Public Employment Services: developing perspectives

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Public Employment Services developing
perspectives Mr. Christian Charpy WAPES
President ILO-WAPES meeting ? Geneva, February
22, 2007
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Index

• Part I General Presentation of WAPES
• Worldwide network for PES
• WAPES members
• What does the WAPES network represent?
• Role of WAPES
• Objectives
• Products and services

• Part II PES in the 21st Century
• Labour market complexity
• New realities for PES
• Challenges and opportunities for PES
• PES' new roles
• PES' basic principles
• Innovative PES approaches
• WAPES survey 20022006 Main indicators of the
  PES roles evolution
• Input ideas for strengthening PES
• Conclusions

ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Part I
General Presentation of WAPES
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Worldwide network for PES
The Association was founded in 1988/89 by six
countries Canada, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, Sweden and USA, together with the
International Labour Office (ILO).
Our members are the national public or
governmental bodies responsible for activities
related to employment management or
implementation of labour market policies.
75 countries are active members
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES members

• Russia
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom

• Albania
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia

• Lithuania
• Luxemburg
• Macedonia
• Malta
• Montenegro
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Romania

• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia

Europe 38 members
America 19 members

• Argentina
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Mexico
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Trinidad Tobago
• Uruguay
• Venezuela

Asia Pacific 7 members

• Australia
• China
• Japan
• Mongolia
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Thaïland

Africa 23 members
Middle East Arabic Countries 7 members

• Algeria
• Bahrain
• Israel
• Lebanon
• Morocco
• Saudi Arabia
• Tunisia

ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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What does the WAPES network represent?
WAPES represents a diversified PES network,
together with solutions, resources and programs
on common and specific issues
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Role of WAPES
WAPES is a knowledge based worldwide network of
Public Employment Services (PES) in the field of
labour market policies implementation and, in
particular, the provision of employment services
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Objectives
Debate
Exchange
To build up a space for debate among PES
members new development of ideas through
practical observation of regional strategies and
best practices
To promote information and knowledge exchange on
PES, labour market and employment policies
Technical Assistance
Common interest
To encourage cooperation and Technical Assistance
between members, especially towards the less
developed organizations
To provide services of common interest, such as
surveys, studies, data bank management, training
and upgrading
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Products services
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Part II
The PES in the 21st Century
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Labour market complexity
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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New realities for PES
The new reality of labour market demands
innovative responses to improve PES performance,
and more specifically, to improve how public
employment objectives and services are
accomplished and delivered

• High unemployment rates
• Diversification of users (groups at risk,
• individuals with specific characteristics)
• New clients

• Change of skills and workers profiles
• Part time and temporary employment
• Workers mobility

• Self-employment
• Micro credits
• Training and vocational orientation
• Lifelong learning
• Private agencies competence
• Career guidance

ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Challenges and opportunities for PES
To cover these challenges, PES are key
institutions for reaching social and economic
policy targets on labour market interventions to
assist employers and unemployed people
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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PES' new roles
The role of PES is shifting from to
merely job brokerage
main executor of labour market policy programmes
(for instance for young people)
PES
play a facilitator role in the labour market
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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PES' basic principles
PES missions balance social and economic policy
objectives,
Equity of opportunities
Accessibility everywhere
Coordination role
Transparency
Information and knowledge on the labour market
Efficiency of labour market
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Innovative PES approaches
The PES approaches are tailor-made to the needs
and circumstances of the labour market
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES survey 2002 2006
Main indicators of the PES roles evolution
1. Labour market information and job brokerage
EVOLUTION
This service becomes a universal one
Demand driven approach
More and more PES assume a global transparency
making role on the labour market and for all
intermediate actors
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES survey 2002 2006
Main indicators of the PES roles evolution
2. Intensified adjustment actions to overcome
mismatch
EVOLUTION
Diminishing through outsourcing
Mainstream service
Youth is a worldwide target group
Equity and diversification
Globalisation / mobility
Guarantee access
PES offer a broad spectrum of active labour
market services PES can reduce the misbalances
for disadvantaged target groups
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES survey 2002 2006
Main indicators of the PES roles evolution
3. Administration of unemployment benefits
EVOLUTION
Status quo
Administering unemployment benefits remains part
of PES competencies Social security rights and
obligations need to be balanced
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES survey 2002 2006
Main indicators of the PES roles evolution
Passive labour market policy
Active labour market policy

• PES help to reduce imbalances for disadvantaged
  target groups
• PES provide inputs to policy makers for improving
  their targeted and tailor-made policies
• PES monitor the trends on labour market

ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Input ideas for strengthening PES
PES
Should not be regarded as a provider of rigidly
defined functions, particularly job brokerage,
but as a flexible instrument of national economic
and social development as well as growth
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ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Input ideas for strengthening PES
Must be strategically approached by
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• gaining a more sophisticated understanding of the
  operation of the labour market
• recognizing sole government service delivery
• developing a capability to adjust services
  adapted to changing conditions.

For this reason, developing partnerships with
other service providers in the public, private
and civil society sectors. At the same time, PES
make large investments in developing a skilled,
forward-thinking and adaptable staff
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ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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Conclusions
Our goal is to develop WAPES in order to promote
the role and the mission of PES to contribute to
a better performing labour market and to promote
employment
To make WAPES a real inspiring network
To develop partnership with International
Organizations
To facilitate TA activities within the members
network
ILO/WAPES meeting, Geneva ? February 22, 2007
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WAPES Secretariat Rue de la Loi 95, 1040
Brussels, BELGIUM Phone [phone] Fax
32 2 235 72 59 E-mail wapes_at_wapes.org