“Greece is changing for the better. “There is again an air of optimism and self-confidence, which is blowing in our country and the first to have to ride this wave are you, your generation,” said the Prime Minister. Kyriakos Mitsotakis who met last Thursday, at the Maximos Palace, with a group of students and young employees of technology companies, who are participating in the 12th Panorama of Entrepreneurship and Career, which takes place tomorrow Tuesday.
The Prime Minister listened to the concerns and worries of young people about the future, saying that “the most essential policy we can do for the new generation is to create more well-paid jobs.”
At the same time, he mentioned its importance public educationas “the big, most important social elevator, which will be able to enable a child if he works hard to get into a good public university, to pave the way for him to be able to find a good job and then find then his way “.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis added that the government is committed to promoting policies for tackling the housing problem, which mainly complicates the lives of young couples. “Housing is a very important issue that concerns us, because we see that there is a lot of pressure on rents and if someone does not have their own house it is very stressful, because the rent and the cost of housing is a large percentage of disposable income. “And this is something that concerns us and we will be very bold in our policies regarding the roof”, he said characteristically.
The alternatives for cheap housing
Regarding the planned policies, he specifically stated: “We are looking at a number of options for partnership with the private sector and at the same time utilization of the unexploited property that the public has. You can get, for example, a plot of land in the logic of the traditional consideration to offer to someone who will come to develop it, the opportunity to keep a part of the real estate he creates and another part to rent it, to rent it with controlled rents, which can meet the needs of people who can not pay market rents.
Second idea, we have a very big one stock of apartments which are closed at the moment and completely unused. So let’s motivate landlords or prospective landlords or tenants to build, upgrade and reduce their energy footprint so that all these closed apartments, which are essentially capital that yields nothing. and to no one, neither to the owner, nor to the potential tenant, to see how we can re-integrate this important stock into the real estate market.
Let’s look at the issues that concern her student housing. It seems inconceivable at the moment that there are universities that may have the potential and space, not to have found a way, through public-private partnerships, to build cheap and competitive student housing.
I am not necessarily saying it is free, but you know those of you who have studied outside Athens, what rents they can ask for. I imagine that there would be a great demand with a much lower rent to be able to have a decent student housing within the campus. “These are just some of the ideas we are developing at the moment to tackle this very thorny problem of housing and the rising cost of living as a whole.”
Low wages
Referring to fees The Prime Minister noted that wages are low in Greece and this can be corrected with government interventions, such as raising the minimum wage, but also by adapting the private sector to the new reality that must increase wages to find employees with the skills needed.
“Wages are low in Greece. We need to acknowledge this and beyond to see what we can do about the issue of low pay. Wages are low because we are carrying a decade of crisis and now the economy can grow, but we are starting from a low bar. How is it fixed?
The first, with state interventions regarding the minimum wage, because there we can intervene. We had the courage to proceed with a significant increase of the minimum wage by 50 euros per month, with the additional increase that we give from May 1, which is important for those children, for our young people who are on the minimum wage.
Beyond that, as we have said, an overall improvement in disposable income. Nominal salary matters but ultimately what interests you is what is left in your pocket. This means taxation, it means employer contributions, to finally have more money left in the employee’s pocket.
And beyond that, the private sector should do the same, that is, employers will have to adapt. I often hear complaints from employers, you hear it and I imagine you, Professor: “we do not find the employees we want.” Yes, this has a basis because there is a mismatch of skills on the one hand and demand on the part of employers on the other. My answer is “pay more”.
The Prime Minister referred to the new business environment and startups. “What is happening in the ecosystem of start-ups is very impressive. It starts, first of all, with a paradigm shift, just the idea that the young person can either think of building their own business or starting a start-up business and that this is an attractive career alternative as opposed to one that will thought, perhaps, the children of my generation where a priori you said that I would go to become an employee somewhere or become a freelancer “stressed Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while pointing out the important role that technology has already played in the modernization of the state: The fact that the state is being modernized sends a message that it believes in technology and as a tool to facilitate contact between the state and the citizen. “Technology is a valuable tool for providing better public services.”
He added: “Those who come from abroad, who have dealt with the issues of digital modernization of the state, are very impressed by the speed of our progress and I think by the ease of the interface that now exists between state, citizen and business.” .
Stopping the brain drain
Answering the questions of the young people about how he intends to deal with the brain drain, he noted that: “Greece can offer good jobs, good earnings and an excellent environment in which to work and live. “And I think that’s very important for young people who have left and are willing to come back.” He added: “Above all I stand in the belief that eventually the country will do well, so it is worthwhile to leave a good ‘headquarters’ abroad, possibly take my family, go back and rebuild my career and my life in Greece “.
In addition, he mentioned the need for better connection between Universities and businesses“I attach great importance to this and the bill we are bringing now for higher education frees universities to be able to connect much more easily with business, breaks down barriers and prejudices of the past, because a large part of the primary work, the spiritual property that can be the yeast for a business, will be developed in universities and research centers “.
“I think the future of the university is close cooperation with companies because companies know what they need in terms of skill,” said for his part the former Professor of ASOEE and inspirer of “Panorama of Entrepreneurship”, Iordanis Ladopoulos.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that his vision for the next four years will be to become the new “protagonists” again through policies promoted by the government. He spoke about the need to give more opportunities to young people and called on them to participate in the community, so that they can shape their own future.
“I think by nature young people are much easier to challenge power than to side with it. This is the rule and so I think it should be. Alas if young people are not in the front line to change what they do not like. But, participation in the commons is a prerequisite for being able to succeed in this change. And the biggest risk is for young people to feel that it is not worthwhile to engage with the public in any way, because their voice cannot be heard and things can not change. “And there we also have a great responsibility to give more opportunities to young people”, stressed Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
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