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Victoria Mindova

The most demanded employees in Greece this year are specialised vendors in different fields, medium and high level managers, technicians and skilled workers as shown by the data of the human resource company Manpower Group-Greece, which conducted an inquiry among 751 employers' organizations in the private and public sectors.

Despite the widespread unemployment, it is difficult to fill these vacancies because employers cannot find appropriate staff for them. "The most important conclusion that can be drawn from this year's analysis is that job applicants lack the experience and talent to manage a business," states Manpower.

In recent years, employers have been of the opinion that they can achieve more with less in order to adapt to the adverse economic conditions. However, now it seems that the uncertainty in the economic environment will continue, but the vitality of enterprises is decreasing. They cannot rely much longer on human resources that are not adequately trained. "An applicant can have good general skills, but if he or she lacks specific knowledge of a specific field or cannot fit into the working environment, he or she is inappropriate for the position," explain the specialists.

The main problem that employers most often encounter when seeking an applicant for a position is the lack of experience, the factor of emotional intelligence (soft skills) and educational training (hard skills - the ability to perform certain types of work or activity).

Experience is always valued and it gives priority to applicants when competing for a vacancy.

The so-called soft skills, or emotional intelligence, are no less important. These incorporate a range of personal qualities that make the applicant suitable for development in the working environment - communications, language, friendly attitude, willingness to work in a team, personal habits and optimism.

These qualities relate to a person's ability to effectively interact with colleagues and customers. Generally, they are applicable and important for the workplace as well as for the environment outside it. Experts point out that, in the long term, emotional intelligence of employees could be a more important resource for the enterprise than the diploma itself.

Another feature of today's labour market is that it is full of young inexperienced professionals with degrees who have no practical knowledge of a specific field. They are not willing to retrain in order to perform manual labour, but cannot be used with the package of knowledge that they offer in times of crisis. This explains the lack of people with practical technical skills (skilled workers, plumbers, electricians, etc.). "See the number of unemployed doctors and there are not enough plumbers, for example," states the company before GRReporter.

If you are an employer, the best way to build a good team of employees is by investing in company training of the staff. This is the opinion of 53% of surveyed employers. 43% rely on the internal patterns of operation. "These patterns are related to the flexibility of the working environment," explains Manpower. They allow the employees to work remotely, if this helps them achieve better results.

Furthermore, managers may seek among their subordinates people with growth potential and involve them in programmes for company growth. The opportunity for growth within the company motivates the employees to achieve better results.

Changing the positions in the working environment to detect the specific talent of individual workers is considered a successful practice. Only 3% believe that a high starting salary and bonuses can attract the right applicant.

According to 48% of Greek employers, today's applicants lack the knowledge of working with customers. The work / performance relationship also plays an important role (42%). Another problem of the staff is the lack of qualities like creativity and innovation as stated by 30% of respondents.

About 5% of employers are willing to hire an applicant who may not have the necessary experience and knowledge of the specific field but is willing to learn and grow in the specific professional environment. These companies most frequently collaborate with various educational centres or have their training departments create a professionally trained work force.If you are unemployed and want to find your place in the labour market, you should find a way to add new skills or knowledge to the experience you have gained so far. Do not be afraid to try a different path, even if it means that you will find yourself beyond the familiar. About 5% of employers are willing to hire an applicant who may not have the necessary experience and knowledge of the specific fields but is willing to learn and grow in the specific professional environment. These companies most frequently collaborate with various educational centres or have their training departments create a professionally trained work force. Experts say that is never too late to learn something new, to be useful to yourself and to others and encourage the older generation to take risks.