On March the 30, 2021, E.O.P.P.E.P. organised international conference on “Monitoring the progress of graduates of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the labour market: the case of IEK graduates, findings and conclusions” to present the findings of a large-scale research on VET graduates tracking in which participated 9.830 graduates of public and private IEK of all specialties, from all regions of the country and more than 1000 companies that employ IEK graduates.
The survey underlines issues of skills activation and skills matching pillars. Issues of labour market participation, transition to work and skills utilization foster the positive role of VET results. The research findings highlight the importance of the certification of IEK graduates by the E.O.P.P.E.P to find a job. Regarding the current employment situation of graduates, it is observed that the non-certified graduates face a greater problem of unemployment than their certified peers. The importance of E.O.P.P.E.P. certification process is also evident in the answers of the employers, as a large percentage (48.05%) judges E.O.P.P.E.P. certification process as a critical factor for the recruitment of IEK graduates.
Regarding the relevance of the IEK specialty to the current job, the certification process conducted by EOPPEP seems to have a positive effect on the relevance of the first job in relation to the specialty they studied. It is highlighted that the certified IEK graduates work in positions that are more relevant to the subject of the specialty they studied (62.97%) compared to the non-certified (49.28%).
As far the skills utilization dimension is concerned, the IEK graduates note that the most significant skills are Teamwork (8,31), Professional & Technical Skills (8,28) and Interpersonal & Communication Skills (8,28) and the less important skills are Foreign languages (6,76). As far as the skills mismatch dimension is concerned, the highest mismatch is observed in Digital Skills (1,01), Initiative & Entrepreneurship (0,92) and Foreign Languages (0,89) and the lowest mismatch in Literacy (0,57) and Numerical skills (0,46). From the employer’s perspective the top-rated skills are Teamwork (8.7), Interpersonal & Communication Skills (8.51) and Professional/Technical Skills (8.47) and of lowest importance are foreign languages (7.05). As far as the skills mismatch is concerned, the highest mismatch is observed in Problem Solving (1.83) and the lowest mismatch in Digital Skills (1) and Foreign Languages (0.95).
The discussion that followed the presentation of the survey findings at the round table with the participation of the social partners was of particular interest. ,the General Director of INE and KANEP / GSEE, Mr. Goulas, the Executive Director of IME/ GSEVEE, Mr. Lintzeris, the General Director of INSETE / SETE, Mr. Kikilias, the Director of KAELE/ESEE Mr. Priftis and the Political Analyst of the Hellenic Industry / SEV Housing, Mr. Filinis had had the opportunity to discuss and interpret the findings of the survey and during the discussion interesting points of convergence and divergence emerged on the part of employees and employers.
Furthermore, during the conference IVET providers had had the opportunity to present the state of play concerning the interconnection of education and training with the labor market. The participation of IEK students in the conference, who shared their experience and proceeded to an assessment of the IVET services provided, is seen as one of the highlights of the conference.
Closing the conference, the Managing Director of E.O.P.P.E.P., Ioanna Lytrivi, underlined: “The findings of the present survey, as well as other large-scale surveys, are of greater value, mainly because they can lead to the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of VET in Greece.
They are a great opportunity to evaluate this pillar of our education system and to move forward to actions and initiatives aiming at upgrading and modernizing IVET, mainly through the establishment of the its interconnection with the labor market and consequently its institutional strengthening. Actions that will make IVET, in the end, more attractive for the Greek family, but also for the Greek society”.
Distinguished speakers from Greece and abroad participated in the conference, including representatives of the European Commission, the Secretariat of the European Network EQAVET, as well as representatives of the National EQAVET Reference Points from Slovenia and Croatia, who presented the latest developments of VET and graduates monitoring systems in Europe and at National level in the field of VET.
The conference organised under the auspice of the project “EQAVET NRPs 2019-2021» οf the ERASMUS + program, implemented by E.O.P.P.E.P. as the National Benchmark of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training EQAVET.
ReferencePress release: https://www.eoppep.gr/index.php/el/announcements/1561-deltio_typou_imeridas_eqavet
