Policy instruments

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.

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.

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 instrument addresses the need for relevant decision making data and approaches to help students or their parent to choose an appropriate field of education (secondary level) or specific school. The reason for setting up the scheme is to satisfy the demand for relevant data and support for the career decision making of secondary level students.

The centres target vocational training of enterprises as well as individual learners. The centres aim at creating greater focus on the quality and effect of vocational training system. The objective of the VEU-centres is to strengthen the cooperation between educational institutions and, through cooperation, get a larger volume of vocational students and thereby establish a more stable and flexible supply of continuing vocational education. All providers of adult vocational training are associated with one of the 13 VEU-centres, each coordinating guidance activities, contact to enterprises and employees etc for a specific geographical area.

The policy goal of the instrument is to raise the number of skilled workers and to influence the decision of young people to choose vocational trainings where more skilled workers are needed. The scheme provides subsidies to businesses who agree to sign an internship agreement with a student from one of the favourable educations. It is especially designed to meet future skill needs, as the employer federations, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, will decide which educational programs are eligible for the scheme. In addition, it provides guidance to the students or employees who wish to take a vocational education program, with good opportunities for internships and job opportunities in the future.

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 develop career guidance in the national system of education seeking to cope with the current and future skills mismatch. The general goal of the policy instrument was to provide easily accessible and high quality career guidance services and to guarantee that the development of the career guidance system in Estonia is systematic and sustainable.
The policy goal was related to lifelong learning and the development of human resources, specifically the goal was increased participation in lifelong learning according to the possibilities and needs of the population. The development of the Career Guidance System in Estonia contributes to the reduction of the future skills shortages through the following tasks: development of the national system of career guidance in the system of education; development of career education in general and vocational schools; development of the provision of career information and career counselling in regional information and counselling centres, including the creation of quality assurance system; development and introduction of ICT applications in guidance and counselling (questionnaires for choosing suitable occupations and the ability to recognise suitable professions etc); and strengthening of cooperation and information exchange within the institutional network in the fields of education, training, guidance, youth work and labour market in Estonia.
As the policy goal was to increase participation in lifelong learning, the instrument contributed to it by methodologically and systematically helping youth in their (career related) decision making process and making career studies and career planning part of their ordinary, everyday education. Furthermore, with the introduction of ICT applications, digital literacy was improved which nowadays is an essential part of lifelong learning. Institutional cooperation in the field of career guidance and counselling was strengthened through the creation of the Cooperation Council (Koostöökogu), which united various ministry representatives, youth organization representatives and employer federations etc. Also, during the programme period, various temporary working groups were assembled to solve relevant issues.

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 goal was to develop educational counselling and professional guidance services so that they meet the needs of all working-age adults and improve the availability of skilled workforces in the different regions of Finland. The instrument offers information, guidance and counselling services to those who: (1) are looking for information on educational possibilities and jobs; (2) wish to improve their professional knowledge; (3) wish to change professions or move to a new job; or (4) wish to improve the professional skills of their workplace or community.

The aim is to anticipate the skills needs in the different occupations to design the initial vocational education programmes and vocational training programmes. All the results about future jobs and skills needs are published and disseminated to those responsible for education and training programmes within the whole country.

The aim is to increase the number of jobseekers trained in line with companies and sectors' skills needs. Training for jobseekers is chosen after local diagnosis of companies and sectors needs.

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.

According to BiBB, the forecast of the apprenticeship market is very complex as it depends on the interaction of four dynamics (population growth, school leavers, labour market, economic development). PROSIMA helps to understand and predict developments in the apprenticeship market and the impact of policy measures that affect the apprenticeship market. Politicians have to react to developments in the apprenticeship market, e.g. to prevent skills shortages in specific sectors or to promote specific occupations. POSIMA helps to understand these interventions and measure their effects.

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 Training Voucher program aims to achieve a structured path for the entry of unemployed people into the labour market, which will potentially lead to a placement in the private sector of the economy. The action aims at the empowerment and the upgrade of the skills of the unemployed adults aged 29-64, through a combination of training, internship, counselling and certification. Through the matchings between learners and companies, the action aspires to generate new jobs after the programme’s lifetime. Thus, hosting companies are encouraged to utilize other actions of subsidising labour in order to hire the interns after their internship.

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

The main policy goal is to offer under 18s the possibility to achieve a formal IVET qualification within the regional IVET system through pathways which are: a) shorter than those delivered in State education vocational and technical programmes (5 years long); b) explicitly and tightly linked to the local labour markets needs and structures; c) recognized, in their final qualifications at national level. The main problem the policy instrument addresses is to raise the initial level of knowledge and skills of under 18s who do not chose to enter a 5 years education programme, enabling them to find employment with a qualification or to continue in the upper secondary and/or tertiary education or training system. The instrument contributes to achieving the policy goal through the identification and provision of IVET courses to be offered and delivered throughout the regional territory by accredited training providers and a certain number of upper secondary schools. IVET courses supply is supported, within the programme, by other complementary activities like the development of courses prototypes, the delivery of IVET leaving prevention measures, training for trainers, innovative pilot-projects, training standards' updating.

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.

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.

To reduce the skills mismatch in the aviation maintenance sector by improving training availability and ultimately, the employability of people working in that sector. This project provided basic and advanced training in aircraft maintenance, avionics systems, aircraft structures and composites, which laid the foundations for expert knowledge, competences and licensing in the aviation maintenance sector. This served to improve the MCAST’s training programme portfolio in this area and provided better trained people for this sector, to thus counter the lack of skills found in the aviation maintenance sector.

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.

Supplying young people with information about the present situation and trends in the regional and global labour market, to help them in making educational and professional decisions; supplying vocational counsellors, teachers, parents with the same range of information to make them able to help young people in their decisions; and monitoring the labour market for education authorities. Support for decision making for pupils, young graduates, career counsellors, parents, regional authorities, and school authorities is provided by popularizing analyses of regional labour market.

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.

Projects analysing how the structure of competences is changing in the labour market. This extensive research project seeks the answers to the key questions about the future asked by schoolchildren, students, employees, employers, and public institutions responsible for shaping policies related to human capital at both national and regional levels: What subjects of studies to select to have desirable knowledge and skills after graduation? What competences to hone to build the best professional career, one that will be in demand in the face of dynamic economic changes? How to plan the development of the team, so that the firm gains a lasting competitive edge founded on the team’s qualifications? Finally, what changes to introduce at the state level to support the building of an innovative economy based on human capital?

Comprehensive support for vocational education in the Małopolska region, aimed at improving its quality. The Strategy prepared by Małopolska Voivodesip (Malopolska Voivodship is a regional government unit/regional public authority) is aimed at comprehensive support for the vocational education system in the region, with the use of instruments available in the Human Capital OP and in the Regional Operational Programme. The emphasis is especially put on co-operation between schools and enterprises, as well as organising internships.

The policy goal is to gradually reduce the number of unemployed graduates from public universities and polytechnic institutes by limiting the number of vacancies in the public higher education institutes, taking in consideration the level of unemployment of graduates in the calculation of the number of new places to be opened. It is an instrument regulating vacancies to be opened by calculating formulae of employability of graduates. There is a set of formulae that must be applied by each public university and polytechnic institute every year to determine if they can increase or must decrease the number of vacancies for each of the bachelors and integrated master courses they intend to open.

The policy focuses on matching the supply of higher educated graduates with the demand of the employers, the adaptation of curricula and strengthen the link between higher education supply and the changing demands of the real economy. The instrument has been designed to assist the decision making at national level and thus reduce the gap between the supply of higher educated graduates and the demand coming from the labour market. It has been used to forecast trends by occupation and thus inform the national decision making process, as well as at the university level, with respect to the trends of the labour market and help adjust the structure of the university studies, adjust curricula and education plans and ultimately assist in creating a better match between education and the needs of the enterprises.

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 was designed to help graduates’ transition from education to work. Counselling in career planning and career guidance provide better match of students‘ knowledge and skills to labour needs, thus contributing to better quality of study and easier labour market integration. The instrument promotes further activity and development of career guidance, especially career counselling for students in higher education, with the aim of achieving timely career planning and development. This will ensure:
- better employability of graduates and their more efficient labour market entry.
- better alignment of acquired knowledge with labour market needs.
- elimination of discrepancies between the study programs and labour market demand.
- reduction of dropout and shortening the length of studies.

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.

eVŠ was developed for the purposes of:
- determining students’ eligibility to study and other rights chargeable to public funds.
- HE policy planning and the monitoring of the HE system.
- the monitoring of a network of HE institutions and study programmes.
- the monitoring of the employability of higher education graduates, which will enable appropriate professional and career counselling and will provide the basis for forecasting the needs for higher education staff in the labour market.
- public information.
- for research, analytical and statistical purposes, i.e. for the implementation of statistical, social and economic and other research activities in the area of HE. eVŠ addresses the fundamental need for the monitoring of students' employability, related to the question of transition from education system to labour market, and the problem of poor competencies - work match. eVŠ also addresses the general public policy trend of increased transparency, accountability and evidence-based decision-making, the growing international competitiveness of HEIs and the ever-increasing need for collecting and processing data.

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.

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.

The instrument aims to tackle the barriers to work faced by 16-24 year olds (who in the UK are disproportionately more likely to be unemployed than the general population) before young people leave education. The policy goal is to help reduce unemployment and economic inactivity, and to support the associated individual and societal benefits of early employment. The intervention aims to combat the barriers to work faced by young people before they leave education, and to facilitate a more effective school to work/training/further study transition. To do this the pathfinder programme established at least 1 full-time Jobcentre Plus Programme Advisor in each area to work within schools to provide students with information on traineeships and apprenticeships, accessing work experience, the local labour market and soft skills that employers expect (such as team working, punctuality, etc).