A shortage of skilled talent in the Greek labour market is highlighted by Greek employers, with 72% of them reporting that they are having difficulty finding them. This is according to the findings of the recent Employment Prospects Survey of ManpowerGroup for the second quarter of 2021.

According to the ManpowerGroup survey, the hiring intentions of 45,000 employers are higher year-on-year - compared to the last quarter of 2020. 14 of the 43 countries report the highest intentions of the last ten years. However, finding skilled talent remains a top challenge for employers worldwide - 69% report difficulty filling vacancies - the highest figure in 15 years for the second quarter in a row. Employers with the greatest difficulty are recorded in India (89%), Romania (84%) and Singapore (84%).

The incentives offered by Greek employers

Greek employers offer the following incentives to attract talent to their businesses:

• Education, Skills development or career guidance (55%)
• Flexible working hours (42%)
• High salary (39%) and Bonus and (29%)

On the other hand, worldwide the primary way to deal with the talent shortage is to offer work flexibility (67%) both in terms of hours and workplace. At the same time, 41% invest in training, skills development and mentoring.

Greek employers plan skills programmes according to ManpowerGroup

In times of transformation and uncertainty, personal and technical skills are more important than ever for employees and leaders alike. Technical upskilling, personal upskilling and development programs for managers and senior executives are key talent development and retention priorities for HR teams. Specifically, 42% of Greek employers plan to adopt programs to upgrade personal skills (eg time management, communication) (lasting 6 weeks or less). 38% plan to implement development programs for managers and senior executives. 37% plan to invest in technical upskilling programs (lasting 6 weeks or less).

According to employers in the ManpowerGroup survey, the biggest barrier to increasing the implementation of skills development programmes in their organisation is:

• Money (33%)
• Time (16%)
• Access to the right partners for upgrading/developing human resources (12%)

Investing in existing talent

It is known that retaining people is the best economic solution in the long term, compared to the process of recruiting and training new people. The cost of recruitment is 25% higher than the cost of retention. If organizations invest in their existing human resources, they will not only create more skilled workers. They will save time and money. Investing in people is an important way for an organization to remain competitive.