The document discusses the role of ICT in enhancing employability, identifying conceptual frameworks and providing anecdotal evidence of effective initiatives. It highlights the importance of skills, socio-economic factors, and the need for training schemes that adapt to long-term employability needs. Additionally, the implications for policy suggest a coordinated approach to ICT access and digital competence across various sectors, especially for disadvantaged groups.

1. ICT for Employability: Conceptual Frameworks, Anecdotal Evidence and Policy Implications Gabriel Rissola Scientific Officer, ICT for Inclusion Joint Research Centre (JRC) Institute for Prospective Technological Studies The European Commission’s Research-Based Policy Support Organisation

2. IPTS: Part of Joint Research Centre of the EC: 7 Research Institutes across Europe Mission: “to provide customer-driven support to the EU policy-making process by developing science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic as well as a scientific/technological dimension” Institute for Prospective Technological Studies

3. Employability frameworks: McQuaid and Lindsay (2004) ATTEMPT TO OVERCOME SUPPLY-SIDE VS. DEMAND-SIDE DICHOTOMY Skills and attributes demanded by employers depend upon the changing environment Family-work unbalance, geographic location or recruitment methods can limit the employability of well prepared job seekers Training schemes based on employers’ immediate-term needs are not adapted to long-term employability of job seekers/workers Individual factors Personal circumstances External factors Employability skills and attributes Essential attributes Personal competencies Basic transferable skills Key transferable skills * High level transferable skills Qualifications Work knowledge base Labour market attachment Demographic characteristics Health and well-being Job seeking * Adaptability and mobility Household circumstances Caring responsibilities Family responsibilities Housing circumstances Work culture Access to resources Transport Financial capital Social capital Demand factors Labour market factors Macroeconomic factors Vacancy characteristics Recruitment factors Enabling support factors Employment policy factors Other enabling policy factors

4. ICT Training for Employability framework: Garrido, Sulivan and Gordon (2010) >> Labour market, policies and society seen as part of the contextual factors >> The worker (and his/her subjectivity) at the centre of the scene

5. ICT Training for Employability framework: Garrido, Sulivan and Gordon (2010) Social actors delivering ICT training: employability enabler (both in the supply AND demand side)

6. Good practices on ICT for labour & economic participation Anecdotal evidence I: the case of Immigrants 27% of 60 Good practices are on ICT for Labour and economic participation (against 9% of 119 initiatives on Job finding and recruitment & Support of ethnic entrepreneurs we identified in “Overview of Digital Support Initiatives for/by Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities in the EU27”, a 3 years older IPTS publication)

7. What the initiatives provide Anti-discrimination support: content on specific Member States’ legal regulations against discrimination in the labour market. Migration Online (DE) Training competences for employability: skilling and re-skilling IEM in order to help them improve their employment possibilities Arbete initiative (SE), DO IT! (BE), Itpreneurs (NL) and Key Competences for All (EU) Training and searching for a job: training to search for a job and creating services that enable a better matching of job demand and offers, specifically targeting IEM. Surfen zum Job (DE), Integration exchange (EU) and Online Job Centre for Foreigners (CZ)

8. Competences assessment: help participants identify, evaluate and assess their skills and competences (addressing the issues of not recognised educational attainments and hidden soft skills) Ad astra (RO), Kompetenz-Erfassungs-Notebook (DE), Nos Quartiers ont des Talents (FR) Training for ICT and media and creative jobs: training in ICT skills related to the "media and creative sector", such as audiovisuals and graphic design. Mixopolis (DE), Fast track to IT (IE), Create+ (UK) Financial inclusion: improved bank and remittance services by and for IEM Votre banque ici et là-bas (FR) What the initiatives provide

9. Workers Discrimination overcome Increased employability through re-skilling, re-qualification and recognition of competences Facilitated access to resources which can support entrepreneurship Labour market More efficient job supply-demand matching through targeted services Potential workers adapted to more flexible work schemes (e.g. Telework) Contribution to satisfy the deficit of digitally competent workers in ICT-related industries What the initiatives provide

10. e-Facilitators (social workers, intercultural mediators, e-riders, librarians, etc) are an emerging job profile in the e-Inclusion field They are contributing to equip potential workers with a skill increasingly demanded by emerging as well as traditional jobs (digital competence) e-Facilitation itself is an emerging profession, not duly recognised as such by professional regulatory systems in Member States In consequence, no formal education curricula satisfies its complex and specific training needs Anecdotal evidence II: the case of e-Facilitators Consulted initiatives: Circuit Riders (UK), Conecta Joven (Spain), Digital Outreach Trainers (UK), European VET Solutions for e-Facilitators (EU)

11. Workers Equip e-Facilitators with the right competences and targeted resources Enable their training by using eLearning tools and online resources Increase their employability by pushing the recognition of their competences and profession Facilitate their mobility through the standardization of the professional profile and related education Support the training of TSO volunteers and staff delivering digital literacy and social services Labour market Again, mobility Contribution to formal economy (professionalised volunteers  paid workers) Multiplication of digitally competent workers: their pupils, and themselves! What the initiatives provide

12. ICT is key for the New Skills for New Jobs Agenda Digital Competences key for future jobs, including outside the ICT industry ICT is needed to access employment opportunities Learning with ICT opens up learning opportunities in LLL context : distance, flexible, multimedia learning ICT is key for non formal and informal learning (for all), of particular relevance for disadvantaged groups (migrants, youth at risk, etc) Policy implications: a reflection Policies addressing ICT access and developing digital competence are becoming more and more critical for all policy actors Opportunities offered by ICT need to be promoted and exploited In particular across (non-ICT) policy areas such as education and training, employment, social cohesion, immigration integration Upscale and mainstrean current practices, preferably with co-ordination across policy fields

13. Thank you [email_address] IPTS research on ICT for Inclusion : http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eInclusion.html IPTS publications: http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/index.cfm