Cedefop – Municipality of Thessaloniki/European Youth Capital – Regional Directorate for Education
Skills and Employability: labour market opportunities for youth
21 February 2014,Thessaloniki, Olympion Film Theatre
Since 2009, Greece has been struggling with economic depression, severe youth unemployment (now around 55%) and plummeting wages and living standards. The debt crisis exposed structural weaknesses of the Greek economy, including the weak link between education and the labour market. Policy makers need to help young people make informed decisions about learning and working if Greece is to make the most of its rich skills reserves. This is the direction taken by recent national policies and legislation.
The event, which is organised jointly by Cedefop, the City of Thessaloniki and the Regional Directorate for Education and support by Europe Direct (Municipality), involves social partners and other labour market actors in drawing conclusions for future action. It is part of the European Youth Capital’s thematic focus on vocational education and training.
Cedefop will present recent data on the European and Greek labour markets and education systems and provide policy examples on what it takes to ease young people’s transition from education to work:
Which jobs will be most in demand in the near future?
Which skills do young people need to enter the job market and sustain a career?
What should policy-makers and other actors do to guide young people towards the best career choices?
How can policy-makers help vulnerable groups, such as early leavers from education and training?
A panel of labour market actors will discuss the practical implications of these ideas:
Where do we want to be in 2020?
What will it take to get there?