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: Greece’s biggest asset is its human capital

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Greece’s biggest asset is its human capital

Public and private education organizations are making sure tomorrow’s workforce is as skilled as today’s

Deree – The American College of Greece / Photo: Ersi Drosou
Deree – The American College of Greece / Photo: Ersi Drosou
Deree – The American College of Greece / Photo: Ersi Drosou

Greece’s biggest strength is probably its highly skilled workforce. Unfortunately for the country, if not employers, that workforce is currently underutilized. In 2015, the IMD ranked Greece second for readily available skilled labor.

Greece has Europe’s second highest percentage of Masters and PhD students as a share of its population, with science, technology and engineering being specialisms.

Government and private sector want to further strengthen education and the ‘triangle of knowledge’: the connections between entrepreneurship, education, and research and development.

“Private institutions can be complementary to the public system in contributing to Greece’s
revitalization.”

Dr. David G. Horner, President, The American College of Greece

“We’ve increased student numbers by 1,000 and created 250 post-doctoral posts,” says Kostas Gavroglu, Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs. The American College of Greece, a leading in dependent, non-profit educational organization, also has a plan for education: ‘ACG 150…Advancing the Legacy, Growing Greece’.

The $75-million plan includes setting up an institute for eight applied research centers of excellence, in areas of strategic importance for Greece, as well as a center for technology-based economic development and employment, with links to 170 US research universities. “Private institutions can be complementary to the public system in contributing to Greece’s revitalization,” explains Dr. David G. Horner, the college’s President.


Tackling the Achilles heel: unemployment and ‘brain drain’

Initiatives are in place to help young people build a longterm future for themselves and their country

Jobs have been hard to come by in Greece. 22.5% of the population is out of work and there is 48% youth unemployment. But beyond their skillset and talent, Greece’s young people aren’t willing to sit idly by and thanks to a ‘make it happen’ attitude, many have been moving abroad to seize opportunities where they are readily available.

A major challenge the country faces is turning this ‘brain drain’ into a ‘brain gain’. To limit the loss of young scientists, the government is prioritizing research and innovation-based sectors. While some companies are playing a key role, not only by creating employment opportunities, but most importantly, by empowering young people and incentivizing entrepreneurship. Market-leading gaming company OPAP is a shining example. It already employs around 1,000 people directly and 17,000 indirectly, via 4,500 franchised shops. After its recent successful €200-million bond issue, it has a new investment program that should create thousands more jobs, says CEO Damian Cope.

As part of its corporate social responsibility program, it’s ‘Business Growth by OPAP’ scheme is providing mentoring and financing to twenty fast-growing SMEs. OPAP wants to enable them to reach their full potential and generate employment. “What we are trying to do is prove that it is possible for young people to stay in Greece and have a genuine longterm career,” Cope explains. The startups involved cover a diverse mix of sectors, “we’ve got everything from a beer manufacturer, to online doctor services, to scuba diving businesses,” Cope enthuses, “and we want them to become strong businesses that can promote and sell their products both in Greece and abroad.”

The Coca-Cola Company chose Athens as a regional hub due to its location and talent, notes Melina Androutsopoulou, Public Affairs and Communications Director, Central and Eastern Europe. “Greece has always been a market that has been very successful and very keen to innovate, whether it’s for a product or other areas of the business,” she adds. For each of their employees, it supports another 11 jobs in, for example supply and distribution, making it responsible for 21,300 Greek jobs. It supports numerous initiatives to help young people in Greece. It has an ‘Enterpreneurships Schools in Greece’ scheme, to inspire new startups, as well as programs focused on skills, development, employment and internships. And 300 graduates have found jobs through its internship program, which has an 80% success rate. As far as Coca-Cola is concerned, says Androutsopoulou, “you can’t take advantage of the opportunities in Greece without investing in its young people.”

Greece - The odyssey to reinvention

  • Introduction
  • The man at the helm: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
  • A pillar of stability for the wider region
  • Financial oversight
  • Open door to investors as reforms roll ahead
  • Greek banks, restructured and well capitalized
  • Top chairmen’s point of view
  • Reengineering growth: Greece 2021
  • Greece’s biggest asset is its human capital
  • The new Greek digital economy
  • OTE Group: enabling growth through technology and innovation
  • Greece Infrastructure
  • The Midas Touch in real estate
  • A regional energy hub
  • Investing In Taste
  • Record-breaking Arrivals Keep Tourism on Top
  • Government and private sector working in unison
  • Point of view Eftichios Vassilakis
  • The beauty of Greece all year round!

The full report

  • Download the full report
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Inside the U.S.-China Tech War

June 20, 2023  |  11:00am ET
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Over the last few years, the United States has moved to limit China’s technological rise. U.S.-led sanctions have imposed unprecedented limits on Beijing’s access to advanced computing c...Show morehips. In response, China has accelerated its own efforts to develop its technological industry and reduce its dependence on external imports.  According to Dan Wang, a technology expert and visiting scholar at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, China’s tech competitiveness is grounded in manufacturing capabilities. And sometimes China’s strategy beats America’s.  Where is this new tech war headed? How are other countries being impacted as a result? In what ways are they reassessing their relationships with the world’s largest economic superpowers? Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal in conversation with Wang for a discussion about China’s technological rise and whether U.S. actions can really stop it. 

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 24: U.S. President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on September 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden is hosting a Quad Leaders Summit later today with Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide. (Photo by Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images)

Is America Making a Bad Bet on India?

June 21, 2023  |  12:00pm ET
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For decades, the U.S. foreign-policy establishment has made the assumption that India could serve as a partner as the United States jostles with China for power in the Indo-Pacific region. B...Show moreut Ashley J. Tellis, a longtime watcher of U.S.-India relations, says that Washington’s expectations of New Delhi are misplaced.  In a widely read Foreign Affairs essay, Tellis makes the case that the White House should recalibrate its expectations of India. Is Tellis right?  Send in your questions for an in-depth discussion with Tellis and FP Live host Ravi Agrawal ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House on June 22.  

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Are America and Europe Aligned on China?

June 7, 2023 | View Now

Last weekend, spy chiefs and defense officials from around the world descended on Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s biggest annual security conference. The U.S. delegatio...Show moren was led by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who asked for a bilateral meeting with China’s new defense minister, Li Shangfu. The request was denied, perhaps in part because Li has been sanctioned by Washington for his role in the purchase of military equipment from Moscow. Over the course of the three-day summit, which I attended, Li and Austin didn’t speak with each other; they spoke at each other. In dueling speeches, Austin summoned the usual Washington buzzwords—a “free and open Indo-Pacific”—and made the point that talks with China were necessary, not a bargaining chip. When Li’s turn came, he responded with familiar Beijing-speak, criticizing Western hypocrisy and Washington’s growing security partnerships in Asia. But while China shut the United States out, it welcomed talks with Europe. EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, and British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace all secured bilateral meetings with China’s Li. The Singapore summit underscored how the U.S.-China relationship was different from that of Europe’s relationship with China, its biggest trading partner. But what is the substance of those differences, and will Beijing try to exploit them? For answers, FP’s Ravi Agrawal spoke to Cindy Yu, an assistant editor at the Spectator and the host of its Chinese Whispers podcast, and James Palmer, the writer of FP’s weekly China Brief newsletter. FP subscribers can watch the full discussion or read an edited and condensed transcript, exclusive to FP Insiders.

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