(L-R) Dr. Dimitris Doulos (Senior Associate Dean, Deree-ACG), Maria Rigaki (EY), Mary Lampaditi (moderator), Claudia Carydis (VP – ACG), Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Nikoletta Karaiskou (GEK TERNA), Fani Meleti (Gordair Handling), Vangelis Kanellopoulos (WorkInGreece.Io), Haris Daskalothanassis (Deree-ACG)
Dozens of human resources specialists and administrators from major Greek and international companies, along with academics and business school students, attended an open discussion on the issue of legal immigration of skilled workers to Greece. Such workers are deemed necessary in order to cover part of the 100,000-plus vacancies in critical sectors of the Greek economy, such as tourism and hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and IT. These vacancies are a result of Greece’s rapid economic development combined with the demographic challenges that are beginning to plague all Western economies.
The discussion was organized by the School of Business and Economics of Deree – The American College of Greece, in cooperation with the college’s Student Management Society. It took place on December 10, 2024, at Deree’s John S. Bailey Library Events Hall. Dr. Dimitris Doulos, Senior Associate Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Deree–ACG, opened the proceedings and welcomed the evening participants, noting that Deree-ACG is committed to working closely with Greek enterprises in order to offer the best possible education to its students.
In a one-to-one discussion with labor affairs journalist Mary Lampaditi (Protothema), Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Nikos Panagiotopoulos said that there is a lot of room for improvement in expediting the process of issuing the required permits (visa, social insurance, tax ID) for international workers invited to work in Greece.
Panagiotopoulos said that a new bill that will accelerate and simplify the cumbersome application process will be introduced for approval within the first quarter of 2025. Among the interventions in the works are the digitalization of significant parts of the process to reduce waiting times (about six months today) and the issuance of longer-term residence permits to meet the needs of specific sectors such as construction.
The discussion with the minister of Migration and Asylum was followed by a panel of industry representatives that discussed some of the dysfunctions of the existing system, such as the lack of Greek consulates or adequate consular personnel in target countries or delays at the local government level in Greece. They also highlighted the lengths to which serious companies go in order to help newly arrived employees acclimate and feel at home in their new environment. It quickly became obvious that companies invest significant amounts of resources in order to recruit and retain quality international employees.
The industry panel comprised Vangelis Kanellopoulos, CEO of WorkInGreece.io, the first recruitment platform for Greek companies and international workers, Maria Rigaki, a lawyer and partner at the international consultancy EY specializing in employment and social security law, Nikoletta Karaiskou, group HR director for the GEK TERNA S.A. construction concern, Fani Meleti, human resources director for the airport services and logistics company Goldair Handling and George Gogos, HR Operations senior director for the hospitality group Sani/Ikos.
The panel of industry representatives was also moderated by Ms. Lampaditi.
One of the key insights that emerged from this panel was that Greece – and Europe – must quickly rid themselves of the illusion that qualified international workers are clamoring to enter the European labor market under any conditions. It was made clear that labor markets in emerging economies are proving very competitive magnets for highly skilled workers. As an example, Ms. Rigaki of EY said that Indian IT professionals command significantly higher salaries in their home market than in the E.U.
The event was made possible with support from WorkInGreece.io.