Aside from technological applications, steering non-equilibrium currents in electronic matter delivers information on the system electric and magnetic properties and their relation to electronic correlation and the underlying symmetry of the electrons\'confinement. This theoretical study demonstrates that optical vortices are a versatile tool for spatio-temporal generation of charge currents via resonant and stimulated Raman-type processes for semi-conductor-based nanostructures as well as for atoms, thereby the orbital angular momentum associated with the optical vortex plays a key role.