Description

Country
Focus area
The aim of the mechanism is to provide – at regular intervals – reliable information on the supply of, and demand for, labour at sectoral, occupational and regional level to the organisations involved in the development of labour market policies and other stakeholders. The provision of reliable data on employment trends, occupational dynamism, unemployment composition and entrepreneurial activity is aimed at assisting with the design of policies related to employment, (national and sub-national) economic development and education and training. Moreover, through the Mechanism's systematic input, the intended target groups for skills anticipation exercises (policy-makers in the various ministries and government agencies, the PES, local and regional authorities, the social partners, education and training providers, and career and vocational guidance providers) gain access to continuous feedback loops between VET and changing labour market needs. The focus on skills is still limitied. The main outputs so far are based on occupational and sector-level datasets at the national and regionals level.
Implementation level
At what level is the initiative implemented?
National
Starting period
TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
2016
Perspective
PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
At the current level of operation the Mechanism contains two forecast studies mainly in what regards the future demand for occupations and qualifications. The social partners led by IME GSEVEE implement ongoing skills anticipation exercises and foresight activities that will complement the Mechanism's outputs within the next years.
Policy area
To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
There is some limited information on job specific skills and competences (exclusively based on ESCO classification)
Funding
How it is funded?
Funded by national government
Funded by the EU
Operational Programme ‘Human Resources Development’ 2014-20.

Skill mismatch

Skill mismatch target
What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
Overqualification (individuals' qualifications/credentials are above their job's needs)
At the current level of operation part of the Mechanism's outputs address issues of overqualification (eg a forecasting study shows reduced demand for post-graduates for the period 2019-2024).
Skills matching focus
How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
The Mechanism gives access to figures of occupational dynamism at the national, regional and sub-regional level, but also at the skills level (ISCO taxonomy). Potential users such as Young graduates can make use of this information both for more effective job seeking, and matching their skills with the labour market's needs.
The Mechanism gives access to figures of occupational dynamism at the national, regional and sub-regional level, but also at the skills level (ISCO taxonomy). Potential such as VET providers and policy makers can make use of this informationdeveloping a further plan of upskilling or reskilling in line with the labour market needs.
The Mechanism gives access to figures of occupational dynamism at the national, regional and sub-regional level, but also at the skills level (ISCO taxonomy). Potential users such as VET providers and policy makers can make use of this information both for more effective job seeking, and matching skills with the labour market.
Individuals and career professionals have access to multiple sources of information regarding labour market needs mostly in occupational terms.

Methods

Methods
What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
Skills forecasting
Studies on occupations, sectors and skills using quantitative forecasting methods (2020 and 2019). Available here:
https://lmd.eiead.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Agkyropoulos_Seira_9_Ei… (Last access at 30 March 2021).
https://lmd.eiead.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Markaki_Seira_10_Eidike… (Last access at 30 March 2021).
https://lmd.eiead.gr/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Skills_Forecasting_EIEA… (Last access at 30 March 2021).
Use of skills intelligence
How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
Users of the Mechanism's data such as the National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP) and the social partners, inform the NQF.
Users of the Mechanism's data such as the social partners, use Mechanism's outputs for the development of proposals for co-funded VET initiatives and actions.
The vocational services of the National Organization for the Certification of Qualifications and Vocaitonal Guidance make explicit reference to the Mechanism's outputs.

Stakeholders

Main responsible body
Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
National ministry
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, National Institute of Labour and Human Resources
Other involved organisations
Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
National ministry
Ministry of Education: provider and user of the mechanism's data regarding VET and school to work transition/ Member of the National Coordination Committee.
Ministry of Economy: provider and user of mechanism data, responsible for linking economic with skills policy/ Member of the National Coordination Committee.
Social partner: employer organisation
GSEVEE-SEV -ESEE-SETE: providers and users of mechanism data - social dialogue/ Members of the National Coordination Committee.
Social partner: trade union
GSEE: provider and user of mechanism
data-social dialogue/ Member of the National Coordination Committee.
National PES
Provider and user of mechanism data-ALMPs and social insurance/ Member of the Operational Network of Organizations
Other
National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP): provider and user of the mechanism's data-input for certification of VET programmes/ Member of the Operational Network of Organizations.
Statistic Authority (ELSTAT): provider of mechanism data-labour market statistics/ Member of the Operational Network of Organizations.
Association of Greek Regions (ENPE): providers and users of mechanism data-regional and local labour market needs/ Member of the Operational Network of Organizations.
Beneficiaries
Who are the intended beneficiaries?
Other
Policy-makers in the various ministries and government agencies, the PES, local and regional authorities, the social partners, education and training providers, career and vocational guidance providers.

Sustainability

Success factors
SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
Top-down approach.
Representativeness of the National Coordinating Committee.
The Scientific Committee improved stakeholders’ confidence.
Initial attempts to set up a comprehensive regulatory framework by Ministry of Labour.
Complementarity of qualitative information with quantitative outputs.
Some attempts to share a common methodological framework.
Collaboration with international bodies.
Existing examples of collaboration between stakeholders in relevant policy areas.
Barriers
BARRIERS in the implementation
Discontinuity in meetings with the National Coordination Committee (NCC) of the Mechanism.
Limited deliberation and consultation among stakeholders.
Limited provision of skills information.
Limited involvement of research institutes and universities.
Uneven involvement of Regional Authorities.
Monitoring and evaluation
MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
There is no concete evaluation plan nor formalized evaluation of the system. The only review process of the system concerns the review of
the Greek skills anticipation and matching system delivered by Cedefop in 2019. The final report of the country review is available here: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/4180_en.pdf (Last access at 30 March 2021).
Updates
UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
Yes
The new website of the Mechanism (on air since 2019) has been substiantially changed and now it is more easily accessed.
New datasets have been added (time-series, but also most recent datasets of labour market indicators).
New features of data visualization have been added.
New studies using quantitative forecasting methods have been delivered. Studies on labour market responsiveness in the Covid-10 conditions have also been delivered.
Effectiveness
EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
The Mechanism has made progress in terms of web platform function, coordination between the two ministries, the quantity and quality of data, the data visualization, the use of advanced methods of data processing. The coordination between the NILHR and the rest of the stakeholders has been advanced in the period 2016-2019, but now seems to have come to a halt. The outputs of the Mechanism have started informing stakeholders' skills anticipation exercises and VET instruments, but a systematic use of the Mechanism's results from VET providers and policy makers has not yet been accomplished. The need for a systematic provision of data on skills has not yet been met, although stakeholders have made a lot of progress in developing coherent LMSI instruments focusing on skills anticipation.
Sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
The Mechanism of Labour Market Diagnosis is a national key policy instrument that reflects a widely shared need for an effective skills anticipation system and in that sense it is expected to continue producing results in the following years. The progress made in a short timeframe and with rather limited resources rose expectations among stakeholders. Nevertheless, consensus should be further built upon the use of the first results of the Mechanism. Moreover, the gaps that have been currently observed in the operation of the NCC is a crucial parameter of the future direction. In addition, funding and resources should be secured for the next programming period. The Mechanism has not yet been incorporated in the discussion over investment plans and strategic decisions at the macro-economic level and this might reflect a diminished interest in this regard. On the other hand, new studies on Covid-19 and the labour market responsiveness that have been delivered in the framework of the Mechanism, are encouraging signs for the near future.

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