- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Completed
Description
A new VET graduate tracking study was carried out in Greece in 2019-21 by the National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP) in cooperation with the National Institute for Labour and Human Resource (EIEAD). The project focuses on graduates of 2.5-year post-secondary VET programmes (IEK). Using quality indicators such as the placement rate of VET graduates and the utilisation of acquired skills in the workplace, the research analyses the position of IEK graduates within the labour market. It also measures the degree of satisfaction of:
- graduates, about the curriculum and the specialisation they have completed;
- employers, about graduates' knowledge, skills and competences.
Initial data stress the importance of skills certification: IEK graduates certified by EOPPEP score three times higher in terms of employment rates than IEK graduates without certification. Almost 50% of the graduates interviewed had already found a full-time job; 25% of them were still unemployed. IEK graduates tend to find a work placement relevant to their specialisation. The most prevalent way to find a job was through networking rather than through recruitment agencies. Following the successful pilot phase of the VET graduate tracking mechanism, EOPPEP plans to develop a broader and more systematic tracking mechanism in the near future.
The first phase of the graduate tracking study was completed in 2019, while the second phase was under design.
The national quality system department of EOPPEP, under the role of the national reference point (NRP) of the EQAVET network, has concluded a 2-year research cycle (2019-21) tracking IVET graduates in the labour market. 10 000 IEK graduates from both public and private institutions and 1 000 employers from different economic sectors participated in the research. The results denote teamwork, professional-technical skills and interpersonal and communication skills as the three more important key competences and underline that the greatest mismatches are in digital skills, initiative and entrepreneurship and multilingual competence.
On 30 March 2021, EOPPEP organised an international conference, Monitoring the progress of graduates of vocational education and training (VET) in the labour market: the case of IEK graduates, findings and conclusions; this was to present the findings of large-scale research on VET graduate tracking, in which 9 830 graduates participated, from public and private IEK of all specialities, from all regions of the country, as did more than 1 000 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 utilisation support the positive role of VET results. The research findings highlight the importance of the EOPPEP certification of the vocational skills of IEK graduates for finding a job. It is observed that the non-certified graduates face a greater problem of unemployment than their certified peers. The importance of the EOPPEP certification process is also evident in the answers of the employers, as a large percentage (48.05%) judges EOPPEP certification as a critical factor in the recruitment of IEK graduates.
The certification process conducted by EOPPEP seems to have a positive effect on the relevance of the first job in relation to the speciality studied. It is highlighted that the certified IEK graduates work in positions that are more relevant to the subject of the speciality they studied (62.97%) compared to the non-certified (49.28%).
Bodies responsible
- National Organisation for Certification of Qualifications and Vocational Guidance (EOPPEP)
- National Institute of Labour and Human Resources (EIEAD)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Adult learners
Entities providing VET
- VET providers (all kinds)
Altro
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
High-quality and timely skills intelligence is a powerful policy tool, helping improve economic competitiveness and fostering social progress and equality through the provision of targeted skills training to all citizens (Cedefop, 2020). Skills intelligence is the outcome of an expert-driven process of identifying, analysing, synthesising and presenting quantitative and/or qualitative skills and labour market information. Skills intelligence draws on data from multiple sources, such as graduate tracking systems, skills anticipation mechanisms, including at sectoral and regional levels. Actions related to establishing and developing such systems fall under this thematic sub-category.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to initiatives that promote VET and lifelong learning implemented at any level and by any stakeholder. It also covers measures to ensure and broaden access to information about VET to various target groups, including targeted information and promotional campaigns (e.g. for parents, adult learners, vulnerable groups). Among others, it includes national skill competitions and fairs organised to attract learners to VET.
This thematic sub-category refers to providing high-quality lifelong learning and career guidance services, including making full use of Europass and other digital services and resources.
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Graduate tracking study: Greece. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/it/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28252