Creating Markets Out of Nothing: The Case of the Continuing Education System in Greece

  • Ioannidis YIORGOS Labour Institute of the Greek General Confederation of Labour

Abstract

The development of the vocational training policy constitutes one of the most interesting examples of a
policy which was introduced entirely due to the pressure exercised by the E.U., but it was implemented in such a
way that it served the domestic political economy. The seven laws and the dozens of ministerial decrees issued
from 1989-2004 reflect the effort made by the state to foster but also control the development of the market, the
conflict of interests among the main players–namely those of the state, the private training centers and the social
partners– but also the tensions generated by the pressures of the E.U. It will be argued that the development of
the continuing education market in Greece can be described and analysed on the basis of three distinct time
periods: (a) The period of initial capital accumulation (1989-1994), (b) the period of the controlled clearing of the
market (1994-2004) and, (c) the period of the liberalization of the market (2005 - ). In every stage the interests of
the main actors were accommodated accordingly, but this was achieved at the expense of the continuing training
system’s efficiency. The aim of the paper is to critically assess these developments by focusing on the latent
rationality underlying the state’s regulatory actions, as well as on the political economy which these actions have
engendered.

Author Biography

Ioannidis YIORGOS, Labour Institute of the Greek General Confederation of Labour
Economic & Social Developments Observatory

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Published
2015-02-07
How to Cite
YIORGOS, Ioannidis. Creating Markets Out of Nothing: The Case of the Continuing Education System in Greece. Journal of Research in Educational Sciences, [S.l.], v. 7, n. 8, p. 19 - 25, feb. 2015. ISSN 2068-8407. Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jres/article/view/450>. Date accessed: 29 mar. 2024.