Correlating horizontal skills with job specializations based on business sector dynamics in the regional labor markets. The case of attica region, Greece

Abstract

The correlation of horizontal skills and vocational specializations is a major challenge for regional employment policies and national economies. This is because this specific type of correlation is capable of shaping the vocational training model as well as the educational system at a higher level (universities) based on the business sector dynamics. The purpose of the article is to explore the correlation of horizontal skills and job specializations based on the business sector dynamics in Attica region, Greece. To achieve that, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. In terms of the quantitative research, a field research was conducted to collect primary data on a sample of companies the needs for horizontal skills and one-digit (ISCO-Codes) specializations are explored and recorded. Emphasis was placed on the recording of vacancies as well as jobs that are difficult to be filledin in the Attica region; their quantitative and qualitative characteristics were also analyzed. The results of the quantitative analysis are confirmed by the qualitative research findings, following the logic of the triangulation research methodology. Triangulation was originally proposed in social sciences to increase the credibility and validity of research findings. In other words, it is the use of more than one research techniques in the study of the same research field, each used to verify the results of the other. The methodology used in this research is innovative due to the use of geographic information systems (GIS).