Policy instruments

The instrument, the Centres d'Insertion Socioprofessionnelle (CISP) is a centre that provides trainings for people not in employment. The CISP groups the competences previously implemented by the "Enterprises de Formation par le Travail" (EFT) and the "Organismes d'Insertion Socioprofessionnelle" (OISP). The centres, which are local non-profit associations, encourage the professional development of lower educated adults detached from the labour market (who completed mandatory education) by updating their general and technical skills. Every CISP covers at least one of the three domains mentioned through the operation of workshops. The CISPs give a personalised guidance to the intern all the way until reaching professional specialisation. The specialisation is chosen among a wide range of possibilities that match the skills needed in the labour market. The rationale is to prepare adult job-seekers with links to the labour market, and provide general and technical training for a given profession. Job-seekers are trained in the necessary and relevant skills needed in their desired profession, in a real working environment. The link between training and work is made stronger for all job-seekers, with a special focus on providing vocational guidance, basic training in transversal skills, and vocational training to provide job seekers with skills required for specific professions.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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

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.

The policy goals were the following: to reform the contents and structure of vocational training; to develop/introduce a modular training system; and to strengthen the links between education and training and the economy.
A new phase in the modernisation of the VET system began in Hungary in 2006, which concurrently meant renewal of content, methodology and structure. The key concepts of the new training structure are modularisation and competence-based training. Together with this, the content of vocational training has also been updated, and new professional and examination requirements have been developed. The Regional Integrated VET Centres (TISZK) were established from consortiums of 6 to 8 vocational schools in 2006. TISZKs provide a professional learning environment for theory and workshop-based practical classes of IVET. The training workshops are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. TISZKs constitute a network of multi-purpose and multi-functional institutions that meet the needs of youth VET, adult education and further education efficiently and economically; are able to respond to changes in labour market requirements; and stimulate real cooperation and planning among partners contributing to performing tasks.

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.

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.

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.

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 aim is to respond to a growing need of updated information from employers, social partners and other stakeholders of the labour market, in order to improve access to labour market information, to deal with mismatches, as well as to enhance the capabilities of the National Agency for Employment to provide and elaborate labour market analyses and forecasts.

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 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 addresses the problem of skills mismatch in the labour market. The policy goal is that the training delivered within a ALMP framework is correctly matched with labour market demands. Thus, the final goal is to improve workers' employability and competitiveness in the economy. The rationale is to carry out qualitative research about selected occupations in order to identify skill shortages and the main changes in skill demands (due to technological change, changes in regulation, etc.). This information should be taken into account for the design of training provision, within ALMP. Training provision within ALMP is structured through training courses for unemployed and professional certificates (VET managed by the PES).

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.