Greece’s national skills strategy

Greece’s national skills strategy ( Strategy for Labour Force Upskilling and Connection to the Labour Market) is a comprehensive national policy framework developed by the Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Public Employment Service (ΔΥΠΑ), aiming to modernise Greece’s workforce skills and improve alignment with labour market needs. It reflects a deliberate shift towards a dynamic and forward-looking model of human capital development, ensuring that education, training, and employment policies are integrated, data-driven, and impact-oriented.

The core vision of the strategy is to transform skills development into a central driver of economic growth, social cohesion, and individual empowerment. It recognises that a well-prepared workforce is not only a matter of economic necessity but also a foundation for inclusive prosperity and democratic resilience. By investing in skills that are both future-oriented and aligned with immediate labor market demands, Greece seeks to reduce unemployment, especially among young people and vulnerable groups, address underemployment and skills mismatches, and enhance the productivity and innovation capacity of businesses.

Central to this approach is the alignment between the supply and demand of skills. The strategy builds an infrastructure that enables continuous monitoring of labor market trends, the anticipation of future needs, and the rapid deployment of relevant training initiatives. It emphasises collaboration across stakeholders—government institutions, employers, training providers, and social partners—to ensure a coordinated and agile system that responds to real-world changes.

🔹 Purpose and vision

The strategy seeks to create a coherent framework for:

• Diagnosing current and future labor market skill needs,
• Upgrading workforce skills through targeted continuing vocational education and training (CVET),
• Connecting people more effectively with available jobs.

It addresses the mismatch between skill supply and demand and aligns workforce development with economic, technological, and environmental transformations.

🔹 Core objectives

According to Article 26 of Law 4921/2022, the main objectives include:

1. Aligning supply and demand in terms of skills required by the labor market.
2. Monitoring professional trends and emphasising digital and green transitions.
3. Ensuring inclusive access to lifelong learning opportunities.
4. Engaging social partners in the design and implementation of training programs.
5. Evaluating training effectiveness, with emphasis on employability and quality control of providers.
6. Linking funding to performance outcomes in terms of employment.
7. Improving governance of the national skills development system.

🔹 Strategic pillars

The strategy builds upon the following pillars:

• Efficiency: Higher productivity via highly skilled workers.
• Effectiveness: Better use of labor market resources.
• Relevance: Data-driven training aligned with actual employer needs.
• Employability: Enabling jobseekers and workers to be competitive.
• Matching: Better linking of candidate profiles with job openings.
• Resilience: Workforce and business adaptability to economic shifts.
• Foresight: Anticipation of future skills in a dynamic labor market.

🔹 Key focus areas

1. Digital and green skills

• Digital skills include data literacy, cyber hygiene, content creation, AI, and safe use of digital tools.
• Green skills focus on sustainable behavior, pollution reduction, energy saving, circular economy, and biodiversity.

2. Skill mismatch

• The strategy highlights types of mismatch (under-/over-qualification, field mismatch, etc.).
• It addresses both qualitative and quantitative gaps at the individual, sectoral, and regional level.

3. Mapping labor market needs

• Includes detailed assessments of the Greek and European labor market, emphasising:
  • Aging workforce
  • Shortage of high-skill job opportunities
  • Brain drain and underemployment of graduates
  • Climate and digital transition impacts

4. Strategic planning and actions

• Promote skills in key sectors (e.g., manufacturing, ICT, green economy).
• Focus on future occupations and sectoral/regional strategies.
• Boost personal and interpersonal (soft) skills as performance drivers.

5. Governance

• Establishes a structured coordination mechanism among all involved entities, with a national monitoring framework.

🔹 Funding

The strategy is backed by national and European resources, including:

• Recovery and Resilience Facility (Greece 2.0)
• European Social Fund
• Other EU programs targeting green and digital transitions

🔹 European alignment

This strategy aligns with:

• European pillar of social rights – especially education, training, and lifelong learning.
• European skills agenda
• Osnabrück declaration (2020) on VET for digital and green transitions.

It also complements Greece’s broader reform agenda, including:

• “Greece Ahead” National Reform Plan
• Strategic Plan for VET, Adult Learning, and Youth
• National Inclusion Strategies (e.g., for Roma, persons with disabilities)