Description
Country
Focus area
The Committee initiates projects/workshops/lectures that aim to identify changes in the needs for qualifications in collaboration with experts from companies. Based on these projects, the Committee develops continuing education and training (CET) programmes to make it easier for jobseekers to re-enter the world of work.
The initiative identifies (short and medium-term) 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).
The initiative identifies (short and medium-term) 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).
Link
Reference/weblink
Implementation level
At what level is the initiative implemented?
National
Legal base
Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
Other: cooperation of PES with Social Partners
Starting period
TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
Implemented in October 2009 as a response to the economic crisis.
Perspective
PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
The Committee has continually initiated projects, workshops, and or lectures that aim to identify changes in the needs for qualifications in collaboration with experts from companies (usually of more qualitative nature). Based on these projects, the Committee develops continuing education and training (CET) programmes to make it easier for jobseekers to re-enter the world of work. The committee montiors new developments and formulates reactions to it (e.g. "New Digital Skills" Report Nov. 2019.
Policy area
To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
Funding
How it is funded?
Other
It is part of the core work for the Austrian public employment services, thus covered by their budget.
Skill mismatch
Skill mismatch target
What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
Skills obsolescence (some or all of an individual's skills are no longer relevant to the current employer or in the labour market generally)
Other
PES, employers and other sector experts cooperate to identify
skills needs.
skills needs.
Skills matching focus
How does the initiative address skills mismatches?
The initiative identifies changes in the needs for qualifications/new skills to design training measures to guide
(further) training in companies and in specific occupations
(further) training in companies and in specific occupations
The initiative identifies changes in the needs for qualifications/new skills to design and/or initiate training measures for the unemployed
Preparation of labour market related information to make it accessible and understandable for everyone. It helps all interested parties among which persons who want to choose their career) to process information on the local, regional and national labour market.
Preparation of labour market related information to make it accessible and understandable for everyone. It helps all interested parties among which company representatives) to process information on the local, regional and national labour market.
It provides information to potentially skills mismatched people to help them to adapt to (local) labour market needs.
Promotes stakeholder cooperation to identify skills needs.
Skills delivered
What types of skill does the initiative deliver?
General employability skills (team working, communication, etc.)
Job search skills
Methods
Methods
What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
Employer surveys
The project uses a wide array of inputs (secondary use)
Skills foresight
The project uses a wide array of inputs (secondary use)
Expert panels
Expert panels seem to be the main method to evaluate new developments / outcomes from the analysis of other sources.
Use of skills intelligence
How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
One of the policy goals of the initiative is 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).
The initiative is used to design training measures
The initiative is used to guide further training
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.
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.
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.
Stakeholders
Main responsible body
Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
National PES
The Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS)
Other involved organisations
Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
Social partner: employer organisation
Main target group. Are responsible for putting the knowledge of the committee into practice.
Social partner: trade union
Are responsible for putting the knowledge of the committee into practice.
Training Providers
The labour market research and career information department (ABI), in cooperation with the Institute for Research on Qualifications and Training of the Austrian Economy identified organisational change processes and qualification requirements in multiple workshop series.
Other
The Standing Committee is meant to prepare employed and
jobseekers for future changes and challenges in the labour market
via active labour market policies, especially in times of underutilisation of economic capacities. Stakeholders (in the
educational system as well as in the labour market, e.g. PES,
employers, employees) are responsible for putting the knowledge
into practice. For example, active labour market programmes
calls for tenders of the Austrian PES are often based on input
provided by the Standing Committee.
jobseekers for future changes and challenges in the labour market
via active labour market policies, especially in times of underutilisation of economic capacities. Stakeholders (in the
educational system as well as in the labour market, e.g. PES,
employers, employees) are responsible for putting the knowledge
into practice. For example, active labour market programmes
calls for tenders of the Austrian PES are often based on input
provided by the Standing Committee.
Beneficiaries
Who are the intended beneficiaries?
Young people with low levels of basic skills /early leavers from education or training
Insights of the committee are relevant for employees and apprentices (including young ones) in the sectors (clusters) relevant for the Standing Committee that want to acquire new skills to gain better employment opportunities.
Adults in employment with upskilling potential
Insights of the committee are relevant for all the employees that want to acquire new skills to gain better employment opportunities.
Adults in employment with reskilling potential
Insights of the committee are relevant for all the employees that want to acquire new skills to gain better employment opportunities.
Other
Focus is to voice the insights from employer side (and transfer it to the insights for all others). Companies intend to profit from the know-how acquired by the committee.
Sustainability
Success factors
SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
The structural change in the labour market (e.g. digitisation) increase the probability that insights are effectively put into practice by stakeholders.
Monitoring and evaluation
MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
Attendance at the events could be seen as a indicator for progress or success of the instrument, however no information is publicly available if attendance is actually measured.
Updates
UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
More attention over time has been given to priority groups with a migrant background and to expand the offer of German language courses. Also, recently more fundings are being spent of women in order to facilitate their participation into the labour force.
Yes
Several publications per year between 2010 and 2020
Effectiveness
EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
There is no evaluation or assessment of the effectiveness. The measure focuses strongly on gathering company experts’ views. At an early stage, other experts/institutions were included. The measure might gain in effectiveness if researchers were included in the process to comment on the views of company experts. Despite stakeholder engagement and a wide range of information relevant to skills anticipation being available, there is a degree of uncertainty about the extent to which it is used to inform decisions within the education and training system; perhaps more so in higher education than in relation to VET/apprenticeships.
Sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
As the tasks of the instrument are not tied to a specific time frame, as skills needs and trends are always changing, the Standing Committee will remain relevant. For example, digitisation of the labour market became a more and more important topic during the last few years. The Standing Committee published several reports regarding this topic from 2015 to 2017.
Other instruments in Austria
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