Can technology stop brain drain?

According to a recent survey, 138 foreign companies have established technology centers in Greece. [SHUTTERSTOCK]

Lately, Greece has been attracting tech companies that have set up research and development centers, known as tech hubs, and are looking for highly specialized local talent, but many young scientists from Greece are calling to return home and join their teams.

The Greek authorities are closely watching this process, which will help reverse the severe brain drain that Greece suffered during the years of the financial crisis, when hundreds of thousands of people, not all of them working in the technology sector, but very highly qualified, left the country. For better opportunities abroad. The term “brain gain” is often used by authorities to refer to this promising trend.

It’s not just foreign tech firms and other multinationals such as pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, consultants Deloitte and technology company Cisco that are creating the jobs.

In the year In 2021 alone, the number of employees of Greek startups grew from 7,000 to 12,785, an expansion of 82.6%, despite intense competition for programmers and engineers from long-established foreign companies. 2/3 of them work in Greece and the rest work in start-up offices abroad or are telecom workers.

A study by Endeavor Greece titled “2021 Greece-Tech Ecosystem Insights and 2022 Forecasts” shows that the number of tech jobs in Greece will increase by 36% in 2021. Greek startups such as Beat, Blueground, Hellas Direct, InstaShop and others are leading the way.

The recent rise in inflation and the threat of recession, is a major challenge for the technology industry globally. Some companies have started firing; Others have scaled back their recruiting and hiring efforts.

According to Endeavor research, 138 foreign companies have established technology centers in Greece; 73 are multinationals employing a total of 8,650 people in technology in Greece.

The largest such employer is telecom company Vodafone, with 3,882 employees in Greece, 1,140 in technology positions, followed by French digital business services firm Teleperformance (742 technology jobs).