Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry: The skills employers are looking for

As predicted by an Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey, 27.7% of businesses stated that they increased staff, 59.7% stated that they kept the number of employees constant, while only 12.6% of businesses decreased staff.

Regarding the ease of finding staff with the right skills, only 3% of businesses said they found the skills they were looking for easily, 31.3% of businesses said the search was not easy, but eventually managed to meet their needs, while 17.2% of the businesses surveyed reported that the degree of difficulty is so great that they do not anticipate being able to properly cover their needs.

A greater degree of difficulty in attracting staff with the skills they consider suitable for their vacant positions seems to be faced by smaller businesses, with a turnover of less than 250,000 euros, as 41.2% of them predict that they will not be able to meet their labor needs potential.

Requisite skills

The specialities, for which companies declare difficulty in finding staff, concern mainly those of engineering (16.7%), finance (13.9%) and technical (11.1%) branches, as well as IT (9 .6%).

In addition, 63.5% of businesses stated that it is difficult to find well-qualified workers in technical specialties, 40.9% reported that there is a major shortage of staff with the digital skills they need, 53.5% of businesses identify a major shortage staff with the appropriate experience, while 6 out of 10 businesses consider that higher education does not provide graduates with knowledge and skills that would facilitate their entry into the labor market.

The health crisis of previous years affected the way staff work for 62.9% of businesses. Of these, more than half of businesses (54%) said they would maintain changes in the way their staff work, namely telecommuting at a rate of 79.6%, and shift work at a rate of 24.1%.

Finally, regarding the adoption of measures that could contribute to strengthening their activity, 56.6% of businesses agree with a possible reduction in insurance contributions, 28.3% support the labor subsidy, 23.3% of businesses believes that the State should promote changes in Higher Education curricula, so that graduates acquire a closer relationship with production and entrepreneurship, while 68.6% support the opinion that the labor market should become more flexible.

Regarding the results of the survey, the President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ms. Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou, said:

"Despite the adversities of the international crises that have certainly affected Greece as well, Greek businesses are proving to be particularly resilient. As reflected in the survey, the majority of companies maintained or increased their staff in the last year, while at the same time adopting new work models, which, due to the flexibility they provide, can contribute to strengthening employment, as well as productivity. As Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we believe that the State should support the efforts of businesses, through the further reduction of insurance contributions, as well as the connection of university study programs with the labor market in order to strengthen access to the labor market."