RESEARCH PAPER No 46 Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch Lessons from policy and practice in European Union countries Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch Lessons from policy and practice in European Union countries Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 Please cite this publication as: Cedefop (2015). Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch: lessons from policy and practice in European Union countries. Luxembourg: Publications Office. Cedefop research paper; No 46. http://dx.doi.org/10.2801/648140 A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 ISBN 978-92-896-1935-6 ISSN 1831-5860 doi: 10.2801/648140 © European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), 2015 All rights reserved. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) is the European Union’s reference centre for vocational education and training. We provide information on and analyses of vocational education and training systems, policies, research and practice. Cedefop was established in 1975 by Council Regulation (EEC) No 337/75. Europe 123, 570 01 Thessaloniki (Pylea), GREECE PO Box 22427, 551 02 Thessaloniki, GREECE Tel. +30 2310490111, Fax +30 2310490020 E-mail: [email protected] www.cedefop.europa.eu Joachim James Calleja, Director Micheline Scheys, Chair of the Governing Board Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch Foreword Skill mismatch research tends to be concerned with methodological issues, the incidence of mismatch and its impact. While there is much research and analysis on mismatch, little work has focused on policy and practice addressing it. This means that it is difficult to assess systematically what works and what does not in skill mismatch policy instruments. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by reviewing recent policies and practices aiming to tackle unemployment through addressing skill mismatch in the EU-28 Member States. Matching skills to jobs is gaining attention among policy-makers. Earlier Cedefop work and reports by the European Commission have mapped the extent of mismatch in European Union (EU) labour markets and reflected on its consequences. This work has shown how complex and multidimensional the phenomenon is and that careful and robust analysis is needed to reach the right policy conclusions. What has not been systematically researched is to what extent education, employment and other policies can be combined to address mismatch. Much current action in employment policy focuses on getting people into work. But ensuring a good match between the skills people have and labour market needs is also important to ensure that Europe makes full use of the skills of its citizens. Achieving this while meeting employment objectives has been a trend in some EU Member States with skill strategies covering multiple policy domains. Moving to a policy context with more awareness of the importance of tackling skill mismatch, and taking relevant action, is a challenge for other countries. Policy learning can be important mechanism in helping countries make the right choices when introducing and implementing new policy instruments targeting skill mismatch. But copy-paste approaches to transferring entire policies or measures are rarely useful, as the national policy context, labour market characteristics, education systems and other national contextual conditions impact on the effectiveness of policy measures. What is helpful when trying to learn from experience elsewhere is information on specific features or principles of policies and practices that have proven their effectiveness. Such information is hard to come by as policy evaluation is not well developed in many countries. This report systematically reviews skill mismatch policy instruments targeting unemployment in all EU Member States and so contributes to better understanding of the implementation of these policies and impact. The report is not a comprehensive overview of all policy measures in Europe, but it presents promising ideas for innovative policy practices. I am confident that these can inspire policy-makers. Joachim James Calleja Director 1 Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch Acknowledgements This publication is a result of a team effort. Douwe Grijpstra, Gert-Jan Lindeboom (Panteia) and Georg Markowitsch (3S) drafted the text on which this report is based. Konstantinos Pouliakas and Jasper van Loo coordinated the work at Cedefop and prepared this report for publication. The research was carried out by Panteia under Cedefop’s service contract AO/RPA/JVLOO-KPOUL/Skill mismatch policies/001/13. 2 Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch Table of contents Foreword .............................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. 2 Table of contents .................................................................................................. 3 Executive summary .............................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction ........................................................................................... 10 1.1. The skill mismatch challenge ........................................................... 10 1.2. Scope of the study ........................................................................... 11 1.3. Skill mismatch and policies addressing it ......................................... 12 1.4. Method ............................................................................................. 15 1.5. Structure of the report ...................................................................... 17 2. Addressing skill mismatch among the unemployed ..................................... 19 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 19 2.2. Upgrading skills of the unemployed .................................................. 20 2.3. Career guidance for the unemployed ............................................... 45 2.4. Subsidised work ............................................................................... 53 3. Addressing skill mismatch to prevent unemployment ................................... 62 3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 62 3.2. Targeting people in education or training ......................................... 62 3.3. Improving the skills of the employed................................................. 72 3.4. Guidance and counselling ................................................................ 86 4. Lessons and options for policy-makers ........................................................ 94 4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 94 4.2. Lessons of skill mismatch policies for the unemployed ..................... 95 4.3. Lessons for education and training ................................................. 101 4.4. Lessons from skill mismatch policies training the employed ........... 106 4.5. Creating a conducive policy environment and stimulating cooperation between stakeholders ................................................. 111 4.6. General conclusions and recommendations ................................... 117 3 Tackling unemployment while addressing skill mismatch List of abbreviations ......................................................................................... 120 References ....................................................................................................... 121 Websites ................................................................................................... 127 List of tables, boxes and figures Tables 1. Policies versus instruments ....................................................................... 15 2. Examples of instruments providing general skills training for the unemployed ........................................................................................... 22 3. Instruments offering training in specific skills to the unemployed ............... 26 4. Instruments training the unemployed in specific skill shortages ................. 33 5. Examples of instruments upskilling the unemployed by in-company training ........................................................................................... 37 6. Instruments with in-company training targeting unemployed youth ............ 44 7. Instruments supporting guidance for the unemployed ............................... 46 8. Instruments supporting subsidised work .................................................... 54 9. Instruments providing skills through new training provisions in education ........................................................................................... 64 10. Instruments seeking to match skills provided in curricula and qualifications with labour market needs ..................................................... 68 11. Instruments supporting training of employees to improve their skills ......... 73 12. Instruments supporting the training of employees in skill shortages ......... 81 13. Instruments providing career guidance in education and work .................. 87 14. Lessons from instruments targeting the unemployed .............................. 101 15. Lessons from instruments targeting education and training ..................... 106 16. Lessons from training instruments addressing the employed .................. 110 17. Lessons in creating a conducive policy environment ............................... 117 Boxes 1. Hungary: the community public work programmes .................................... 24 2. Slovakia: education and training for the labour market .............................. 28 3. Portugal: active life-qualified employment ................................................. 30 4. Austria: ways into nursing ......................................................................... 35 5. Belgium (Flanders): curative individual training in enterprise ..................... 39 6. Finland: project Välke ................................................................................ 39 7. Portugal: employment internships ............................................................. 42 8. Belgium (Flanders): competence-based matching ..................................... 47 9. Slovakia: online guide to the labour market ............................................... 49 10. Czech Republic: ‘education and work’ web portal ..................................... 51 11. Slovenia: early identification of key competences ...................................... 52 12. Denmark: job rotation ................................................................................ 57 13. The Netherlands: starting grant ................................................................. 60 4