further utilisation of [foreign students] will be very useful and essential,” he concluded.