BERUFENET is an online career advice portal that contains information on future trends in several individual occupations.
Policy goal
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.
Mismatch
Part of broader programme, yet with explicit focus
The portal does not exclusively focus on skills mismatch, but career choices of individuals directly affect the extent of skills mismatch. With information provided on the portal, skills mismatch might become visible for participants in the labour market.
The Federal Employment Agency funds and operates BERUFENET.
Funding
BERUFENET is funded by the German PES. No information on the amount of funding is publicly available.
Intended beneficiaries
According to the Federal Employment Agency, the tool is intended to be used by a wide audience, e.g. by youths, adults, people who want to make career choices, apprentices, people in tertiary education, people interested in participating in tertiary education, employees, unemployed, institutions, employees of the Federal Employment Agency, etc.
Different LMSI from different sources (research institutes, federal offices and ministries, guild and chambers, associations) are used.
Financial schemes
None
Frequency of updates
The website is updated regularly (some areas daily, some monthly, some annually, and some due to certain events).
Development
In December 2015, the interface of the website was updated to improve user-friendliness.
Barriers
Internet access is required to access information on the website.
Success factors
In general, increasing availability and use of the internet should have broaden the user base of the instrument.
Monitoring
Progress could be measured by internet traffic/number of users. However, no information is publicly available if this is actually available.
Innovativeness
Very innovative
Combination and preparation of qualitative and quantitative labour market information.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
No information is publicly available.
Engagement of stakeholders
BERUFENET is a service of the German PES for its customers and therefore does not rely strongly on input from external stakeholders.
Transferability
Not easily transferable
Technically, it should be easily transferrable. However, success is dependent on data availability and user-friendliness.
Sustainability
There is no indication that the Federal Employment Agency will discontinue this instrument, and the internet will remain important in the future, as a channel for gathering information on skills.
Promotion of highly skilled migrants from outside of the EU.
Policy goal
The "Blue Card" wants to achieve the goal of attracting a highly skilled workforce from abroad in order to tackle specific mismatches in certain sectors of the German economy. Highly skilled is defined by a high level of education. The Blue Card contributes to this goal by enabling and facilitating the access to the German labour market. It is the basic way of access for foreign employees following the definition of highly qualified. The Blue Card is supplemented by a large number of initiatives under the roof of the “Fachkräfteinitiative”.
Mismatch
Explicitly designed to address skill mismatch
Immigration is only possible into jobs that are defined beforehand (Positivliste).
For specific sectors, certain occupations that are defined show a shortage of skills. In practice, this is elaborated by gross salary borders for future jobs in Germany (in 2017: university graduates: €50,800/year; shortage sectors occupations: €39,624/year).
Financial schemes
None
Frequency of updates
The income thresholds are adapted annually. Statistics on Blue Card holders are published regularly by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
Development
Income thresholds are redefined each year. This can be seen as an indirect way to steer migration via the Blue Card. Experience showed that many applicants were already resident in Germany (e.g. because they came to Germany to study at a university). It was therefore debated to decrease the income threshold. However, unions fear wage dumping, which is a strong argument for increasing the threshold. From 2016 to 2017, the income threshold was increased slightly.
Barriers
The Blue Card was criticised for the high bureaucratic burden that have to be overcome to apply.
Success factors
The high demand for skilled labour in Germany made the implementation of the instrument easier.
Monitoring
The number of immigrants holding Blue Cards is measured regularly. Information is published by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
Innovativeness
Slightly innovative
It is an initial step to the implementation of a controlled immigration scheme from non-EU countries to Germany.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
More than 50,000 Blue Cards were issued to the end of 2016. 90% of Blue Card holders worked in occupations characterised by skilled workers shortage. In this regard, the Blue Card seemed to be effective. According to some applicants, family reunion regulations could be eased.
Engagement of stakeholders
For applicants and employers, several channels can be used to gather information on the Blue Card.
Transferability
Easily transferable
Creating and updating a list of occupations in demand (the process to identify occupations with skilled worker shortage) is easily transferable, though reliable labour market information is necessary.
Sustainability
The Blue Card regulation is still very relevant, as skilled workers shortage is still prevalent in Germany.
Promoting growth of the eastern German economy in future-oriented branches that might lead to growth in employment.
Policy goal
Labour force supply in Eastern Germany will shrink earlier and stronger than in the Western Länder due to the massive decrease in fertility after the reunification and the persistent migration of young and well-qualified people from Eastern Länder to Western Länder. The goal of the project is to support the competitiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the economic growth in Eastern Germany. With this initiative, the Ministry of the Interior promotes and funds regional approaches of securing a skilled workforce. These approaches are capable of exploiting the employment potential as far as possible. The core activity - besides events and publications - is to fund and support a number of projects introduced by companies and company networks. The projects are identified via a contest. Therefore, by supporting the interplay of various regional actors, the focus lies in testing measures of securing a skilled workforce in promising sectors in terms of increasing demand for skilled personnel.
Mismatch
Explicitly designed to address skill mismatch
Targetted at skills mismatch in promising regional markets in Eastern Germany (10 sub-projects in different regions in Eastern Germany).
Forschungsinstituts Betriebliche Bildung (f-bb) and Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Bildungsforschung und Qualifizierung mbH (GEBIFO) - project management and transfer agents
Prognos AG - author of study on skilled workers in Eastern Germany
Ccompanies, chambers, associations
Funding
In 2010, a study for the project was funded by the Commissioner of the Federal Government for the Eastern German Länder for €260,000.
Intended beneficiaries
SMEs benefit from networking activities (e.g. by getting information on best practices in their field/sector).
LMSI showed how affected Eastern German Länder are from skilled workers shortage (e.g. high share of older workers in companies or declining numbers of school leavers in Eastern Länder).
Financial schemes
As the projects are based around networking, the organisation of workshops and the development of business and marketing strategies/recommendations, there are no financial schemes.
Frequency of updates
No information is publicly available.
Development
None
Barriers
No information
Success factors
The local and sectoral design of the projects ensure relevance for SMEs.
Monitoring
No information
Innovativeness
Very innovative
Regional/local focus on promising markets, instead of a broad national strategy.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
Conclusions of the instrument fed into the Demography Strategy of the Federal Government, which was implemented in 2012. However, information on the effectiveness of the instrument as a whole is not publicly available.
Engagement of stakeholders
Most projects are designed to involve a variety of stakeholders from different fields. Workshops and similar events were carried out regularly to enable continuous engagement of stakeholders.
Transferability
Not easily transferable
The instrument is tailored to the specific needs and conditions of the German labour market (less stable economic situation in Länder that were part of the former GDR, skills shortages).
Simulation model of the national apprenticeship market (supply and demand).
Policy goal
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.
Mismatch
Part of broader programme, yet with explicit focus
The model is not explicitly designed to tackle skills mismatch, however developments on the apprenticeship market could explain, lead to, or prevent skills mismatch.
Developed by the Federal Institute of Vocational Education (BiBB) and the Ruhr University Bochum on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).
Funding
No information
Intended beneficiaries
Results are published in the Berufsbildungsbericht (Vocational training report), and so information is disseminated to a wider audience.
The instrument itself is a short-term econometric forecasting and simulation model that creates labour market information.
Financial schemes
None
Frequency of updates
The model is updated annually.
Development
The instrument is updated and adapted to new developments anually.
Barriers
No information
Success factors
No information
Monitoring
No information
Innovativeness
Slightly innovative
The model allowes a very detailed modelling of the apprenticeship market in Germany (use of 210 determinants). It is innovative in the regard that it is specifically models the German training system, which is very complex and regulated.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
According to BiBB, predictions of the model were accurate. Results of PROSMIA are published annualy in the Vocational Training Report. Therefore, a wider audience might be aware of this instrument to predict supply and demand on the apprenticeship market.
Engagement of stakeholders
As PROSIMA is a continuous task of the Federal Institute BiBB and results are published in the Vocational Training Report, continuous engagement of stakeholders (understood as all stakeholders that benefit from this kind of LMI, e.g. employers) is institutionalised.
Transferability
Not easily transferable
Transferability is dependent on data availability and requires experience in (detailed) modelling. Also, the apprenticeship market in Germany is very fomalised, which might make it more suitable for modelling.
Sustainability
The instrument will continue for the coming years, as it is a continuous task of the BiBB.
General information on skilled worker shortages by occupation and skills level at the local level.
Policy goal
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.
Mismatch
Explicitly designed to address skill mismatch
The tool shows how different occupations, in combination with skill levels, are affected by skilled workers shortage.
Regional monitors are run by the regional offices of the Federal Employment Agency at federal state level, and are supported by public administration and social partners.
Financial schemes
None
Frequency of updates
Skilled worker shortage indicators by occupation, age, or gender presented on the website are calculated twice per year.
Development
No information is publicly available.
Barriers
An internet access is needed to access the website.
Success factors
Increasing availability and use of the internet should have broaden the user base of the instrument.
Monitoring
Progress could be measured by monitoring the number of users. However, no information is publicly available if this is actually measured.
Innovativeness
Slightly innovative
Easily accessible and customisable via the internet.
Sustainability
Evidence of effectiveness
No information is publicly available.
Engagement of stakeholders
No information is publicly available.
Transferability
Not easily transferable
The success of implementation is dependent on data availability and labour market data management: if data is available and accessible, the set-up of a similar website should be possible.
Sustainability
Yes, as monitoring of skilled workers shortage will remain very important.