Considerable gap between skill supply and demand
The skills that the Greek education system offers the country’s young people do not match the market’s requirements, according to seven out of every 10 entrepreneurs surveyed by Adecco.
The “Employability in Greece 2016” survey shows that a major disparity between skill supply and demand is in the ability to take the initiative, which 67 percent of entrepreneurs deem from very important to absolutely necessary. Only 44 percent of participants in the survey said candidates applying for positions with their firms were able to demonstrate this particular skill to a satisfactory degree.
Employers are also dissatisfied with job candidates’ ability to find solutions to complex problems: Only 46 percent of entrepreneurs said the jobseekers they had communicated with had this capacity, while 76 percent consider it a very important quality.
An even more essential quality in candidates is flexibility and adaptability, which 94 percent consider vital, but only 66 percent of candidates demonstrate it to a satisfactory degree.
On the other hand, three out of 10 jobseekers surveyed have now turned their efforts abroad, a rate that is two-and-a-half times that recorded in last year’s survey. In the last couple of years their main motive hasn’t been improved salaries and job conditions, but career opportunities instead.
