University education scrimping on skills development

While the Greek educational system provides young people with degrees aplenty, it does not give them the skills they need in an increasingly competitive job market, a study by the European Center for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) has shown.

According to the CEDEFOP study, Greece has the highest ratio of university students – at 6.58 percent of its population – in the European Union, but also of students abroad (0.34 percent).

Nevertheless, the country is 27th among the EU28 in CEDEFOP’s European Skills Index, with a score of just 23 due to is poor performance in all three pillars: skills matching, skills development and skills activation.

The study found that the professional qualifications on which curriculums are based are largely outdated and that procedures for bringing them up to speed are inflexible and complicated. Vocational training and programs like internships are also sorely lacking, the report suggested.