Eight in 10 graduates of the technical professions programme at AKMI Vocational Training Institute are already working, according to a nationwide MRB survey of graduates from the past three years. The findings were presented at an event entitled “Vocational Education Works – What the Data Says. What the Market Says”, held at AKMI’s premises in Athens.
The survey covers fields including automotive mechanics, electrical work, refrigeration and heating and plumbing. The event focused on how vocational education can meet labour-market needs, with contributions from Christina Paraskevopoulou, CEO of Alphabet Education, and Hermann Riedl, president and CEO of Inchcape Hellas, the official distributor of Toyota, Lexus and GAC Aion.
According to an announcement, the event was opened by Konstantinos Rodopoulos, vice-president of the European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (EVBB) and founder of the AKMI Group.
What the MRB survey shows
According to the findings presented by MRB managing director Dimitris Mavros, 82% of graduates are already working, rising to 91% among those who want to work.
The time taken to find work is particularly notable:
68% had found a job before graduating.
Of those who found work, 9 in 10 did so within six months.
84% work in a field related to their studies.
85% of employees have permanent contracts.
88% say they are satisfied with their job, rising to 95% among those working in their field of study.
Work placements also appear to play a decisive role: two-thirds of students who completed one received a job offer from the business where they trained.
The gap between Greece and Europe in technical education
Konstantinos Rodopoulos stressed that Greece continues to place disproportionate emphasis on university education, with around 25% of young people training for technical professions, compared with about 50% in Europe.
He said that in countries such as Germany and Switzerland, career guidance starts early and is based on each young person’s skills. He warned that without a change of course, the number of graduates in fields with limited demand will continue to rise, while digital and hybrid professions are shaping the future.
Electric and hybrid vehicles are changing technical professions
Hermann Riedl described the modern automotive technician as a professional who combines mechanical and electronics expertise, handles high-voltage batteries and uses advanced diagnostic systems.
He said hybrid vehicles now account for around 61% of new car sales in Greece, while the average age of the country’s vehicle fleet is 17.8 years. This means technicians will need to understand both conventional systems and new technologies for years to come.
Demand for specialist staff is already a major challenge for the sector. For example, the Toyota and Lexus network in Greece, which has around 75 service centres, is currently looking for about 100 technicians.
Christina Paraskevopoulou stressed that vocational education needs to be more closely aligned with the needs of the real economy.
“Vocational education needs to take on a different role. Not just an educational one. A developmental one,” she said, adding that specific skills, specialisation, practical training and a direct connection with the market are needed.
She noted that the green and digital transitions also entail a shift in skills, raising a practical question: “Behind every charger, every hybrid vehicle, every new energy investment, there is a very practical question: who will know how to operate it, maintain it and repair it?”
Working with industry and Toyota
“For us, working with industry is not just another partnership. It is how the market itself becomes part of education,” Ms Paraskevopoulou said. “You don’t wait for the market to change before training people. You prepare them for the change that is coming. That is why we invested early in electric mobility, and this year we moved into specialisation in hybrid technology with Toyota.”
For the “Hybrid Vehicle Technician” programme, Inchcape Hellas takes part in designing the training, starting with what the market needs. Students train in the technologies currently on the road: diagnostics for hybrid and electric vehicles, battery systems, high-voltage safety and charging systems. They complete their training with a work placement at service centres in the network, providing a bridge into employment. The first cohort of technicians specialising in hybrid technology is already training under this model.
The Alphabet Education CEO said the same approach is being applied with Honda and the Saracakis Group in modern motorcycle technology, and with Suzuki Marine in recreational boats. “For us, this is what innovation in education means: how quickly technology from the market reaches the classroom.”
Technical professions on the front line of the green and digital transitions
“The workshop of 2026 looks nothing like the one we remember. It has diagnostic laptops, high-voltage systems, batteries and software,” Ms Paraskevopoulou said. “The modern technician combines mechanical engineering, electronics and IT. This is a technology profession. And that is true everywhere: in a modern hotel with automation and energy management, on a boat, in a hospital.”
That is why, she stressed, technical education “is not a second choice. It is the choice.”
She described technical professions as being on the front line of the green and digital transitions: electricians for solar panels and chargers, refrigeration technicians for heat pumps and energy efficiency, automation technicians for industry and modern buildings, and medical equipment technicians for healthcare.
The next step: skills at every stage of working life
“A worker aged 35 or 45 does not need to start from scratch. They can add a new skill to what they already do,” Ms Paraskevopoulou said, referring to AKMI’s next steps.
AKMI is developing new specialisations in close collaboration with businesses, starting with the skills they find hardest to source in the market, and placing particular emphasis on retraining and upskilling people who are already working.
The same applies to artificial intelligence: “The goal is not for everyone to become an AI specialist, but to be able to use it in the job they already do.”