- 71 - 134. The delegation learned that many long serving staff members wanted to take advantage of the current retirement conditions and leave the service, as apparently new rules reducing retirement benefits were to be introduced. In all prisons visited, the delegation was told that – with very few exceptions – no new staff could be hired to replace staff members who decided to retire. However, the Greek authorities informed the CPT’s delegation, by communication of 17 June 2013, that the Ministry of Justice is expected to employ 500 additional prison officers in the near future. The CPT is pleased to note that the Ministry of Justice seems to have secured this increase in staff numbers, in spite of the difficult budgetary situation the country faces at the moment. The CPT would like to receive up-dated information on the new recruitment process, including information on whether there are plans to increase mixed-sex staffing. 135. In-service training for staff has been reduced to a bare minimum and possibilities for professional development are extremely limited.75 Efforts should be made to re-introduce a minimum amount of days of in-service training for prison officers, both as a means to refresh their skills and to develop team building. In addition, with roughly two thirds of the prison population being foreign nationals, there is a need to promote learning in the areas of diversity and interpersonal skills. The CPT encourages the Greek authorities to develop a comprehensive plan for staff training, including on intercultural communication, in order to strengthen the motivation and performance of prison officers. 75 The Ministry of Justice informed the CPT’s delegation that the planned upgrading and modernisation of its staff training college (see the response of the Greek authorities to the report on the CPT’s 2011 visit to Greece) had been cancelled due to budgetary problems.