Turning the Tide? The Profile of Greece’s Brain Gain Returnees

What bash Greeks who repatriated aft the economical situation successful Greece think? Credit: AMNA/Giannis Kolesidis

Greece’s authorities precocious released caller information suggesting that the state whitethorn beryllium transitioning from the crisis-era encephalon drain to a play of encephalon gain.

Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus said the “Rebrain Greece” platform, launched successful 2023, is gaining momentum successful its ngo to bring highly skilled Greek professionals backmost to the country. She added that truthful acold the programme has attracted implicit 2,000 registered workers and businesses.

Kerameus met with representatives of much than 30 companies participating successful the upcoming Rebrain Greece lawsuit successful New York connected December 7, aimed astatine connecting the Greek diaspora with occupation opportunities successful Greece.

Rebrain Greece provides a level for Greeks surviving overseas to research promising vocation prospects successful their homeland. Similar events person already been held successful Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and London.

“Our extremity is some nationalist and shared. You request specialized personnel, and we privation to repatriate arsenic galore of our compatriots arsenic imaginable backmost to the country. We privation to make new, well-paid occupation opportunities,” Kerameus said.

“Our effort is to place different endowment pools, since we person mostly exhausted the home workforce, to spell beyond our borders and find Greeks who near successful hunt of amended nonrecreational opportunities. We privation to pull them backmost to our homeland,” she added.

A caller survey by the National Documentation and Electronic Content Center (EKT) offers important information connected the Greeks who person returned to their homeland.

The survey asked the returnees astir their acquisition abroad, their instrumentality to Greece, the labour market, and the prospects for the future. The probe illustration included 602 citizens from the 13 regions of the country, who lived and worked overseas during the decennary 2010-2019 and contiguous person returned permanently and are moving successful Greece.

The bulk of returnees who participated successful the survey were men (72 percent), aged 35-54 (71 percent), highly qualified (79 percent clasp a bachelor’s oregon master’s degree), with studies successful Greece (87 percent, each oregon portion of studies).

Brain summation successful Greece to accelerate with amended institutions

To the question “What would assistance the repatriation of much Greeks abroad?”, 79 percent answered “Better functioning of the institutions” and 78 percent “Improvement and modernization of the structures and infrastructure of the state”.

Most (73 percent) said that the acquisition overseas made them much competitive, and they applied the know-how and skills they acquired during that clip to their existent enactment successful Greece.

The main reasons that led to relocation overseas were economical and nonrecreational (89 percent), and lone 10 percent were idiosyncratic and household reasons.

Sixty percent of the returnees were absorbed by the backstage sector, portion lone 11 percent became civilian servants. Also, 13 percent were self-employed and 3 percent were concern owners.

Tax incentives, particularly targeted astatine Greeks who repatriate, were not an important crushed for returning arsenic 84 percent said they did not instrumentality vantage of immoderate taxation inducement to return.

More than 67 percent of the repatriated person a household successful Greece and 52 percent of respondents person children.

The main employment sectors of those who returned

• Construction 11 percent
• Education 10 percent
• New Technologies – Information Technology 10 percent
• Consulting Services 7 percent
• Health 7 percent
• Working remotely for companies overseas 7 percent
• Wholesale – Retail 6 percent
• Tourism 6 percent.

Regarding monthly net successful Greece (gross monthly), 44 percent person net of up to 1,500 euros, 27 percent from 1,501 to 3,000 euros, and 17 percent from 3,001 upwards.

More than 1 cardinal near Greece successful the play 2010-2022

Greece has experienced a significant encephalon drain in the aftermath of the economical crisis. Thousands of talented Greeks emigrated to different countries, often successful hunt of amended economical opportunities and vocation prospects. The departure of skilled professionals has deprived Greece of invaluable quality capital, which is indispensable for economical maturation and innovation.

A recent study by the Institute for Alternative Policies (ENA) reported that betwixt 2010 and 2022, 1.08 cardinal working-age radical near the country, of which 234,058 were aged 15-24, 633,680 aged 25-44 years old, and 212,254 aged 45-64.

Related: Study Finds Brain Drain is the Biggest Worry of Greeks and Other Europeans