Policy instruments

Identifying changes in the needs for qualifications/new skills. To design training measures for the unemployed and to guide (further) training in companies and in specific occupations, based on input working groups (PES and companies representatives). Working groups are created for specific sectors, made up of sectoral clusters of business representatives (e.g. in construction and building, business administration, chemicals and plastics, electrical engineering/electronics/ telecommunications, energy and environmental engineering, commerce, machinery/motor vehicles/metal, tourism, and health). These groups then formulate a list of current and future sector-specific requirements for employees and jobseekers in their sectors. The outcomes are used by AMS for the design of training measures for the unemployed and are also meant to guide (further) training in companies and in specific occupations.

Mismatched unemployed people face greater difficulties in finding employment than other unemployed workers. The instrument, therefore, focuses on this sub-group of the unemployed workers to promote their labour market integration. The aim is to help the unemployed to find a job and the companies to reduce their skill shortages.

Preparation of labour market related information to make it accessible and understandable for everyone. It helps all interested parties (PES employees, journalists, politicians, company representatives, persons who want to choose their career) to process information on the local, regional and national labour market.

To cover skill shortage in the field of nursing through information events. Fully supporting and financing the education of jobseekers with the outcome to increase the number of skilled employees in the field of nursing.

Increases the most needed skills in the labour market. The programmes are directly targeted towards the ‘knelpuntenberoepen’ (professions with shortages) – as identified by the VDAB (public employment service). The rationale here is that by allowing job seekers and enterprises to contribute to the database (by filling in career fiches), the database and career fiches are quickly updated according to current and actual supply and demand of skills, allowing for more effective and efficient matching.

Provide unemployed individuals (sometimes specific target groups) with the necessary skills and competences to carry out work within a specific enterprise. The rationale behind the IBO measure is that by bringing a job seeker and enterprise together, the VDAB can help develop a training and education plan that allows the job seeker to attain the skills required by the enterprise in question. The job seeker can learn while working at the enterprise and become acquainted with the organisation, prove themselves, and learn the necessary skills. A feature of the measure is that the job seeker receives employment at the enterprise once the training is complete. The rationale is that such specific matching between individual enterprises and job seekers, together with the feature that the job seeker becomes employed, promotes employment through a tailored matching in skills and competences to an enterprise’s needs.
The goal is to offer 13,500 training programmes in 2012 (11,979 reached), 15,500 in 2013 and 17,000 in 2014.

The instrument aims to analyse the supply and demand of skills in the labour market, to adapt training to the needs of the market and in doing so, to match the skills available in the labour market. It identifies and creates a list of jobs that are in high demand (around 40), analyses individually the skills of the job seeker, and offers him the possibility of being qualified and specialised in those jobs (among a wide variety of jobs). The job seeker passes through 3 different processes: information ("CEFo"), orientation ("Essais-metier") and specialisation ("formations qualifiantes"). The "Jobs in Demand" tackled are: those with quantitative shortages, those that require the acquisition of new skills, demanded jobs involving sustainable growth and jobs highly demanded during economic booms. The policy goal is to address the existing skill mismatches in the Wallonian labour market by upskilling job seekers. The aim of the instrument is to have a labour supply of skills more in balanced with respect to the needs of the employers, benefiting, in turn, the unemployed. The PES analyses which professions are in need of employees. In doing so, it identifies the skills needed to be able to work in those sectors or professions. This list is presented on the FOREM website and is regularly updated. Thus, the unemployed can identify what sort of jobs are available to them or what sort of skills they need to learn to find employment. FOREM also provides information on which sectors and businesses are expected to need skills and workers in the long term. This particular Skills Demand platform is aimed more at those who are currently unemployed. FOREM offers various instruments and mechanisms to gain training through one’s employer or as a job seeker (the individualized support initiative for instance). So once the unemployed know which skills they require, trainings is made more accessible as well.

The instrument is set to address needs of the employer through an internship, where the job seeker gets the skills required by the employer. The internship duration is between 4 and 26 weeks for people under 25 (over 25s and lower educated adults can intern for up to 52 weeks). There is a trial period of 2 to 8 weeks. After the formation-insertion contract, the employer has to offer a working contract to the intern with a length equal to the previous one. The rationale is to give job seekers professional experience and the opportunity to get hired in a company, while the Walloon employers get the best matching intern in terms of competence required by the vacancy. The programme targets, although not exclusively, young job seekers and long term unemployed.

The overarching objective of the initiative was to enhance labour market adaptability and effectiveness, as well as to strike a greater balance of labour market demand and supply by developing a system for workforce competence assessment by sectors and regions. The rationale of the Competence Assessment System can be defined, as follows: Forecasting the demand for labour force with specific qualification levels in specific sectors and regions. The policy goal, defined in section 2 were achieved through:
- Analysing and defining workforce competence requirements by considering EU, national and sector requirements and standards;
- Establishment of a Bulgarian Competence Assessment Network by sectors and regions and improvement of the coordination and information exchange of workforce competence assessment among national, branch and regional structures of the employers and trade unions and the responsible government institutions;
- Gaining national recognition and fostering prerequisites for the integration of the workforce competence assessment system in the future e-government so as to enhance adaptability and effectiveness, and to achieve a balance of the labour market demand and supply.

The programme attempts to address the problem of relatively high personnel turnover and job vacancies in the three targeted sectors, which is caused by the inconstant intensity of activity of companies in these sectors, resulting in skills mismatch. The policy goal is to: increase skills matching; and provide better and more sustainable job placements, leading to higher and better-quality employment. A full subsidy (100%) is given to employers of three sectors with inconstant activity intensity (Manufacturing, Construction, Accommodation and food service activities) to train unemployed and inactive persons, and re-train employed persons in skills that match to their business needs, which will be done in less busy work periods; and to provide scholarships for trainees (unemployed and inactive people).

The aim is to address the following problems: persisting downward trend in the number of economically active people in recent years reduced employment rate of the population aged 20-64 years; and increased unemployment rate. The key priorities of the National Reform Programme (2012-2020), of which the HRD OP's specific targets are focused in the area of unemployment and employment, are the fight against unemployment among labour market vulnerable groups, above all youth and long-term unemployed, and also the achievement of higher employment rate among older-age people.
Bulgaria's national targets to the Europe 2020 Strategy are: (1) at least 76% of the 20-64 year olds to be employed by 2020, and (2) reducing the number of people living in poverty by 260,000 by 2020. Attaining these targets is of paramount importance for the vision and strategy of the HRD OP. New working place 2015, as a HRD OP scheme, will contribute to achieving both national targets, i.e. contribute to increasing employment, especially of the most vulnerable groups in the labour market, and thus, to reducing poverty in Bulgaria.

To reduce unemployment amongst tertiary-education graduates by helping them find productive and suitable employment through acquiring work experience and specialised additional knowledge suitable to market needs. At the same time help businesses/organisations to improve their productivity and competitiveness by employing highly educated young graduates. The programme focused on the integration of highly qualified young people into the labour market by providing practical on-the-job experience in a company for a maximum period of 12 months.

The instrument addresses the problem of unemployment among young people. The aim of the Schemes is to provide young unemployed persons (below tertiary-education graduates) the opportunity to acquire work experience in order to improve their employability, at the same time, giving the opportunity to enterprises/organisations to use the services of those young persons at no financial cost to them. The scheme gives young graduates of secondary education the opportunity to enter/re-enter the labour market and improve their employability through acquiring training and work experience in companies and organisations.

The main objectives of the project are: keeping more people in the labour market by improving their employability and promoting the reconciliation of work and family life; and improved productivity and enhanced competitiveness of enterprises. The Scheme aimed to facilitate the employment of economically inactive and unemployed persons, who have difficulty entering or remaining in the labour market by way of some form of flexible arrangement.

To enhance the employability of unemployed persons and create necessary qualified workforce, in order to diminish skills mismatches in the local labour market. Review and evaluate the existing programmes for the long-term unemployed and people at risk of becoming long-term unemployed and, based on the results of the evaluation, develop an effective policy strategy in this area. Provide adequate training for the unemployed and others at risk of becoming unemployed. ‘Adequate’ refers to inclusion of, for example, long-term unemployed people in training programmes tailored to meet labour market needs.

The policy goal of Education and Work is to create a user-friendly tool communicating to the general public the concepts of the National Register of Qualifications, namely the Vocational Qualifications. It also serves as an intermediary platform connecting information on skills and corresponding work opportunities. The portal provides users with the opportunity to match their skills and qualifications with corresponding job titles and vacant positions. It also works the other way around: giving information on available training courses, exams and certificates for those interested in gaining skills required for specific jobs.

Active labour market policy for the long-term unemployed. The education scheme aim was to provide a determined and coherent skill upgrade that would strengthen the unemployed ability to get employed. This specific target group can be admitted to an education scheme, allowing the long-term unemployed learners to attend training for a maximum of 6.5 months within a reference period of 12 months.

The policy instrument addresses the issue of labour shortages in the field of ICT. As there is a serious mismatch between the supply and demand of such workers, more active measures are needed in addition to classical ones, e.g. increasing the number of study places and engaging qualified foreign labour. This implies that the possibilities for retraining and in-service training for adults have to be broadened.
The policy goal is to improve digital literacy (information and communication technology skills) of adults. The rationale for the intervention is to provide active and intensive retraining opportunities in the field of ICT for adults with higher education (or discontinued higher education, 50% of the curricula must be completed), who currently work in other areas (or are currently unemployed), but in the future are interested in working as software developers or more general, in the ICT field. The instrument contributes to increasing and enhancing digital literacy of adults through active, intensive and agile retraining programme.

The policy instrument comprehensively addresses the issue of better matching the needs of the labour market with the provided education and training. The policy goal is to improve and tighten the linkages between the world of learning and the quantitative and qualitative needs and expectations of the labour market. The rationale for the intervention is the creation and implementation of a systematic process to engage all relevant stakeholders, so that they can provide input into skills anticipation and give recommendations to upgrade competency standards, provide relevant training and courses, also retraining possibilities. The general aim of OSKA is to teach and learn about the right skills relevant in the society. The OSKA system creates a cooperation platform, which enables the exchange of information between employers and training providers and educational institutions to comprehensively analyse the growth potential of different economic sectors and their needs, and to facilitate the planning of education provision at different levels of education and by types of school, as well as in the fields of retraining and in-service training.

To enhance the return and re-integration of dropouts to VET schools, thus preventing their unemployment and reducing their vulnerability in the labour market. The policy goal is related to lifelong learning and the development of human resources, specifically the goal is to increase participation in lifelong learning according to the possibilities and needs of the population.
The rationale for the intervention is to increase the competitiveness of people with lower education and no formal qualification, who discontinued their studies at the time of the economic boom and after the collapse, and to equip them with skills and knowledge relevant to the labour market. The instrument contributes to achieving the policy goal by giving a second chance to people to return to school and finish their studies. The focus of the instrument is on the learner and his/her choice of specialty (personal preference), and not so much on national priority study specialties or areas.

The Job Bank Trial aims to find employment for persons at a potential disadvantage in the labour market, such as partially disabled persons, youth without education and the long-term unemployed.

The goal is to improve the professional skills of unemployed adults or adults who are at risk of being unemployed, enhancing their possibilities of finding a job or retaining one. It also aims to improve their capacity for working as entrepreneurs. The overall aim is to promote the availability of skilled labour. Education and training are key measures to help people meet changing skills requirements and improve the matching of supply of and demand for labour. Skills development of individuals has an important role in the implementation of ALMPs and in managing challenges of changing skills requirements.

The goal is to concretely apply the right to lifelong learning by enhancing access to training, independent of the employment record or situation. This instrument enables the accumulation of credits for the right to training for every individual since his/her entrance into the labour market. The account is entirely transferable from one occupation to another, and preserved when changing or losing one’s job.

Informing people in the labour market on career choice opportunities. It helps all interested parties (PES employees, journalists, politicians, company representatives, people who want to choose their career) to process information on the local, regional, and national labour market.

The goal is to enable different stakeholders (employers, employees, public stakeholders) to react to future skill mismatch. The instrument provides information on which occupational groups are already affected by skill shortages and where bottlenecks are likely to occur. The results are broken down by province. Together with the Arbeitsmarktmonitor (Labour Market Monitor), it features various functions, e.g. regionalised data on industries and occupations, visualisations of regional structural data, an overview of labour market relevant networks throughout Germany, success stories and contacts with experts in various labour market issues.

The instrument relates to 705 workers made redundant in 46 enterprises operating in the Publishing activities sector in the region of Attica. All of them are entitled to receive support in terms of counselling, training, business consultancy, self-employment subsidy and mobility allowance. Through a series of personalised services the instrument aims to support workers that lost their jobs in publishing enterprises due to the crisis. The personalised services, which are to be provided to the redundant workers consist of the following actions: occupational guidance (recording and investigation of the needs, skills assessment, personal and occupational development procedure, conducting the individual action plan, follow-up), training and vocational training, self-employment subsidy, job-search allowance and training allowance, mobility allowance.

The policy goal is the creation of new jobs and the support of entrepreneurship at the local level. The TopSA include actions such as training and education, work based learning and apprenticeships in private enterprises in Greece or abroad, the preparation of business plans, specialised research and evaluation services for start-ups, support for legal and tax issues, etc.
The goal of TopSA is that beneficiaries are able to:
- establish their own businesses that will benefit from the characteristics of their area
- qualify for other subsidised investment programs
- develop skills that will meet the identified needs of local firms that will hire them.

The aim of the Local actions for vulnerable groups (TOPEKO) is to contribute towards the integration or re-integration of unemployed people belonging to socially vulnerable groups, through a broad set of actions that cover additional needs of different beneficiaries with a special emphasis on their employment or entrepreneurial perspectives. The actions aim to mobilise local actors to create jobs and at the same time facilitate a versatile and effective preparation of unemployed beneficiaries to:
- cover job positions of existing businesses
- start a business that will benefit from the characteristics of their area
- gain qualifications to benefit from other investment programs
- acquire skills that will meet real and identified needs of local businesses that will hire them

Up-skilling and re-skilling graduates. Explicitly addresses the current shortage of skills in the ICT sector.

Improving employability of the long-term unemployed. Momentum consists of a number of projects aimed at improving the employability of individuals who are long-term unemployed. Participants receive training in areas with recognised skill shortages, where existing vacancies have been identified. The projects include an element of on-the job training in the form of work experience modules, as well as development of the skills required to obtain and retain employment. Momentum will also include projects specifically aimed at individuals aged under 25 who are long-term unemployed.

Improving employability of the long-term unemployed, as well as first time unemployed people following the economic crash, and skills shortages. Momentum consists of a number of projects aimed at improving the employability of individuals who are long-term unemployed. Participants receive training in growing sectors of the economy. It provides long-term unemployed people with access to a range of education and training projects, work placement/support and relevant industry and NFQ accreditation.

The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund mission is to help workers losing their jobs, due to the impact of globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis to find new jobs as soon as possible. The instrument addressed the problem of the closing of the Trento Whirlpool plant (with about 600 employees) and the need to re-employ the workers who lost their jobs, possibly in Trento areas. The rationale of the intervention is that the combination of both demand (companies) and supply (dismissed workers) side actions could increase the employment opportunities for the workers who lost their jobs. In addition, on the workers' side, the possibility to use more than one type of action (information, counselling, training, coaching, etc), and to be involved in training actions designed in accordance to specific occupational opportunities could result in a higher employability level. The instrument, as implemented in Trento, contributed to achieving EGF's goals, because the objectives and the structure of the instrument was absolutely consistent with EGF's objectives and fundamentals.

Facilitating the matching of demand and supply and sharing useful information with education/vocational training and labour market stakeholders and job seekers via an online platform. The system provides qualitative and quantitative information about economic trends, labour market forecasting and professional trends and provides information about the features of the so-called "professional unit" (unità professionali), professional needs, classified into professional units, linked to labour market trends; mid-term professional needs stimulated by new trends in sectoral economies, mid-term economic trends at the national level; economic trends at the local level; and employment forecasts for professional categories, both nationally and locally.

The goal of the instrument is to increase the unemployed person’s competitiveness and integration into the labour market by adjusting their skills and competences to employer demand. This is done by practical training of the employee in areas needed by the employer by organising training in the employer’s facilities. By training the unemployed person in the premises of employer, the level of compliance between skills and requirements is the highest. The trainee can start his employment as soon as the training ends, and both parties can be sure about the result of the process.

Provide support for projects of apprenticeship and the acquisition of sectoral competences, and also for the development of a sub-system for qualifications obtained in the working environment. The rationale for the intervention is to increase workforce competitiveness, ensuring opportunities to adapt to economic needs.

To provide information and forecasts on the short-term labour market demand for qualifications. This instrument mainly aims to identify short-term (up to 1 year) shortages of qualifications by indicating qualifications in high, medium and low demand. It is an instrument for vocational guidance and planning of the active labour market measures, especially training for the unemployed.

The policy goal is to modernise and update the technical infrastructure of the initial VET and lifelong learning. It widens the accessibility of practical training by providing workplace-based competences needed in the different sectoral occupations.

The goal of the policy is to ensure relevant and comprehensive information about labour market and education and training possibilities in Lithuania is provided. It is an open online information portal, providing information on qualifications, VET and HE study programmes, as well as about the providers of these programmes to the different target groups. The target group includes pupils and young people seeking to obtain the information about occupations and qualifications, students, employers, education and training providers.

The goal is to improve the employability of unemployed people in the financial sector. The Fit4Financial Market programme is a pilot for the larger programme Fit4Job in Luxembourg. The programme's objective is to proactively and closely monitor people who have lost their jobs in the financial sector, and to improve their employability. This is to be done through a diagnostic session, followed by specific training developed for the sector, and through collaboration with professionals from the sector to ensure the requirements of the sector and the job seeker concerned are met.

The policy goal is to bring together demand of employers and the supply of skills of potential employees. The measure was introduced in 2009 and continued as an important programme in 2013. The aim was to help soften the impacts of the European crisis on youth unemployment. The rationale behind this particular programme is that in times of economic difficulty, it can be more advantageous for an individual to keep studying and learning. As such, the School Ex Programme helps guide the graduates (or leavers) of secondary VET to the next level of study which suits the graduate, for which there is also demand in the labour market. In cases where a graduate wants to work, a suitable job is found via the PES.

To gain an extended knowledge, up-to-date information and labour market forecast, and to monitor the labour market situation and trends of the regional labour market. Delivery, publication and dissemination of studies and analyses of the situation in the regional and local labour market (including those part of regional observatories of the labour market), inter alia, in the scope of: (i) anticipated situation in the labour market of the selected professions, sectors/branches; (ii) anticipated expectations of employers in regards to the desired qualifications and training services; (iii) commercial migrations within the region.

Identification of future skills shortages and needs/demands. This project focused on the identification of the potential demand for VET, based on quantitative approach, having been inspired by the Pan-European model to forecast the supply and demand for skills, referring to levels of occupations and terms of development of regions and their relation to VET demand.

The instrument aims to address skill mismatch in the economy. The project implements statistical models as tools for systematic monitoring of labour market needs, developments in skills mismatch, and skills supply/demand ratios at regional level, as well as with respect to graduates.

The instrument addresses the skills mismatch in the economy and aims at linking employers' demands for skills with labour supply (via education and training). This instrument is the third (final) phase and continuation of previous projects National Register of Occupations I and II. After defining occupational standards that reflect employers needs for skills, and linking them to education and training (first and second phase), this instrument was finalised by the creation of the information portal with job classifications.

The policy goal of ISTP is to bring together the concept of skill-oriented guidance for the unemployed and a database of vacant jobs organised according to a standardised classification of occupations. This framework is meant to provide a job seeker with a personal skills profile that can be matched with skills and competences required for specific work positions and with actual job offers. The instrument (online guide) offers jobseekers information and counselling that is useful for finding a job that corresponds to educational attainment, experience, knowledge and skills of the user. It also presents job vacancies that can be searched and allow creating personal profile visible to employers. Employers can publish vacancies and search job candidates.

The policy instrument addresses the lack of relevant instruments and advanced tools that enable quality labour market forecasts, which, combined with a shortage of in-depth cooperation between the individual stakeholders (public institutions, business associations, research institutions, social partners), disrupts the consistency of labour supply and demand and quality forecasts for labour market needs. The instrument addresses this challenge by:
- developing a taxonomy of competencies, the establishment of an employment competency model and the implementation of its use, which is aimed at the effective coordination of supply and demand in the labour market.
- developing a model for identification of employers’ short-term needs for knowledge, skills and competences in the labour market, which will be realised by the implementation of employment forecasts.
- developing a multi-channel services with the emphasis on the use of modern information technologies, solutions and services in accordance with user needs and expectations.

PUM-O is an informal education program intended to empower young adults (15-26 year olds) for their labour market entrance and active participation in society, based on the acquisition of key competences. Focused initially on youth not in employment, education or training (NEET), who are especially vulnerable, PUM-O has three main objectives:
- formation of professional identity, developing the candidates' sense of initiative and entrepreneurship in order to help them enter the labour market;
- development of learning abilities and basic skills;
- formation of personal identity and the promotion of their active participation in society.

The problems addressed are the lack of skills for green jobs and environmental problems. The policy goal is to provide skills for green jobs to promote the greening of the economy and employability of workers. The final policy goal is to promote employment and competitiveness of the private sector through environmental transformation and greening. Thus, the instrument has three linked goals (environmental, economic and social). The programme was initially (2007-2013) focused on employed workers, but on the new ESF period (2014-2020) focuses on unemployed workers as well. In addition, the programme includes support to green entrepreneurs.

The instrument’s goal is to offer an upgrade of skills to the more disadvantaged groups of job-seekers in Barcelona, so that they can improve their employability. What is more important, in terms of the attention on skill mismatch, is that the attention of the policy is particularly focused on those skills that are important for the socio-economic development of Barcelona, such as new technologies and environmental skills. The rationale of the intervention is to improve the employability of vulnerable unemployed through guidance and training in strategic sectors.

The goal is to respond to the industry demand for computer programmers with skills in the SAP programming language. The instrument offered training courses in SAP technology for 200 unemployed people, through 8 courses for 25 people each. The duration of each course was 220 hours. The courses were organized in 5 cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Sevilla and Bilbao. Courses provided an international certification, which improved the employability of participants.

Through individualised support, provided by private suppliers who are publicly funded, job-seekers (who have been unemployed for a long time (about a year) or who are newly arrived to the country) are provided job-seeking support and matching to the labour market. The purpose of Support and Matching is to get a job or start studying as quickly as possible. The intention is to provide people who are far from the labour market with special and individually adapted efforts (matching, guidance) that lead them to work or study and increase their prerequisites for getting a job.

Provide job seekers and others concerned with advanced labour market information, in order to match demand and supply of skills. Deliver short-term (1 year) and long-term (5-10 years) skills anticipation for around 200 occupations (80% of the labour market), supported by advisory councils at sector level, alongside a council of vocational experts.

SBWA are designed to help unemployed benefit claimants enter the labour market, stay in employment, and reduce the time spent claiming the unemployment benefit (JSA). The instrument targets sectors with high volumes of current local vacancies, and has been designed to help employers meet their recruitment and skills needs, whilst also assisting benefit claimants to enter the labour market. This goal is met through the provision of training and work experience, as well as through linking job-seekers to locally available vacancies.