The Role of Employment Service Providers Guide to Anticipating and Matching Skills and Jobs Volume 4
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE ROLE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS GUIDE TO ANTICIPATING AND MATCHING SKILLS AND JOBS VOLUME 4 ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 1 16/11/2015 15:32:43 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 Print: ISBN 978-92-9157-633-3 doi:10.2816/691999 TA-04-15-483-EN-C PDF: ISBN 978-92-9157-634-0 doi:10.2816/816485 TA-04-15-483-EN-N © European Training Foundation / European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training / International Labour Office, 2015 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU institutions or the International Labour Office. Cover design: Article 10 Printed in Italy 2 The role of employment service providers ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 2 16/11/2015 15:32:46 Compendium on Anticipation and Matching of Skills THE ROLE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS GUIDE TO ANTICIPATING AND MATCHING SKILLS AND JOBS VOLUME 4 Tine Andersen, Lizzi Feiler and Gregor Schulz 3 The role of employment service providers 3 ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 3 16/11/2015 15:35:15 4 Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 4 16/11/2015 15:35:15 FOREWORD n a context of dynamic and complex labour markets, gathering Iintelligence on current and future skill needs can support better matching of training and jobs, which is of paramount importance for every country in the world. In recent years, better understanding of labour market needs and skills matching have featured high on the policy agenda of many countries, driven by both rapid technological advances and global competition. Skills matching can also help reduce unemployment, particularly among young people. It helps build a better life for individuals by improving employability, social mobility and inclusion. The European Union (EU) places great emphasis on skills anticipation and better matching. The Europe 2020 strategy and, in particular, the Agenda for new skills and jobs, recognise that anticipation and matching approaches and methods can help develop a skilled workforce with the right mix of skills in response to labour market needs, in a way that promotes job quality and lifelong learning. The EU Skills Panorama, launched in 2012, supports the effort to provide better data and intelligence on skill needs in the labour market. The tripartite representation of International Labour Organization (ILO) Member States agreed that countries that have succeeded in linking skills to gains in productivity, employment and development have targeted skills development policy towards three main objectives: • matching supply to current demand for skills; • helping workers and enterprises adjust to change; • building and sustaining competencies for future labour market needs. Such a strategy includes anticipating and delivering the institutions, as they make decisions on the type and skills that will be needed in the future. The ILO/G20 content of the training courses to be delivered; and training strategy A skilled workforce for strong, employers, as they take decisions on how to train sustainable and balanced growth (ILO, 2010) recognises workers and utilise skills. anticipation of skill needs as one of the principal building Jobs are changing rapidly and individuals are also blocks of effective skills development systems. changing their skill sets, either through education and Skills matching is a complex and dynamic process training or through their work and life experience. involving multiple stakeholders making multiple Education and training systems, in particular, have a key decisions at different times: individuals and their role to play in ensuring that opportunities are provided families, as they make decisions regarding their own for all individuals to develop their skills continually in a education and training; education, training and labour lifelong learning perspective, enabling them to adapt to market policy makers, as they decide on the rapidly changing labour market requirements and configuration of education and training systems, conditions. employment policies and investments; training Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs 5 ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 5 16/11/2015 15:35:15 Given the complexity and dynamics of the process, The six guides complement each other. They include perfect matching between skills demand and supply both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and is neither feasible (especially in rapidly changing labour advocate strong social dialogue and institutions markets and economies) nor necessary, given the fact conducive to better understanding the skills needs of that many people can do many different jobs and many tomorrow. They target professionals, policy makers, jobs can be done by people with different skill sets. researchers, social partners and experts who need an However, it is important for policy makers to be aware overview of how different anticipation and matching of the importance of reducing the risk of creating large methodologies can generate reliable labour market skills gaps that undermine the employability of information and how information and evidence can be individuals and impede the productivity of enterprises analysed and used for the development of policy and the growth of economies. interventions or adjustments in education and employment strategies. International experience suggests that a comprehensive labour market information system is the backbone of any The compendium brings together state-of-the-art education and employment strategy, but no single international good practice and experience worldwide. methodology can generate sufficient knowledge of The most common approaches used for skills matching labour markets to avoid or minimise skills mismatch. The and anticipation in different economic and country right mix and complementarity of different methods is contexts are reviewed, and their potential and essential for a reliable and comprehensive overview of methodological shortcomings for generating reliable skills demand and matching. data and information are examined. They serve as reference material for readers to explain the scope, For developing and transition countries, skills matching added value and limitations of diverse methodologies. and anticipation is becoming an even more complex task The guides also provide insight into how the results of given their particular socio-economic conditions, weak different methodologies can be analysed to provide institutions, capacities and governance systems. Many recommendations and policy formulations. developing countries have limited labour market information and more effort and investment is needed to Any feedback from readers and users of the guides is build robust information systems. At the same time, even very welcome, particularly regarding how the next limited evidence can be better and more efficiently used, editions could be improved or made relevant to their with proper methodological tools and analyses. circumstances and policy dilemmas, how they are used in different countries and contexts, including To respond to these challenges, the European Training especially in bringing stakeholders together, and which Foundation (ETF), the European Centre for the topics could be added in the future to complement the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and current compendium. the International Labour Office have joined forces and combined expertise and geographic coverage to Chris Evans-Klock, develop a compendium of methodological guides on anticipation and matching of skills supply and demand: Chief of the Skills and Employability Branch, • Volume 1: how to use labour market Employment Policy Department information ILO – International Labour Office, Geneva • Volume 2: how to develop skills foresights, scenarios and skills forecasts Madlen Serban, • Volume 3: what works at sector level Director ETF – European Training Foundation • Volume 4: what is the role of employment service providers Joachim James Calleja, • Volume 5: how to develop and run an establishment skills survey Director Cedefop – European Centre for the Development • Volume 6: how to carry out tracer studies of Vocational Training 6 Guide to anticipating and matching skills and jobs The role of employment service providers ETF_MG_brochure_2015_160x240 - last rev_161115.indd 6 16/11/2015 15:35:29 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS he authors would like to acknowledge Donna Koeltz Tand Olga Strietska-Ilina, the ILO technical editors, for their guidance and reviews throughout the drafting process, and for their contributions in the form of case studies. We are also grateful for the support of ETF colleagues: Anastasia Fetsi, for her support and content-related guidance throughout the whole elaboration of the guide, Timo Kuusela, as project team leader and critical contributor with first-hand experience, and Mara Arno, as project assistant, for their technical