Bringing HP LIFE to Greece

January 2022

Hundreds of employees at HP sites across the globe partner with Junior Achievement to help young people develop key employability skills. HP Greece is just getting started.

 “Our first project with JA Greece consisted of one volunteer helping children at one school develop a tourist portal for their island as part of JA’s Virtual Business program,” said Matthaios Makrypoulias, Corporate Supplies Specialist & Sustainability Champion for Greece & Cyprus and volunteer lead. “Thanks to its success, we expanded our partnership in 2021 by offering HP LIFE courses as a resource for university students participating in JA’s Startup program.”

HP LIFE is a free IT and business skills training program from the HP Foundation. It is accessible online, offline, and in person (where safe) offering more than 30 courses in eight languages for entrepreneurs, business owners, and lifelong learners all over the world. It is also an adaptable educational resource used on the ground by trainers, educators, and mentors to enrich curricula, support business creation, and improve employability skills.

Additionally, HP LIFE’s Success Mindset course was made mandatory for students participating in the Startup program and incorporated into JA’s Learning Management System (LMS). The course is one of several the students must take in order to be awarded with JA’s Entrepreneurial Skills Pass, an international qualification endorsing their knowledge, skills, and competencies.

“Adding Success Mindset directly to the LMS gives the students a more seamless learning experience,” said Matthaios. “We wanted to take that experience one step further and 40 Days of Doing Good gave us the opportunity.”

40 Days of Doing Good is the HP Foundation’s annual global employee volunteer campaign. It provides an opportunity for HP employees to come together to support local communities through volunteering. Employees can also apply for a monetary grant for the charity supported by their 40 Days of Doing Good volunteer activities which Matthaios did successfully.

The funding from the HP Foundation enabled JA Greece to fund the translation of three HP LIFE courses into Greek—Art of Sales: The Fundamentals of Selling, Design Thinking, and 3D Printing. The translated courses were incorporated into JA’s LMS enabling Greek students to learn key skills and concepts in their native language.

To further the support the Startup program students, the HP employee volunteer team developed a customized business webinar titled, From University Today to Business Tomorrow.’ Twenty-five students attended the 60 minutes session during which five HP employee volunteers, including Matthaios, gave their personal perspective on the skills and attributes that are needed to transition successfully from university to the workplace.

Spurred on by their achievements, Matthaios and the volunteer team are working with JA Greece to translate a further three HP LIFE courses and develop additional student webinars in 2022.