In their publication, the Financial Times refers to the efforts of the Greek government, led by Labor Minister Niki Kerameus, to repatriate talent from Europe.
FT: Kerameus leads efforts to repatriate Greeks from Europe and US
As reported in the relevant article by the British financial newspaper, the Labor Minister leads delegations of Greek companies to European cities from London to Amsterdam, aiming to convince skilled compatriot workers who had left during the economic crisis for abroad to return home to rebuild the country’s workforce with the key message that Greece has now changed.
Greek companies tour Europe to lure back skilled nationals https://t.co/gyP8lWavqE
— Financial Times (@FT) July 21, 2025
Niki Kerameus tells the FT: “Initially the atmosphere is negative. They see us as representatives of the state that drove 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.”
According to the article, Greece has been hit by a shrinking workforce and the loss of critical skills across all sectors of its economy. Between 2010 and 2021, after the country plunged into the most severe recession any developed economy has ever experienced in peacetime, over 600,000 Greeks, mostly young and highly educated, left their homeland.
According to research conducted by Brain Regain last year, low wages, limited career prospects, and perceived lack of meritocracy remain the main reasons why many of our compatriots hesitate to return.
Signs of reversing the brain drain trend
However, according to the FT, there are some initial signs of reversing the brain drain trend abroad in search of work and better career prospects. Specifically, in 2023, the latest year for which data is available, the number of Greeks who returned home was for the first time since 2009 greater than those who left, although it is unclear how many of them are skilled workers.
As Eurobank’s chief economist Tasos Anastasatos notes, 60% of those who returned to Greece in 2023 are aged 20-44, the most productive age group. With a series of incentives, the Greek government encourages repatriation, including a 50% income tax reduction for seven years for those who worked abroad for five years or more. About 6,000 people have benefited from this measure since 2020. However, officials say the effort is as much about perception as it is about policy.
Kerameus tour to New York within the year
Niki Kerameus will continue her tour to New York later this year. The events have been taking place since 2024. Greek companies such as Aegean and the Piraeus Port Authority along with foreign companies like Deloitte and Lidl are seeking new employees and sometimes offer them jobs on the spot, but it’s difficult to attract high-paid employees when wages in Greece are among the lowest in the EU, although they have increased by 28% since 2016.
According to the British newspaper, one of the strongest attraction factors is emotional bonds. Based on research by Brain Regain, an NGO focused on reversing brain drain, more than half of Greeks would be motivated to return home due to personal and family ties, while 32% missed the warm climate. As the Labor Minister commented: “They start thinking about what language their children will learn in school. And they realize they miss their homeland.”
