Πάνω από μια δεκαετία αφότου μια οικονομική κρίση πυροδότησε μια μαζική έξοδο, η κυβέρνηση επιδιώκει να ανασυγκροτήσει το εργατικό δυναμικό της.

Η υπουργός Εργασίας της Ελλάδας περιοδεύει στην Ευρώπη για να πείσει τους συµπατριώτες της να επιστρέψουν και να ανοικοδοµήσουν το εργατικό δυναµικό της χώρας, περισσότερο από µια δεκαετία αφότου χιλιάδες µετανάστευσαν για να βρουν καλύτερες προοπτικές κατά τη διάρκεια της κρίσης χρέους της χώρας. 

Η Νίκη Κεραµέως ηγείται αντιπροσωπειών Ελλήνων εργοδοτών σε ευρωπαϊκές πόλεις – από το Λονδίνο µέχρι το Άµστερνταµ – και στέλνει ένα τολµηρό µήνυµα: Η Ελλάδα δεν είναι πλέον η ίδια χώρα µε αυτήν από την οποία έφυγαν. 

“At the beginning, the atmosphere is negative,” Kerameus told the Financial Times. “They see in us the representatives of the state that pushed them away. And the challenge is even greater: to show them that today’s Greece has nothing to do with the Greece of 2010 or 2012.” 

Greece has suffered from a shrinking labour force and a loss of critical skills across the economy. More than 600,000 mostly young, highly educated Greeks left between 2010 and 2021, after the country sank into the most severe recession of any developed economy during peacetime. 

Low pay and limited career prospects, as well as a perceived lack of meritocracy, remain key reasons many are reluctant to return, a survey last year by BrainRegain showed. 

There are early signs that the outflow of people could be starting to reverse. In 2023, the latest year for which figures are available, more people arrived than left for the first time since 2009. It’s unclear how many of those are skilled workers. 

Sixty per cent of people who returned to the country in 2023 are between 20 and 44 years old, the most dynamic working years, according to Tassos Anastasatos, chief economist at Greece’s Eurobank. 

The Greek government has a range of incentives to encourage returnees, including a 50 per cent income tax reduction for seven years for those who worked abroad for five years or more. About 6,000 have taken advantage of it since 2020. But officials say the effort is as much about perception as policy.

Niki Kerameus pitching a bold message: Greece is no longer the same country as the one skilled workers fled © Greek Ministry of Labour

Kerameus is bringing her roadshow to New York later this year. The events have run since 2024. Greek companies such as Aegean and Piraeus Port Authority, along with foreign businesses such as Deloitte and Lidl, headhunt new employees and sometimes offer them jobs on the spot. But it is tricky to lure back high-paid staff when wages are among the lowest in the EU. 

Average wages have risen 28 per cent since 2016, but earnings for professionals making more than €1,600 a month have barely kept pace with inflation. 

“You can’t build a sustainable recovery if you’re not paying professionals competitively,” Bank of Greece economic adviser Dimitris Malliaropulos told the FT. “There’s no growth without human capital. And without serious investment in life-long learning — still well below the EU average — we risk falling further behind.”

Among those persuaded to return was Avgousta Stanitsa, an architect and AI researcher who moved back to Athens after nearly a decade in the UK. She landed a role in data and AI at EY through a ministry job fair — while five months pregnant. “I was impressed that my pregnancy wasn’t seen as a barrier,” she said. “It felt like attitudes in Greece were shifting — around work, motherhood, and culture. 

“I knew I could bring back what I’d learned abroad,” she said. But she acknowledged the trade-off. “Salaries don’t compare to the UK or elsewhere in Europe. But with the tax benefits, I’ve been able to maintain a decent quality of life.” 

Emotional ties remain the strongest pull. More than half of Greeks would be motivated to return by personal and family bonds, according to the survey by BrainRegain, an NGO focused on reversing brain drain. About 32 per cent missed the warm weather. 

“They start thinking about the language their children are going to learn in school,” said Kerameus. “And they realise they miss home.”

For others, returning is more about opportunity. Panagiotis Kantiotos, an electrical engineer, returned after 11 years in France to work on the Crete-Attica interconnection, an infrastructure project. “You don’t turn down something like that in your own country,” he said. 

Most of his peers remain abroad. ‘‘If Greece wants to bring back more of its talent, it needs more than sentiment,’’ he said. ‘‘It needs structure.”