ACTING ON SKILLS LOCALLY: OECD REVIEWS JOB CREATION
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•1,068 views
This document summarizes OECD reviews of local job creation policies in 13 countries. It finds that aligning training with employers' needs, better connecting education and employment, and stimulating innovation can boost quality jobs and productivity. Examples highlighted include industry training programs, apprenticeships, sector-based approaches, and efforts supporting inclusion and disadvantaged groups. Flexibility in policy allows for better coordination and integration of these efforts at the local level.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to ACTING ON SKILLS LOCALLY: OECD REVIEWS JOB CREATION
Similar to ACTING ON SKILLS LOCALLY: OECD REVIEWS JOB CREATION (20)
More from OECD CFE
More from OECD CFE (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
ACTING ON SKILLS LOCALLY: OECD REVIEWS JOB CREATION
- 1. ACTING ON SKILLS LOCALLY OECD LEED Forum - 26 June 2015 Presentation by Jonathan Barr, Policy Analyst, OECD
- 2. OECD reviews on Local Job Creation Reports published: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Korea,, United States, Czech Republic, England Released in 2015: Israel, Sweden, Flanders, France, Poland, Turkey
- 3. Overview of the reviews • Over 600 local stakeholders consulted across 13 countries • Used a dashboard methodology to assess contribution of local labour market policy to boosting quality jobs and productivity – Index on a scale of 1-5 representing strengths and weaknesses of programme and policy approach 3
- 4. Unemployment within local labour markets in the wake of the crisis 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 Ballarat-Bendigo Ipswich-Logan Hamilton ThunderBay Mauricie Estrie Usti SouthMoravia Antwerp Limbourg CergyPontoise Clichy Arles Marseille Lyon Ardeche Dublin SouthEast Haifasub-district Yizrae'elsubdistrict Trento Busan Bucheon Stockholm Gavleborg Belfastregion Nottingham KingstonUponHull SETA NorTec Semca GreatLakesBay AUS CAN CZR BEL FRA IRE ISR ITA KOR SWE UK US Pre-crisis Post-crisis
- 5. • Efforts are needed to align the training system with employers and target SMEs • Employers can take a lead role in the design and provision of training opportunities • By stimulating local sectoral networks • Better connecting them to colleges and universities through apprenticeship and work-based training models Examples: Using industry reps as trainers (United States); Employer Ownership Pilots (UK); Second Career programme (Canada); Skillnets (Ireland) Addressing skills shortages and mismatches
- 6. • Cluster and sector-based approaches are being implemented to better connect education and world of work • Labour market information and counsellors are playing an important role in guiding people into new and growing career opportunities Examples: Local pathway models with green and energy sectors (California); Strategic clusters (Korea); Regional niche sectors (Quebec, Canada); Workforce Intelligence Network (Michigan); Talent Houses (Belgium); industry advisory boards (Australia), ALLIANCE project (France) Adjusting to new areas of growth and opportunity
- 7. Stimulate demand and strengthening productivity by better utilising skills
- 8. • providing technical assistance and setting an example • working with supply chains and employer networks to stimulate innovation and help employers ‘raise their game’ • putting in place management and leadership training programmes Examples: Wine sector (Niagara Falls); Practice labs for innovative work organisation (Flanders, Belgium) In some countries, the government and its partners are…
- 9. • Many countries are delivering targeted programmes to people (e.g. youth and migrants) and places/neighbourhoods • Growing focus on prevention and early interventions – role of mentoring and counselling • Efforts are being made to leverage broader local resources Examples: Pathways to Education (Canada); Unga-in (Sweden), neighbourhood renewal strategies (Northern Ireland), local development companies (Ireland) Supporting inclusion
- 10. Dashboard index: Local flexibility/adjustability in the employment policy framework 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 United States Flanders (Belgium) Canada Czech Republic Korea France Northern Ireland (UK) England (UK) Trento (Italy) Sweden Israel Ireland Australia
- 11. Dashboard index: Flexibility tends to improve policy integration and coordination 4.5 4.5 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.5 4.5 4.0 4.0 3.0 3.5 3.5 3.0 4.5 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 United States Flanders (Belgium) Canada Czech Republic Korea France Northern Ireland (UK) England (UK) Trento (Italy) Sweden Israel Ireland Australia Degree of Flexibility Degree of policy co-ordination and integration
- 12. • Flexibility in budget management • Negotiating performance management frameworks • Using data to stimulate cooperation and continuous evaluation Examples: VDAB (Belgium), Workforce Investment Boards (United States), Local Employment Councils (Korea); Workforce Planning Boards (Canada) How are countries injecting local flexibility and integration?
Editor's Notes
- We launched this project to understand the role of local labour market policy in contribute to quality job creation and getting people back to work. A key part of the project was looking at local practices and partnerships in case study areas and the extent to which policies were joined up locally bringing together the employment service, with training providers and economic development organisations to better match the supply of skills to demand. To build comparisons across participating countries, we developed a “dashboard” methodology, which looks at 16 indicators along 4 thematic areas within each country. As seen from the graphic – the four themes are represented by colours with four indicators within each. Within each indicator, we have assigned a value of between 1-5 to represent the relative strengths and weaknesses of the policy approach. This dashboard was developed by looking at a range of qualitative and quantitative information. We also consulted extensively with local, regional, and national stakeholders about the results and policy approaches – over 600 across 12 countries.
- Across the case study areas examined for this project, concerns continue about persistently high levels of unemployment, which are placing pressures on the social fabric The OECD unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.9% in March 2015, with a cumulative decline of 1.2 percentage points since the peak reached in January 2013. Across the OECD area, 42.4 million people were unemployed, 6.6 million less than in January 2013. The euro area unemployment rate was stable in March, at 11.3%. Income inequality has reached record highs in most OECD countries and remains at even higher levels in many emerging economies. The richest 10 per cent of the population in the OECD now earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10 per cent, up from 7:1 in the 1980s and 9:1 in the 2000s. Unemployment Rate in Sweden increased to 8.30 percent in April of 2015 from 8 percent in March of 2015. Unemployment Rate in Sweden averaged 5.85 percent from 1980 until 2015 The local level is where jobs are created and destroyed. Some areas have been disproportionately impacted by the crisis because of the skills and industrial composition within their local labour market. This why new strategies are required to re-tool local economies and build inclusive and sustainable growth
- Empowering businesses to grow and to hire workers is at the heart of the philosophy underpinning job creation. Ensuring firms can access the skilled workforce and the financing they need is critically important and there is scope to better incorporate the local and regional dimension into these efforts. An advantage of a bottom-up approach is that institutions can adapt both the mix of provision and curricula to local needs, including local employer demands Our research has shown that one way of addressing potential skills shortages and mismatch is by ensuring that employers are fully involved in the employment and training system. This means providing employers with a forum to advise on their training needs, while also having them take a lead role in the delivery of training opportunities to develop a skilled workforce. Across the OECD, we are seeing comprehensive efforts to align the skills systems with employer demands including targeted programmes at SMEs, which face particular barriers. In countries, such as the United States, Australia, and Sweden, industry representatives are used as trainers, which helps to build credibility and ensure that curriculum is aligned with the needs of the labour market. Employers can also take a lead role in facilitating workplace training opportunities. In the UK, Employer Ownership pilots have been introduced giving employers direct access to government subsidies for workforce training as opposed to the traditional arrangement whereby all government funding goes direct to colleges and training providers. A second round of the pilot programmes is also testing out the development of new Industrial Partnerships - involving employers, unions and others – with a remit for taking wider responsibility for skills development in a place or sector. Employers can also take a lead role in facilitating workplace training opportunities. While Ireland received a lower comparative score because of its narrow focused apprenticeship system, Skillnets provides a great example on this issue. It is a state-funded, employer-led body that co-invests with employers, particularly SMEs, when they co-operate in networks to identify and deliver training suited to their workforces. A network of SMEs, which are mostly sectoral or regional, is guided by a steering group of the local representatives.
- What we have have seen that cluster/sector based approaches can be used as a way to better connect high schools with technical and VET systems to set out clear pathways connected to the world of work in local areas of opportunity In Korea, for example, a number of key sectors are identified are the regional level and comprehensive strategies are then developed to foster growth in these industries. In Bucheon (which is a suburb of Seoul), the city’s growth strategy has also identified the importance of attracting firms through industrial clusters that exists in the region. For example, in the lighting sector, companies such as Samsung and LG, are located in the city along with other SMEs. The city has emphasised the importance of intensifying research and development around these clusters by strengthening linkages between industry and education institutions. In Antwerp, Belgium, several sectoral networks (called Talent Houses) have been established to bring together educational providers and labour market actors, aiming at promoting smooth transitions from education to work. In better connecting the education system to the world of work, we see that labour market information plays a critical role in providing youth and unemployed adults with information on new opportunities, the education required, and expected wages. For youth in particular, counsellors within high schools can play a critical role in making them aware of their career options and required training courses. Lastly, an important policy trade-off that needs to be considered when developing cluster approaches relates to missed opportunities from promoting broader economic diversity. There is risk from picking sectors, which in the end may not be bring their full growth potential
- The first two indicators had more of a supply side focus but a new area for public policy involves stimulating the demand for skills by working with employers to better utilise the skills of their workforce When employers are reporting skills shortages, these approaches avoid rapidly developing a training course to meet their needs and first focuses on whether there are issues related to the structure and organisation of work within the company
- In Flanders, Belgium, collaborations have been built between the unions, academics and government representatives to help managers to promote better skills utilisation in a number of different sectors. Such collaboration is particularly in evidence is the province of Limburg. The fragility of the local economy, which has traditionally been based on low-skilled work and a few major employers, was recently demonstrated by the movement of a major employer, Ford, out of the region. Local policy makers are now faced with the problem of finding new employment for low skilled ex-factory workers whose transferable skills are limited. At the same time, there is a desire to move the region towards more productive higher skilled employment. The local ACV union has responded by setting up practice labs for innovative work organisation, in cooperation with a coalition between academics, unions, enterprises and consultants (Flanders Synergy), subsidised by the Flemish government. Each lab covers seven themes, each of which is a different area where the manager can have an influence. One theme, for example, has been exploring new ways that firms can expand their market base to improve the quality of their organisation (in terms of efficiency, flexibility, quality, innovation, sustainability) while also improving job quality. Supervisors play the role of coach and act as a sounding board for participants who have questions, both within and outside of the lab sessions. Participants receive assignments to translate theory into practice when they return to the workplace. Unions report that the workshops have improved their relationships with local employers. In Ontario, Canada, local community colleges and universities appear to be particularly useful partners in helping to raise product market strategies locally. Niagara College, for example, has not only geared their curricula towards meeting local industrial demands in horticulture and wine making (an example being the Winery and Viticulture Technician programme), but has also set up an applied research unit which helps local firms to upgrade their products and business strategies. It collaborates with firms in areas such as product and process applied research, engineering design, technology development, product testing, proof of concept, piloting and problem solving. In 2011, there were 64 applied research projects in progress with more than 50 industry partners.
- Many OECD countries are designing policies targeted to specific people and places/neighbourhoods within a region and there has been some success. For example, in Sweden, the Unga-in project was launched in response to the riots in Stockholm. The project targets drop-outs who are not participating in employment or skills programmes. The goal of the project is to give young people greater ambition and motivation to participate in the labour market. Participants meet with staff in a “job garage” where there are provided with counselling and mentoring opportunities in a more informal setting. In Israel, 21 Employment Orientation Centres have been created as a one-stop-shop for arab-Isreali job seekers to provide training, job placement and career guidance services. 4. In Northern Ireland, Neighbourhood Renewal (NR) is a cross-government strategy that aims to bring together all organisations working on issues that will impact on disadvantage and deprivation in 36 targeted areas – 15 of which are in Belfast. They are responsible for developing and implementing agreed local plans. These plans cover a range of physical, social, environmental and economic regeneration activities – including employability and skills development
- I have highlight a number of local employment and economic development initiatives that we have learned about during our series of 12 country reviews. They clearly demonstrate the potential for the local level to take a leadership role in job creation strategies. One consideration is that the local level can only develop strategies in so far as it is enabled by national policy frameworks. Based on previous LEED work which has highlighted the importance of flexibility for the employment service in taking a leadership role, we have examined how much flexibility is provided across the 12 countries. When we talk about flexibility, we are not referring to operational flexibility but the ability of the employment services to influence and adjust their: Strategic approach Programme design Eligibility criteria Budget and performance management; and Outsourcing arrangements Here, the results are quite interesting because as you can see, countries which are decentralised politically (outside of Australia) tend to have more flexibility within the public employment service.
- Based on our flexibility measure, we also assessed the degree of policy coordination and integration. By this, we looked at the extent to which the employment service works in partnership with training organisations and economic development agencies. You can see here that there is a positive relationship between flexibility and policy coordination, which suggests that injecting greater flexibility into the management of policies could bring about reduced silos locally The one outlier within our study is the Czech Republic and Martin will touch upon why this is the case. At the low flexibility side, Australia is an outlier and this reflects a specific initiative that was introduced by the government to better connect actors locally – a Local Employment Coordinator, who is a government agent designed to facilitate partnerships on the ground.
- In terms of injecting greater flexibility and integration locally, we are seeing several interesting approaches being taken. In Flanders, Belgium, VDAB allows 15% of local budget envelopes to be managed flexibly by local employment offices to design programmes and strategies in partnership with the social partners. In the United States, there are about 600 Local Workforce Investment Boards, which manage employment and training programmes locally. These board are made up of employers, community college representatives, economic development actors, and other non-profit organisations, leading to some innovative job creation approaches. Lastly in France, Employment Pacts in the Ile de France region bring together local actors to highlight the difficulties and specific needs of an area and to develop a common strategy. Their signatories , namely the region, the department and the community agree on common goals and actions for a period of three years.
- In conclusion, I hope that this presentation has highlighted some interesting practices across the participating countries, which can serve as a basis for mutual learning. I have had the fortunate opportunity travel to all 12 countries participating in the project. One factor which is common across all the countries and for which international comparison cannot be made is the amount of passion, knowledge and expertise at the local, regional and national level. Thanks!