Olga StrietskaIlina

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Overview of systems of early identification of
skill needs in Europe

Olga Strietska-Ilina
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Information resources

• For old Member States
• Knowledge Management in Vocational Education and
  Training (KMS)
• database eKnowVet of Cedefop
• (information collected through ReferNet)
• theme 7 Skills and competence development and
  innovative pedagogy,
• sub-theme Mechanisms for anticipation of skill
  needs
• subject in other sub-themes
• some missing countries and new Member States are
  expected to contribute the information to the
  database so that the results can be harmonised.
• Additional information from the report by P.
  Karasiotou Identification of skill needs
  Projects and actions for Greece a review,
  Cedefop 2004.
• Information gathered through Skillsnet events.

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Information resources

• For new Member States and Candidate Countries
• Database of the European Training Foundation
• (collected through the network of National
  Observatories),
• in particular
• the Short Country Reports of 2002 and 2003
• (the section Skill needs assessment)
• Country Monographs on VET and Employment
  Services
• (the section Responsiveness of the education
  and training system to the needs of the labour
  market).
• All contributions in both Cedefop and ETF
  databases provide only basic information. Their
  quality and scope differ greatly.

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What information do these databases provide?

• Description of approaches and broadly defined
  methods of identification of skill needs (but no
  details)
• Institutions involved in the process
• Some information on decision making (limited)
• No information on funding
• No details about results
• These databases can be used as a basis for
  further information collection, as a point of
  reference.

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General trends in methods and systems for the
early identification of skill needs in Europe

• Manpower planning assisted by computerised models
  as a major and the only way of forecasting labour
  needs has become a matter of the past.
• 2 main functions of manpower forecasting at
  present
• A policy function forecasting as a point of
  reference
• An information function linked to guidance and
  thus requires relatively detailed and reliable
  data, well processed for the user and the level
  of analysis.
• Labour market information becomes a public good
  going beyond serving a restricted group of
  experts, decision makers and social partners.
• Also the prevailing question nowadays is not
• how many people in this profession will be
  required lets say in 5-10 years? but which
  professions and what kind of new qualifications
  and skills? and what qualities of the workforce
  will be under demand?.
• The new functions and research questions require
  non-mechanistic approaches, and therefore other
  than computerised manpower forecasting models,
  and enriched methods.

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General trends in methods and systems for the
early identification of skill needs in
EuropeSTRONG POINTS

• Generally there is a better access to the labour
  market information.
• Greater awareness of research activities in
  different countries and at various levels.
• The prevailing trend in Europe nowadays is a
  holistic approach and combination of various
  methods seeking to achieve robust and reliable
  results (e.g. scenarios in the UK, shared
  diagnosis in France, sector scouting and
  occupational research in Germany, OREF in
  France).
• Forecasts have become one of many pieces of
  information that contribute to a more detailed,
  consistent and plausible picture. The results of
  forecasts are mostly combined with the results of
  research into sectors, occupational groups or
  regional skills requirements (e.g. Finland,
  Netherlands, UK, France, emerging now in the
  Czech Republic and Estonia).
• In almost all countries education and training
  systems have the in-built mechanisms for an
  on-going up-date of qualifications and inclusion
  of new ones in the national lists. Such
  mechanisms exist at national and sectoral levels
  but also sometimes at regional level.
  Incorporation of new qualifications can sometimes
  be initiated externally (e.g. Spain) or by
  education and training providers (e.g.
  Netherlands).

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General trends in methods and systems for the
early identification of skill needs in
EuropeSTRONG POINTS

• Many countries try to make accessible skill needs
  identification results on-line and to link them
  to a permanent monitoring system (e.g. Skills
  Barometer in Austria, an attempt to create an
  integrated information system in Italy)
• Expertise in methods and discussion of results
  are shared through especially created
  institutional networks (e.g. FreQueNz network in
  Germany, Glocal network in Spain).
• Many countries established cross-sectoral
  decision-making and expert bodies to enhance the
  appropriateness and the utility of results in the
  field of early identification of skill needs
  (e.g. Expert Group on Future Skill Needs in
  Ireland, Interministerial Team for Forecasting
  Work Demand in Poland, HRDA in Cyprus).
• At regional and/or sectoral levels bipartite and
  tripartite bodies exist which deal with IVET and
  CVT and include expertise on skill needs and
  labour market analysis onto their agenda (e.g.
  Netherlands, Italy, Norway, emerging in the Czech
  Republic, Romania).

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General trends in methods and systems for the
early identification of skill needs in
EuropeWEEK POINTS

• Various efforts take place in parallel, research
  approaches and activities often are not
  transparent.
• Time lag.
• Transfer of results to policy and practice.
• Complaints about the quality of information are
  still acute in candidate countries (Bulgaria).
  The length of the time series of the available
  data, or changing data structures, are also a
  problem particularly in the new Member States.
  PES vacancy statistics cannot be fully used due
  to limitations of the nature of the data. There
  is no standard statistical information which can
  be used for cross-country comparison when it
  comes to the demand for skills.
• Holistic approach depends rather on
  entrepreneurial skills of a researcher than on
  a systemic arrangement. In the new Member States
  the absence of systems of early identification
  of skill needs is widely recognised. Is it the
  case elsewhere?

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General trends in methods and systems for the
early identification of skill needs in
EuropeWEEK POINTS

• Many efforts in Europe are similar but differ in
  specific methodological approaches and therefore
  the results are not comparable. New Member States
  are trying to update their methods up to the
  European standard is there one? The results for
  the European level are, however, asked and
  objectively required.
• No overarching European research on early
  identification of skill needs
• European findings are mostly specific to the
  sector, country/locality, company, occupation or
  other target group future skill needs are rarely
  the primary research angle

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Some examples of European activities

• Career Space consortium addressing ICT skill
  needs in Europe
• IPTS work Futures project, ESTO, FISTERA,
  Enlargement Futures
• CEDEFOP/ETF Scenarios and strategies for VET in
  Europe 1999
• OECD Futures Project PIAAC
• EEO monitoring work via their national networks
• DG Enterprise European innovation scoreboard,
  European competitiveness and enterprise policy
  scoreboard
• EMCC of the European Foundation for Improvement
  of Living and Working Conditions
• LdV projects
• Others
• Skillsnet what can be done?

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skillsnet
www.trainingvillage.gr under Projects and
networks