During the last decades in Greece, demographic shifts, EU integration, and global trends have been reshaping the economic landscape so that Greece’s human resources are meeting the needs of today’s service and knowledge-based economy. There is a good supply of highly qualified labor in Greece, capable of effectively supporting any investment project.
A shift to services
The economic focus of Greece has shifted significantly so that as of the third quarter in 2017 roughly 72.8% of the workforce is involved in the services sector, 15.4% in the secondary sector, and 11.8% in the primary sector. Contemporary trends have resulted in a vastly different workforce than 30 years ago, and training and education increasingly reflect the needs of today’s globalized economy.
Languages
The tourism sector, accounting for 18.6% of GDP (2016), has absorbed the largest increase in human resources. Many of the country’s post-secondary educational institutions offer specialized courses in tourism studies, with an emphasis on language training. As a result, Greece ranks favorably in the EU for its number of speakers of a second language. English is by far the most widely spoken second language in Greece.
English is often the language of business used on a daily basis, especially in multinational companies.
Intellectual capital
Education has been long recognized as the most valuable asset a person can have to advance and Greeks are eager to invest in training their children. In fact, Greece sends more students abroad to study, per capita, than most countries. Universities in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, and the United States boast large numbers of students from Greece, many of whom achieve high academic success.
There are roughly 191,000 students enrolled in post-secondary educational institutions in Greece. During recent years the number of graduate students has increased significantly, reaching 42,684 enrolled in graduate programs, and 23,548 enrolled in doctoral programs in the academic year 2015/2016. Greek students have always shown a strong interest in medicine, the sciences, new technologies, economics and law studies, especially in recent years, as new programs are offered and more opportunities exist to pursue studies outside Greece.
Greece’s “intellectual capital” will continue to be a strong national asset and investors who are seeking special skills will have a host of competitive advantages when choosing Greece as an investment location.
Representative Data
|
Number of employed by sector of economic activity (000s and %), 2017 (3rd quarter) |
||
| Primary sector | 452,4 | 11.8% |
| Secondary sector | 589,7 | 15,4% |
| Tertiary sector | 2.781,6 | 72,8% |
| Total | 3. 823,3 | 100% |
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2018, data processed by Enterprise Greece
|
Number of employed by branch of economic activity (000s), 2017 (3rd quarter) |
||
| Agriculture, livestock, fishing | 452,4 | |
| Mining and quarrying | 11,3 | |
| Manufacturing | 362,1 | |
| Electricity, Gas, Water | 60,8 | |
| Construction | 155,5 | |
| Trade | 687,7 | |
| Restaurants, Hotels | 398,7 | |
| Transport and Communication | 277,0 | |
| Banking and Finance | 93,0 | |
| Real Estate | 2,8 | |
| Public Administration | 328,1 | |
| Education | 282,9 | |
| Health and Social Welfare | 237,3 | |
| Other services | 474,1 | |
| Total | 3.823,7 | |
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2018, data processed by Enterprise Greece
|
Educational level of the Greek labour force (000s and %), 2017 (3rd quarter) |
||
| PhD and/or Master’s degree | 204,3 | 4,3% |
| University degree | 894,7 | 18,7% |
| Technical degree | 1005,7 | 21,0% |
| Secondary Education Certifcate (Lyceum) | 1.694,4 | 35.5% |
| Basic Education | 466,1 | 9.7% |
| Lower Education | 528,6 | 11,0% |
| Total | 4.793,8 | 100% |
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2018, data processed by Enterprise Greece
