Supporting Greece to implement a National Skills Framework for Learning Pathways

Supporting Greece to implement a National Skills Framework for Learning Pathways

The Commission supported Greece’s Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, the Institute of Education Policy (IEP), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Greek Public Employment Service (DYPA) in the development of a comprehensive approach to skills development from school to adult learning to increase their labour market relevance.    

This project was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the World Bank, in cooperation with the European Commission.

Context

Greece faces a skills mismatch problem and a challenging school-to-work transition, which have adverse effects on social and economic outcomes for workers and businesses. Addressing these skills challenges is crucial for Greece to respond to the demands of a rapidly changing world of work and increased competitiveness. In its reform programme, Greece attributes high priority for its formal education system to promote soft skills and for its lifelong learning system to contribute to the green and digital transitions, inter alia through upskilling and reskilling programmes of the labour force covered by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). However, the relevant Greek authorities signalled the need to bridge the worlds of education and work to develop a coherent, continuous approach to skills development, which could set the basis for more coordination and alignment between formal education and training and the lifelong learning system in the country.  

Support delivered

The technical support delivered centred around three workstreams, namely (i) on assessing the eight key competences for lifelong learning adopted in the relevant 2018 Council Recommendation within the curricula for primary and secondary education and providing recommendations for structurally assessing, evaluating and teaching these competences; (ii) on assessing the Greek Public Employment Service's current profiling system and proposing a new machine learning-based statistical model for jobseeker profiling to inform upskilling and reskilling programmes in a more targeted way; and (iii) on developing a performance-based evaluation framework for training providers eligible to offer continuing vocational training programmes subsidised by EU funds. The support drew on information gathered through exchanges and questionnaires with the relevant stakeholders in Greece across different governance levels, collection and analysis of Greek and international data, and identification of international good practice examples.

Results achieved

Through this project, Greek authorities have been equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to better understand and consider the future skills needs of the entire population – students, employed, unemployed - to adapt to the labour market, which is characterised by rapid technological innovation, evolving international trade, and the green transition.  

In the longer term, the project is expected to empower students and the working-age population with the knowledge and tools to excel in their careers and lead fulfilling lives.