Page 32 - COMPASS - COMPETITIVENESS REPORT 2021 | COUNCIL OF COMPETITIVENESS IN GREECE

“COMPASS” REPORT 2021 – COUNCIL ON COMPETITIVENESS OF GREECE 31

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
• Good accessibility of the entire population to higher education
• Large number of graduates in the natural sciences
• Strong absorption of Greek employees by the global market

POLICY PRIORITIES
• Modernising education towards the development of wider skills (critical thinking, leadership), of entrepreneurship
in the youth (secondary education) and of lifelong learning/guidance
• Changing social perceptions about young people's choice of profession – choices ought to be made also based
on sectors’ demand, adaptability and potential rather than mere stereotypes, aiming at high-demand professions
(e.g. technicians) through specialisations in technical lykeion schools and other public education programmes
• Promotion of re-skilling and up-skilling for employees, to attain digital (corresponding to existing needs and
market trends) as well as critical skills (design thinking, leadership, innovation, adaptability)
• Strengthening the (re-)entry of certain social groups into the job market through their development of digital or
other skills that are in demand

PROPOSED ACTIONS
• Adding classes to secondary education that will cultivate entrepreneurship in young people (e.g. business
administration and management, finance, etc.), promotion of targeted internships and traineeships in tertiary
education, continuous evaluation of educators and programmes across all levels of education, following the
standards of developed economies
• Creation of boot camps through public and private partnerships, in which unemployed graduates from the
natural sciences (e.g. mathematicians, mechanics, etc.) are re-trained (re-skilled) in order to develop digital and
other skills that are requested by the market (e.g. career change to programming)
• Scrutinising and mapping the skills-market gap and preparation of a convergence plan, with the participation of
business associations (SEB, SETE, SEFE, etc.)
• Further education and continuing education for education staff in all tiers and upgrading of the skills of career
advisers (e.g. OAED, at municipalities, etc.), in addition to developing cognitive and social skills (soft skills) of civil
servants (e.g. judicial officials) and local authorities’ personnel
• Creation of a contemporary, advanced unemployment database to improve their positioning and promote their
collaboration with appropriately accredited human resources companies
• Unifying systems that provide help and/or benefits and other support to all vulnerable groups in the population
with the aim of both saving resources and providing improved services