The extent to which vocational schools are promoting the new job skills being demanded by employers was examined in complementary studies conducted Portugal and Greece. First, data were collected from questionnaires administered to 22 Portuguese students in initial training in a transports course and 47 Greek students in an electrical course (19 students) and a mechanics course (28 students). All three courses led to a level III professional qualification. Next, random samples of 25 Greek youths and 31 Portuguese youths were interviewed 10 years after they had earned a level III professional qualification. Finally, job announcements published in newspapers were reviewed to identify the job skills being demanded by employers. The Portuguese and Greek students chose vocational studies for the same reasons, namely, to attain a professional qualification and feel better prepared for the labor market. Deep differences were discovered between the Portuguese and Greek expectations about the skills most desirable for development of professional activity. The skills deemed desirable by students in both countries were teamwork, ability to adapt to change, and organizational and individual work management. The skills being demanded by employers were as follows: communication and argumentation, teamwork, ability to adapt to change, and organizational and individual work management. (Contains 25 references and 6 tables.) (MN)