Description
Country
Focus area
The Tension Indicator of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) provides an indication of the current tension on the labour market, varying from very generous to very tight, and describes the perspective for employees. The tension indicator is created by dividing the estimated number of open vacancies on the total vacancy market by the number of people receiving unemployment benefits (WW) for less than six months. The goal of the Tension indicator is to gain insight into the relationship between supply and demand on the labour market, both nationally and per labour market region.
Link
Reference/weblink
Implementation level
At what level is the initiative implemented?
National
Legal base
Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
The tension meter is an initiative by the Dutch PES, UWV.
Starting period
TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
2012
Perspective
PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
No
Policy area
To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
Funding
How it is funded?
Funded by national government
Skill mismatch
Skill mismatch target
What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
Skills obsolescence (some or all of an individual's skills are no longer relevant to the current employer or in the labour market generally)
Skills matching focus
How does the initiative address skills mismatches?
The Tension Indicator shows which professions have good job opportunities and where it makes sense to invest in training, upskilling or reskilling of people who are unemployed.
The Tension Indicator helps people estimate the current prospects of their job and if necessary look for a career with more future opportunities, which could lead to job/career transitions.
Skills delivered
What types of skill does the initiative deliver?
Job search skills
Career management skills
Methods
Methods
What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
Real-time labour market information (e.g. big data analysis of job advertisements, CVs)
The Tension Indicator uses a Job feed database containing all online vacancies. This is weighted and increased based on the total number of vacancies according to CBS (Central Statistical Office).
Use of skills intelligence
How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
The information from the Tension Indicator makes it clear which professions offer good job opportunities and where it makes sense to invest in training for people who are unemployed.
The information from the Tension Indicator provides insight into the most and least promising professions. Career guidance agencies and consultants can use this information to assist their clients in a successful search and making a sustainable decision.
With the overview the Tension Indicator provides, people who are searching for a job can take the job opportunities within different professions or the lack thereof into account. This leads to a more balanced labour market.
Stakeholders
Main responsible body
Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
National ministry
UWV (Institute for Employee Insurance) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW)
Other involved organisations
Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
National agency
The available insights from the Tension Indicator about the professions at MBO level have been coordinated with the Foundation Cooperation Vocational Education Industry (SBB).
Research centres, universities
Panteia helped develop the method for calculating the total number of vacancies per sector, professional group and region.
Jobfeed, a large online database and analysis tool from Textkernel, searches the internet every day for vacancies. The vacancy data is deduplicated and coded by Textkernel.
CBS provides data and is used as comparison material.
Jobfeed, a large online database and analysis tool from Textkernel, searches the internet every day for vacancies. The vacancy data is deduplicated and coded by Textkernel.
CBS provides data and is used as comparison material.
Beneficiaries
Who are the intended beneficiaries?
Adults in employment with upskilling potential
Sometimes the current skills of employees are not sufficient for the future, making their job vulnerable. The information from the Tension Indicator can be used to provide additional training for the employee within his / her own profession, making their position more sustainable.
Adults in employment with reskilling potential
The information from the Tension Indicator can be used to determine the job security of employees and, if necessary, give these employees the opportunity to retrain in a direction with better prospects.
Employed adults at risk of job displacement
Employed adults at risk of job displacement can use the Tension Indicator to assess the sustainability of their jobs and estimate the alternatives’ future prospects.
Sustainability
Success factors
SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
The information in the Tension Indicator is very extensive, information can be found per period, sector, labour market region or province, both at employer and employee level. UWV updates all dashboards monthly, so that the information is up-to-date, and is therefore useful and easily accessible to all kinds of stakeholders.
Monitoring and evaluation
MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
While information on some changes within the method of the indicator was found (see below), there was no information on any evaluations available. However, an evaluation report is available in which the methodology and results of Job Opportunity and the Tension Indicator are compared (https://www.s-bb.nl/file/34226/download?token=b2y7Jsik)
Updates
UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
Yes
In 2016, the method was adjusted in response to a change in a number of definitions and classifications on the labour market (introduction of the BRC 2014 occupational classification). The method was adjusted again in 2017, this time a change in the weighing method.
Effectiveness
EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
The goal of the Tension Indicator is to provide an indication of the current tension on the labour market from the perspective of employees. This goal is achieved: the information is detailed, recent, and accurate, as it is released quarterly and it compares to other CBS data. The Tension Indicator was also used as comparison material for the Job Opportunity initiative, which shows that this initiative is seen as a credible indicator on labour market information.
Sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
The information from the Tension Indicator is detailed, broad and available to many stakeholders. This initiative sets itself apart from other similar initiatives such as Job Opportunity by examining the job market from the perspective of employers rather than employees and job seekers. The Tension Indicator is also used for yearly UWV reports on most and least promising professions among other things. Overall, the Tension Indicator is a useful and reliable instrument for collecting labour market information, making it an initiative that is likely to continue for the next several years.
Other instruments in Netherlands
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