This chapter examines the labour market situation of young people in Greece, analysing key outcomes such as employment, unemployment, and working conditions. It discusses the mismatches between education and labour market needs, the role of Vocational Education and Training, and the importance of career guidance and work-based learning in facilitating young people's transition from education to employment.
Challenges for Young People in Greece to Reach Financial Independence
Abstract
Greece’s economic performance has been strong in recent years, with growth outpacing the Euro area average (OECD, 2025[1]). In 2025, GDP growth in Greece reached 2.1% (Euro area: 1.3%), driven by improving exports, strong private consumption, and sustained investment linked to the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union in response to the COVID‑19 crisis. While labour demand followed rapidly and wage growth exceeded productivity gains, structural challenges continue to restrain labour supply of young people.
In addition, the consequences of the successive economic crises in the 2010s, which had a profound and long-lasting impact on the labour market in Greece, are still visible. Following the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent sovereign debt crisis, Greece experienced a deep recession: real GDP contracted by 26% between 2007 and 2015, while unemployment rose from 8.5% to 25% over the same period, with youth unemployment (15‑29 year‑olds) reaching nearly 50% (OECD, 2016[2]). Employment losses were concentrated in construction, manufacturing and small enterprises, while wages fell sharply and many workers moved into temporary, informal or low-paid employment. Even after economic recovery resumed in the second half of the 2010s, the labour market remained scarred by long-term unemployment, outward migration of skilled workers, and years of weak productivity growth, effects that continue to weigh on today’s labour market outcomes.
The youth employment rate in Greece has recovered markedly since the depths of the economic crisis: at 36% in 2025, it stands well above its 2013 low of 26%, closing much of the gap with the pre‑crisis level of 43% recorded in 2008 (Figure 1.1). Despite this progress, youth employment in Greece remains well below the OECD and EU averages — 55% and 50% respectively in 2025 — placing Greece second lowest in the OECD ranking, after Italy (Figure 1.2). Employment rates in Greece are low among all sub-age groups of young people (i.e. 15‑19 years, 20‑24 years and 25‑29 years), as well as for the total working population, reflecting broader labour market challenges.
A similar pattern holds for the unemployment rate. The youth unemployment rate in Greece has been converging towards its pre-crisis level, getting closer to the 16.2% observed in 2008 (Figure 1.1). Gender differentials have also narrowed considerably: after reaching as much as 9 percentage points (p.p.) in 2022, the gap fell in 2025, when 15.8% of young males aged 15‑29 were unemployed compared to 17.3% among their female peers. Even so, the youth unemployment rate in Greece remains the third highest among OECD countries (after Spain and Sweden), at 16.5% in 2025, considerably above the OECD average of 8.9% and the EU average of 11.7% (Figure 1.3). Unemployment rates are high for all sub-age groups of young people, and for the total working population.
Trends in the employment and unemployment rates for 15‑29 years olds in Greece and on average in the OECD and the 27 countries of the European Union, 2007-2025
Source: OECD Data Explorer, Employment and unemployment by five‑year age group and sex – indicators.
Employment to population ratio for 15‑29 year‑olds and total population, 2025
Source: OECD Data Explorer, Employment and unemployment by five‑year age group and sex – indicators.
Unemployment to labour force ratio for 15‑29 year‑olds and total population, 2025
Source: OECD Data Explorer, Employment and unemployment by five‑year age group and sex – indicators.
Youth unemployment in Greece is high irrespective of educational attainment. In the age group 25‑34, the unemployment rate among those with a tertiary degree reaches 12.3% in Greece in 2024, the highest rate among OECD countries and 2.4 time the OECD average for that group (Figure 1.4). Greece also sits at the top of the ranking for young people with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education, while only the Slovak Republic surpasses Greece for those with below upper secondary education.
Unemployment to labour force ratio for 25‑34 year‑olds, by educational attainment, 2024
Source: OECD Data Explorer, Unemployment rates of adults, by educational attainment, age group and gender.
Young workers in Greece also have the lowest monthly wages when compared to other European OECD countries. In fact, workers under 30 in Greece earn, on average, 40% less than their counterparts in other EU-OECD countries – considering wages’ purchasing power parity for comparability purposes (Panel A of Figure 1.5). This wage disparity closely mirrors that of the broader Greek workforce, where earnings are on average 45% lower than for other European OECD countries. Furthermore, the share of low-wage earners – defined as employees earning two‑thirds or less of the national median gross hourly earnings – among workers under 30 years in Greece is the second highest at 43%, compared to an EU‑OECD average of 21%. This proportion is nearly double that of the overall workforce in Greece, where 22% of workers are classified as low-wage workers (Panel B of Figure 1.5). That said, the share of young low-wage workers has been gradually declining since 2014, when 55% of all employees younger than 30 were low-wage earners.
Part-time employment is less common in Greece than in other EU countries: 6.3% of the overall working population worked part-time in Greece in 2024, compared to an EU27 average of 17.8%. This proportion is slightly larger among young people aged 15‑29 (11.3%), but still far from the EU27 average of 23.8%. In addition, Greece has the second highest share of involuntary part-time employment – i.e. young people working part-time who indicate that the main reason for their part-time job is not to have found a full-time job – among European countries, at 46% (Figure 1.6). The share of involuntary temporary employment – young people who indicate that the main reason for their temporary job is not to have found a permanent job or the job was only available with a temporary contract – is also notably high at 14.8%, compared to the EU27 average of 11.7%.
Over the past 15 years, significant shifts have occurred in the sectoral distribution of employment in Greece, including among young workers, reflecting broader structural changes in the national economy. In 2008, trade, transport, accommodation, and food services represented the largest share of employment among 15‑24 year‑olds, accounting for 39%, compared to an EU‑OECD average of 34%. Since then, the growth of this sector in Greece has been particularly pronounced, reaching 55% of employment by 2023 (Figure 1.7). In contrast, the proportion remained relatively stable among EU-OECD countries, increasing only to 37%. The subsector of accommodation and food services has been responsible for almost 90% of the increase in the sector’s share in Greece.
In contrast, the share of youth employment in construction and other industries decreased by 10 p.p. between 2008 and 2023 (from 13% to 3%), while the decline was more modest in other EU-OECD countries, falling from 11% to 7%. The decline of share of the manufacturing sector was similar for Greece and other EU-OECD countries, with a decrease of six and four p.p., respectively. As a result, the manufacturing sector now accounts for 7% of youth employment in Greece, compared to 14% in the EU-OECD countries. The increase in youth employment within care services was identical in both regions, rising by four p.p. The proportion of youth employment in agriculture remained unchanged in both Greece and the wider EU-OECD region, remaining at 8% and 3%, respectively.
Note: In Panel A, gross monthly wages are expressed in EUR adjusted for 2022 purchasing power parity (PPP) for comparability purposes. The EU-OECD average is derived from the unweighted mean of all European OECD countries with available data for the year of analysis. In Panel B, low-wage earners refer to employees earning two‑thirds or less of the national median gross hourly earnings.
Proportion of involuntary temporary and part-time employment among 15‑29 year‑olds, 2024
Note: Involuntary temporary employment is expressed as a share of total employment, and involuntary part-time employment is expressed as a share of total part-time employment. The EU27 average is derived from the unweighted mean of all countries with available data for the year of analysis. Latest available year is 2024 for all countries except for Austria and Luxembourg (2021) and Lithuania (2023) in the case of involuntary temporary employment and Latvia (2020), Slovenia (2021) and Luxembourg (2022) in the case of involuntary part-time employment.
The strong shift of youth employment in Greece towards accommodation and food services, together with the decline in construction and manufacturing, reflects the combined effects of economic restructuring after the crisis, the rapid expansion of tourism, and Greece’s comparatively weak industrial base. The Greek Government-debt crisis and following recession hit the construction and industry sectors particularly hard. Unlike many other EU/OECD countries, Greece did not experience a strong recovery in industry after the crisis and the jobs lost in these sectors were not necessarily replaced. Instead, tourism became the main engine of job creation, supported by rising international arrivals and investment in hospitality infrastructure. As accommodation and food services offer entry-level jobs that require limited formal qualifications, the sectors are easily accessible for young people.
Given the dominant role of the accommodation and food services sector, youth employment in Greece exhibits a significant seasonal pattern, largely driven by tourism over the summer months. Temporary agricultural work opportunities during this period further contribute to this pronounced seasonality. The changes observed in non-adjusted quarterly employment rates reveal that the seasonal improvements in the labour market for 15‑29 year‑olds in Greece are more pronounced than those observed in other EU-OECD countries during the same periods (Figure 1.8). Similarly, the decline in employment rates during the last quarter of the year tends to be more pronounced in Greece than across European OECD countries.
Note: The EU-OECD average is derived from the unweighted mean of all countries with available data for the years of analysis. Construction and other industries includes the sectors of Mining and Utilities. Trade, transport and accommodation and food services includes Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of vehicles and motorcycles; Transportation and storage; and Accommodation and food service activities. Communications, financial and professional services include Information and communications; Financial and insurance activities; Real estate activities; Professional, scientific and technical activities; and Administrative and support services. Care services include Education and Human health and social work services. Other non-market services include Public administration and defence; Arts, entertainment and recreation; Other service activities; Activities of households as employers; Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies; and Not elsewhere classified.
Source: Eurostat (2024[7]).
Undeclared work in Greece remains comparatively widespread by EU standards, estimated at 18.8% of gross value added in the private sector in 2019, compared to the EU average of 14.8% (European Labour Authority, 2023[8]). When expressed in terms of labour input, undeclared work reaches 12.6% in Greece compared to 11.1% in the EU on average.1 Evidence indicates that undeclared work in Greece is predominantly under-declared employment (e.g. envelope wages or partial declaration of working time), rather than fully undeclared jobs, reflecting structural features of the Greek labour market such as the prevalence of small firms, weak enforcement capacity, and the importance of seasonal sectors (European Labour Authority, 2017[9]; Hellenic Labour Inspectorate, 2026[10]). While robust quantitative estimates disaggregated by age are limited, available evidence identifies young people as a group disproportionately exposed to undeclared and under-declared work (European Labour Authority, 2017[9]; ILO, 2016[11]). It reflects their overrepresentation in sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail and personal services, as well as their concentration in temporary, part-time and entry-level jobs.
Change in non-adjusted quarterly employment rates for 15‑29 year‑olds, 2021-2024
Note: The EU-OECD average is derived from the unweighted mean of all countries with available data for the years of analysis.
Source: Eurostat (2024[12]).
An important reason behind the persistent labour market challenges for young people despite strong economic growth in recent years is the mismatch between the skills supplied by workers and those demanded by employers. Skills mismatches describe situations when workers’ skills or qualifications exceed or fall short of those required for the job under current market conditions (OECD, 2019[13]). Skill mismatches are typically also an explanatory factor for low wages, bad working conditions, and poor career prospects for individuals. At the economy level, a stronger skills mismatch is associated with lower labour productivity through a misallocation of workers to jobs and constraints to the ability of firms to innovate and adopt new technologies.
According to the OECD Skills for Jobs database (OECD, 2022[14]), 24% of workers in a given occupation in Greece are estimated to be overqualified relative to the requirements of the job, and 20% are underqualified (OECD averages are 17% and 19%, respectively) (Figure 1.9, Panel A). In addition, 39% of workers display an imbalance between their field of study and the work they do, compared to an average OECD field-of-study mismatch of 32% (Figure 1.9, Panel B). Similarly, in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), Greece also features in the bottom 20% in terms of the alignment of skills with the labour market, the intensity of skill use in workplaces, and the use of high-performance workplace practices (OECD, 2019[13]).
Proportion of mismatched workers, by type of mismatch, 2018
Notes: The qualification mismatch index calculates the share of workers in each economy/occupation who are under- or overqualified relative to the requirements of a given job. A worker is over-qualified (under-qualified) when their highest educational attainment is above (below) the requirement of their job. The field-of-study mismatch is based on a pre‑defined correspondence between fields of study (ISCED) and occupations (ISCO). Individuals are considered well matched by field of study if they work in an occupation that is considered to be a good fit for their field of study and mismatched otherwise. This type of mismatch can be due to an imbalance between what individuals study and requirements in the labour market. Field-of-study mismatch tends to matter more for new entrants to the labour market and those without work experience.
Source: OECD (2019[13]), OECD Skills Strategy 2019: Skills to Shape a Better Future, Figure 5.12, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264313835-en.
While completion rates of tertiary education have significantly improved over the past two decades, employability skills have not shown corresponding improvement. Between 2004 and 2024, the proportion of young adults aged 25‑34 with tertiary education increased almost 20 p.p. in Greece (from 25.5% to 44.5%), positioning the country only slightly below the OECD average of 47.6% (OECD, 2024[15]). Despite this improvement in educational attainment, the performance of Greece’s 15‑year‑olds on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has dropped for mathematics, reading and science between 2012 and 2022, placing Greece significantly below the OECD average in all three areas (OECD, 2023[16]). Furthermore, Greece scores in the bottom 20% for most indicators on the development of skills across the 40 countries and economies captured in the OECD Skills Strategy Dashboard (OECD, 2019[13]; OECD, 2024[17]).
Overall, the education system does not seem to be providing young people with the skills demanded in the labour market, and in many occasions, employers find that young people applying for jobs lack the skills they value (Cholezas, 2013[18]; IOBE, 2020[19]; ManpowerGroup, 2025[20]; Matsaganis, 2015[21]). According to the ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey for 2025, businesses in Greece face significant challenges in finding suitable job candidates. Specifically, 80% of employers in Greece report difficulties in filling job vacancies, compared to a global average of 74%. According to the survey, Information Technology (IT) and data skills are the most challenging to source, with nearly one‑third of employers identifying them as a significant concern. Sales and marketing skills, specialised expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and production, as well as human resources competencies, were also highlighted, with approximately 20% of employers reporting difficulties in these areas.
With the aim of tackling skills mismatches, Greece established in 2016, by Law 4368, the Mechanism of Labour Market Diagnosis (2024[22]). The Mechanism is a national institution focussed on recording, analysing, and visualising current labour market needs in terms of occupations and skills, while assessing the skills being offered by the workforce. It tracks the participation of businesses, employees, and the unemployed in training programmes, and forecasts future labour market needs based on the evolving dynamics of the national economy. Additionally, the Mechanism monitors changes in the description of occupations, as well as any technological advancements that have the potential to impact employment. Since 2022 (as part of the “Jobs Again” reform, Law 4921/2022 on the reorganisation of the Public Employment Service), the responsibility for the mechanism falls under the Unit of Experts in Employment, Social Insurance, Welfare and Social Affairs (ΜEKY) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which created a special website (mdaae.gr) using business intelligence tools to provide real-time answers to questions about skills and the labour market, available both in Greek and English (DYPA, 2023[23]). The importance of the Mechanism is explicitly acknowledged in Greece’s National Action Plan for Demography 2025-2035, which considers it an essential tool for achieving better skills matching in the country (Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs, 2024[24]).
Work experiences during education can help students build technical and soft skills, develop social networks of value and enhance confidence in career planning. Such experiences can come from three avenues: part-time jobs, which students usually pursue on their own; volunteering, which often happens outside school but is commonly encouraged by it; internships, which are generally organised and supported by schools; and work-based learning, which includes all forms of learning that takes place in a real work environment (Section 1.6 will cover vocational education and training in Greece). Each of these activities gives young people valuable opportunities to develop their career thinking – allowing them to explore different occupations in real settings, build useful social networks, strengthen both technical and socio‑emotional skills, and gain a clearer, more confident understanding of workplace norms and how to navigate them. International research shows that students who work (part-time) alongside their full-time studies can expect to do better when they entered the labour force as young adults, with reduced likelihoods of unemployment and higher expected earnings (OECD, 2025[25]).
Among OECD countries, an average of 14% of young people were both employed and enrolled in formal education in 2022, though the proportion of students combining education and work varied greatly among member states. In Greece, this proportion was significantly lower at 4.2%, and very similar to the shares in Italy and the Czech Republic (Figure 1.10). Conversely, in the Netherlands, this figure surpassed 40%, and in other countries such as Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Switzerland, the share was close to 30%.
Distribution of young people aged 15‑29, by employment and education status, 2022
Source: OECD calculations based on Labour Force Surveys (LFS).
Proportion of 15‑year‑olds enrolled in secondary education that report having taken part in an internship, 2022
Source: OECD (2025[26]), Internships for secondary school students in general education, https://doi.org/10.1787/0f020b75-en.
At secondary education level, internships allow students to explore work opportunities within the boundaries set by their educational institution (OECD, 2025[26]). Typically, these sorts of internships are of short-duration (one or two weeks) and unpaid, and while participants contribute productively to an enterprise, their purpose is mainly driven by the developmental needs of students. In 2022, 51.2% of 15‑year‑olds in Greece reported having taken part in an internship, a significantly larger share than the OECD average of 35.3% (Figure 1.11).
In higher education, internships in Greece are regulated by Law 4957/2022 (Article 69), amended by Law 5128/24 (Article 44), which establishes the legal framework for student internships in Greek universities – defining where they can take place, how they must be registered, who supervises them, how departments regulate them locally, and the compensation students receive. The law aims to standardise and enhance the quality of internship experiences and foster a stronger connection between academic learning and practical application in the professional world. Internship positions for first-cycle students of higher education institutions are published and recorded in a central online information system, called ATLAS.2 In July 2025, there were nearly 45 000 internship providers registered in the system, with 27 800 available internship positions. In 2023‑2024, 28 730 students in higher education institutions undertook an internship. Interns are compensated at 80% of the statutory minimum daily wage and employers can get a subsidy covering 50% of the amount paid to interns, lowering the costs of offering internships.
Another option for young people to acquire working experience and the skills that employers are seeking is through work-based learning programmes (OECD, 2023[27]). Work-based learning refers to learning through participation in, and observation of work, under the supervision of an employer. Vocational Education and Training (VET) involves an important component of work-based learning, as it involves a structured mix of theoretical education and training at an educational institution, with a work placement with an employer. These types of programmes have been widely recognised as effective means of equipping young people with both generic and job relevant skills, and thus facilitating their transition into the labour market.
Despite its potential benefits, VET provision in Greece currently faces significant challenges. VET programmes are often perceived as of low quality and with poor labour market relevance, which has resulted in low VET attractiveness (Cedefop, 2024[28]). As opposed to many other OECD countries where VET graduates at the upper or post-secondary level tend to face much lower unemployment rates than their peers in general education, the unemployment rate of 25‑34 year‑olds graduates with upper or post-secondary VET education in Greece was the highest of the OECD in 2022, at 18%, and only one p.p. lower than upper or post-secondary graduates in the general path (Figure 1.12, Panel A). The poor perception and weak labour market outcomes of VET in Greece favour general education, which results in less than one‑third of upper secondary learners enrolled in VET in the country (Figure 1.12, Panel B).
In response to these challenges, the need for improving the quality and the labour market relevance of VET provision is reflected as a key priority in the National Action Plan for Demography 2025-2035, as well as a series of laws that have been adopted in recent years. As a start, Law 4763/2020 planned the establishment of Model Vocational Apprenticeship Schools (P-EPAS) aimed at strengthening the autonomy and quality of VET institutions by creating links with local labour markets and social partners (see Box 1.1 for further information). The implementation of the law resulted in the establishment and operation of 15 thematic and experimental vocational higher vocational training schools (SAEKs), which run innovative curricula and study programmes thanks to the update and upgrade of or 130 Training Guides, which was completed in September 2024 with the collaboration of social partners. The law also enabled the establishment of new governance bodies, including the Central Council for VET (KSEEK), and 15 Regional Production-Labour Market Liaison Councils (SSPAEs) aimed at improving the alignment between VET provision and the local context.
Source: OECD (2023[29]), Education at a Glance 2023, Tables A.3.3 and B.1.2, https://doi.org/10.1787/e13bef63-en.
The Central Council has been operational since 2021, and it is the main advisory body on VET at the national level. Its key responsibilities include the monitoring of labour market developments, the adjustment of VET programmes to labour market needs, and the continuous update and reorganisation of the VET offer. The Central Council is supported by the Central Scientific Committee (ΚΕΕ), which provides scientific advice on issues related to the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of VET and Lifelong Learning programmes. Law 4763/2020 also foresees that the Central Council can be assisted by Sectoral Skills Councils, which may be established to systematically monitor the needs of the respective sector in terms of professional skills needed and the matching of those skills. To date, one Sectoral Skills Council has been established and is operating in the textile, clothing, footwear, and leather sector.
Similarly, and with regards to its own responsibility in the provision of VET, the Public Employment Service (DYPA) reports having increasingly formed special collaborations with employers to introduce new certifications that align with labour market demand and expand offerings to additional locations of interest (see Box 1.1).
In Greece, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is state‑regulated and offered at upper, post-secondary and tertiary levels. The overall responsibility for the provision of VET is with the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports in co‑operation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
Compulsory schooling in Greece lasts until age 15 and completion of lower secondary education (Gymnasio). At age 16, learners usually follow one of the two main upper secondary school education programmes, the general path (Geniko Lykeio, GEL) and the vocational one (Epaggelmatiko lykeio, EPAL). The vocational path provides three‑year upper secondary VET, with a minimum of 25% of work-based learning, leading to a specialisation at ISCED 3.
Another possibility after compulsory education is the two‑year apprenticeship programmes with at least 80% of work-based learning that can be followed at the vocational training schools (ESK) of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports or at the vocational apprenticeship schools (EPAS) of the Public Employment Service (DYPA), supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Both programmes lead to an ISCED 3 certification, although the vocational apprenticeship schools of DYPA are characterised for the provision of the dual system that combines theoretical and laboratory education in the classroom with paid apprenticeship in the workplace.
A final possibility aimed at graduates of compulsory education over the age of 18 are DYPA’s Model Vocational Apprenticeship Schools (P-EPAS), which were founded in 2021. The Model Vocational Apprenticeship Schools provide training in three specialties of tourism and hospitality and guarantee the placement of all students in apprenticeship positions in distinguished businesses in the tourism sector.
At post-secondary level, VET is offered in two alternative formats:
One‑year apprenticeship programmes with at least 80% of work-based learning offered by EPAL schools that lead to a specialisation at ISCED 4, awarded after successful participation in the corresponding certification exams.
Two and a half-year VET programmes with at least 60% of work-based learning offered by public and private higher vocational training schools (SAEKs) to upper secondary graduates, which allow learners to obtain an attestation of programme completion. Graduates of SAEKs may can take VET certification examinations to acquire an ISCED 4 certificate.
At tertiary level, two‑to-four‑year higher professional programmes are currently offered by SAEKs. In 2024, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports operated 127 SAEKs for a total of 24 689 enrolled students; DYPA operated 30 higher vocational training schools for 2 874 students; and a small number of higher vocational training schools were operated by the Ministries of Tourism, Health, and Rural Development for 3 306 students. The diplomas awarded are considered non-university tertiary level diplomas (ISCED 5). A new law adopted in October 2025 allows for the expansion of post-secondary vocational education through the establishment of Vocational Training Academies (VTAs), which will complement existing provision with more demand-driven and decentralised programmes that are aligned with local economic needs and engage employers in shaping training content and delivery.
Building on the foundation of Law 4673/2020, the enactment of Law 5082/2024 aims to further reinforce the Greek VET system, with the objectives of upgrading the knowledge, competences, and skills of VET graduates, and facilitating their integration into the labour market. The law introduces significant changes, including the creation of vocational education and training centres (KEEK) aimed at strengthening the reach-out to society and connecting to the labour market taking into account the particularities of local societies and economies. Additionally, the law mandates the establishment of vocational development and career offices (GEAS) in all educational structures of DYPA, as well as the higher vocational training schools of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports. The vocational development and career offices are expected to create a link between the educational VET structures and the labour market by providing information, counselling, and promotion services.
Finally, Law 5237/2025 on Vocational Training Academies (VTAs) adopted in October 2025 represents a targeted expansion of post-secondary vocational education at European Qualifications Framework (EQF) Level 5, aimed at strengthening the labour market relevance and attractiveness of VET. The law establishes a new type of provider delivering free, practice‑oriented programmes aligned with local economic needs, particularly in sectors such as tourism, agri-food, industry and technology. A defining feature is the strong emphasis on work-based learning, with mandatory, paid apprenticeships and full social insurance coverage. In addition, the framework introduces an explicit employment linkage, requiring founding entities to recruit a share of graduates, thereby institutionalising a direct transition pathway from training into employment.
Within the broader VET landscape, the Vocational Training Academies will complement rather than replace existing provision. Greece already offers EQF Level 5 programmes through post-secondary vocational training institutes (recently rebranded as higher vocational training schools) and apprenticeship pathways linked to upper secondary vocational education. The new academies differ in their governance and delivery model as they can be established by a wide range of actors – including enterprises, chambers and non-profit organisations – subject to central approval. This represents a shift towards a more demand-driven and decentralised model of provision, strengthening the role of employers and local stakeholders in shaping training content and delivery. The success of the Vocational Training Academies will depend on effective quality assurance, co‑ordination with existing providers, and the capacity to scale employer engagement beyond pilot initiatives.
Career guidance includes a whole range of services intended to assist individuals to make educational, training, and occupational choices that can facilitate their transitions into the labour market and to better manage their professional careers (OECD, 2024[30]). Career guidance offers students current and projected labour market information, as well as useful resources and tools that they can use to better understand and match their emerging interests and skills to the labour market opportunities.
In 2022, only 48% of 15‑year‑olds in Greece were enrolled in schools offering career guidance, a significantly lower share than the OECD average of 82% (Figure 1.13). Among those, the proportion of students attending schools that provided information on internships was the lowest at just 27%, nearly half the OECD average. While a slightly higher percentage of students received information about career prospects (61%) and educational opportunities (67%), these figures were still substantially below the OECD averages of 75% and 85%, respectively. In terms of 15‑year‑olds who spoke with a career advisor either in or out of their own school, Greece performs slightly better than the OECD average (at 57% and 56% respectively) (OECD, 2025[31]), which suggests that many students access career guidance outside their own school. Other forms of career development also seem more widespread: Greece ranks in the top‑10 OECD countries with respect to the shares of 15‑year‑olds in Greece who participated in job shadowing or work-site visit and visited a job fair (OECD, 2025[31]).
Proportion of 15‑year‑olds enrolled in schools where career guidance is offered, 2022
Note: The OECD average is the unweighted mean of all countries shown in the figure. Data are not available for Luxembourg.
Source: OECD calculations based on PISA 2022 Database (OECD, 2022[32]), https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/pisa-2022-database.html.
In the past few years, Greece has made a conscious effort to strengthen and expand the reach of career guidance among students (EC, 2024[33]). In schools, and within the framework of the 21st Century Skills Labs (Box 1.2), students in the third year of lower secondary education can benefit from career guidance since 2021. Furthermore, students of the first year of upper secondary schools (both in general education and VET) can receive career guidance by certified external organisations.
In tertiary education, and following the mandate of Law 4957/2022, which aims to improve the operation and quality of higher education in Greece, the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports has gradually implemented a series of initiatives during the year 2024 aimed at improving the linkages of higher education with society and the economy at large. One of these measures is the establishment of a Student Support Unit at every higher educational institution, which should have as responsibilities: i) the promotion of students’ internships under the supervision of a member of the teaching staff, whose successful completion will imply the award of official ECTS credits;3 ii) the provision of counselling services on career choices and the enhancement of students labour market profile’s; iii) the development of soft skills; and/or iv) the organisation of labour market awareness-raising events and seminars.
Under the Cohesion Policy programme “Human Resources and Social Cohesion”, ESF+ also supports the development of a certification system for career and professional guidance counsellors and an observatory to track the transition of VET graduates into the labour market (European Commission, 2024[34]).
Since September 2021, the 21st Century Skills Labs module has been implemented in all kindergartens, primary, and lower-secondary schools across Greece as part of the mandatory curriculum. Kindergartens and elementary schools dedicate three hours per week to the module, while lower secondary schools dedicate one hour per week.
The aim of this module is to enhance students’ soft skills, life skills, digital skills as well as foster entrepreneurial awareness through innovative approaches, with a strong focus on experimental learning. Teachers and school leaders collaborate to create a skills programme centred around four thematic areas: well-being, environment, social empathy and accountability, and creative thinking and innovation. An online platform provides a variety of teaching resources, suggested activities, assessment tools, and information for parents, and teachers are supported by online professional development opportunities. The programme is designed to foster social and emotional competencies – such as empathy, adaptability, and planning – that contribute to students’ resilience. Additionally, the programme focusses on science and technology skills, including digital literacy and modelling and simulation, to support effective online learning and ease students’ transitions into the labour market.
The programme includes specific entrepreneurship events, workshops, and dedicated modules. The entrepreneurship modules have been integrated into the mandatory curriculum of the programme and cover topics such as how to prepare a CV, prepare for an interview, create a successful business idea, and set up a business plan. These programmes are often delivered by non-public actors who are approved by the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports. For example, the Virtual Business Programme was offered to about 2 500 participants in 2017 of which about 80% were students in public schools. However, many programmes are delivered regionally so coverage of entrepreneurship training is not consistent across Greece, and the programme requires teachers to complete training outside of working hours.
Additionally, many teachers remain hesitant about entrepreneurship and often do not feel comfortable or confident in teaching entrepreneurial concepts due to persistent negative stereotypes around entrepreneurship. According to discussions with Greek stakeholders during the OECD fact-finding meetings as well as survey evidence, older adult cohorts still associate entrepreneurship with vague or even questionable notions of business, ranging from legal ambiguities to the stereotypical image of a profit-at-all-costs businessman. Many also view entrepreneurship as a last resort for those unable to find employment opportunities in the labour market. These perceptions contribute to persistent negative stereotypes around entrepreneurship as a term and a potential career path for young people to pursue. However, fostering innovation among youth is received more positively among teachers, suggesting that there is room to shift cultural attitudes among older generations by highlighting the dynamism, creativity and relevance of entrepreneurship and showing that these outdated notions of entrepreneurship no longer reflect today’s entrepreneurial reality.
The Skills Labs received a Global Education Award from the Global Education Network in May 2021.
Source: OECD (2021[35]), Education Policy Outlook 2021: Shaping Responsive and Resilient Education in a Changing World, https://doi.org/10.1787/75e40a16-en.
While youth labour market outcomes have improved substantially over the past decade, Greece continues to face challenges in converging towards OECD averages, with youth employment and unemployment rates still lagging behind most OECD countries. Young people who are employed, often face poor working conditions, characterised by a high incidence of low-paying and insecure jobs. Wage levels among young workers remain below those observed in most EU-OECD countries, reflecting the broader process of economic and wage convergence following the prolonged economic crisis. While few young people work on a part-time basis (12%, which is about half the EU-OECD average), Greece has the second-highest share of involuntary part-time employment, with almost 50% of young part-time workers indicating that they would prefer to work full-time. Over the past decade and a half, youth employment in Greece has shifted from construction and other industries to trade, transport, and especially accommodation and food services, accounting together for 55% of youth employment in 2023 (EU-OECD average: 37%). Given the dominant role of the tourism sector, youth employment in Greece exhibits a significant seasonal pattern.
One of the underlying reasons for the difficult transition from education to employment is the mismatch between the skills supplied by recent graduates and those demanded by the labour market. Despite significant improvements in tertiary education completion rates over the past two decades, young adults underperform in international skills assessments like PISA and PIAAC. The Mechanism of Labour Market Diagnosis put in place to track labour market needs and assess skills on offer is a useful tool, but further efforts will be needed to address skills mismatches.
Mismatches between field of studies and labour market needs in Greece are strongly related to challenges in the provision of Vocational Education and Training (VET). The sector has historically faced challenges in terms of attractiveness, perceived quality and labour market relevance, contributing to low VET participation and high unemployment among VET graduates. Since 2020, Greece has made significant steps to improve the VET sector through a series of comprehensive reforms. However, several issues continue to impede further development (Cedefop, 2024[36]). Many companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, remain reluctant to engage in apprenticeship schemes, often due to concerns about administrative complexity and financial implications. In addition, constrained government budgets have limited investment in VET facilities and resources, and cumbersome regulations and bureaucratic delays slow down the rollout of reforms and new programmes. The effective implementation of recent legislative reforms is therefore critical to successfully enhance VET quality and improve labour market integration of VET graduates.
Career guidance can play a crucial role in supporting young people’s transition into the labour market. However, fewer than half of all 15‑year‑olds in Greece were enrolled in schools offering career guidance in 2022, a significantly lower share than the OECD average of 82%. In addition, more than 60% of students in Greece argue that their school has done little to prepare them for adult life when leaving school, the second highest share in the OECD ranking (OECD, 2025[31]). A more systematic provision of career guidance would be welcome to ensure more equal access. Better career guidance in secondary education, can help learners make education choices that match their interests, aptitudes and abilities, and lead to more rewarding employment.
Work experiences during education are a powerful tool that help bridge the gap between education and employment, by preparing young people for the workforce and providing them with practical skills and early work experience. However, only 4% of young people in Greece combine education and employment (OECD average: 14%) and only 15% of recent VET graduates had experienced work-based learning (EU average: 65%). Participation in internships is more common in Greece (half of all 15‑year olds). Greece is enhancing work-based learning in various ways, by standardising and enhancing the quality of internship experiences, on the one hand, and expanding apprenticeship options in VET, on the other hand. Current priorities centre on increasing employer engagement, strengthening the quality assurance of placements, improving career guidance, and making VET pathways more attractive to students. It will be important to monitor the roll-out of these reforms and track the quality of the provided opportunities.
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← 1. The definition based on gross value added captures undeclared work in terms of its economic value, whereas the labour input definition focusses on the work itself rather than its output and measures undeclared work in terms of the number of people. While the latter definition can capture phenomena such as envelope wages or undeclared overtime more directly, but it is more sensitive to underreporting and methodological differences across surveys (European Labour Authority, 2023[8]).
← 3. The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a tool for making studies and courses more transparent across Europe. It helps students to move between countries and to have their academic qualifications and study periods abroad recognised. ECTS allows credits taken at one higher education institution to be counted towards a qualification studied for at another.