TÜV AUSTRIA Hellas, the leading Group of holistic services in Certification, Training, Technical and Industrial Inspections, Certification of Professionals’ Qualifications, Legal Compliance, Laboratory Analysis and Testing and Technological Solutions for Digital Learning, participated again this year in the 9th Delphi Economic Forum. Mr. Ioannis Kallias , the Managing Director of TÜV AUSTRIA Hellas, discussed the emerging trends in vocational training and certification of professional skills that shape the future workforce.
Specifically, Mr. Kallias, in the context of the panel “Empowering the Future Workforce and the Importance of Vocational Training“, mentioned that the issue of lack of suitable vocational skills is identified as a problem by 82% of employers in our country and by 75% of employers in Europe, making it a horizontal and international issue. At the same time, at a national level, Greece ranks among the last countries in Europe in developing a culture of education and retraining (re-skilling and up-skilling) by our businesses. In recent years, significant amounts have been invested in training and certifying professional skills through the resources of the Recovery and Resilience fund as well as other resources from the EU, but the results are currently not as desirable, based on feedback from employers.
Shifting away from mass training and certification models, avoiding one size solution approaches, introducing training and certifications tailored to the needs of each organization and business, and developing national sectoral and organizational capability models that allow for easier and targeted mapping of required skills at all levels of the market is considered an absolute necessity. TÜV AUSTRIA, by investing in unique services in Greece for the development of human capital, has introduced holistic solutions in this direction, addressing the modern needs of the market and entrepreneurship.
The panel discussed all the key issues related to the development and competitiveness of professionals, the global prevailing trends, the steps taken by governmental and other bodies, as well as what needs to change at a local level to promote the concept of vocational education and training. Panel participants included Athina Dessypri, President, Bodossaki Foundation, Greece, Olga Kafetzopoulou, Director for VET and LLL Planning and Development, Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, Greece, Loukas Zahilas, Head of Department, Cedefop, Greece, George Xirogiannis, Director General, SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises, Greece, and Anna Rokofyllou, President, Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation, Greece.
The 9th International Economic Forum took place in Delphi from April 11 to 14, under the auspices of Her Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou.