By Martín Padulla for staffingamericalatina Do public employment services have an impact in our region? Do ...
By Martín Padulla for staffingamericalatina
Do public employment services have an impact in our region? Do they transform citizens’ reality? Are they a part of this world of work? Have they adapted to change?
According to ILO, public employment services (PES) promote the development, integration and efficient use of the labour force. The challenges of the current labour markets force these technical bodies to deal with very complex situations, such as unemployment, chronic underemployment, informality, demographic changes and the impact of the digital and technological revolution. The IDB, when referring to PES, also highlights the hasty economic and social changes that result in a more complex labour world where working transitions are more frequent and varied.
Labour institutions need to modernize to face this reality and become real agents of change. Labour intermediation needs a new approach as the goal is not only to match a worker and a job-offer, but to promote successful labour paths during people’s entire professional careers.
These changes have very important implications. Besides their basic tasks, PES are adding new roles, such as managing labour training programs, unemployment insurances, specialized services for employers, and even establishing a link with the innovation world and enhancing entrepreneurship. In a multi-shaped, flexible and mobile labour world, it is imperative to adapt to change and help citizens adapt as well.
PES must become one of the main means through which government labour markets and employment’s policies are implemented. And in an ever changing context this includes self-employment and entrepreneurship.
The key to elucidate is how to manage to fulfil that role as modern and strong employment services by improving employability or reducing the gap between the skills the education system generates and the skills the labour market demands. An adequate approach that addresses the mismatch of skills’ supply and demand and directly supports workers and employers through active labour market programs are both necessary conditions, but they are not sufficient. Real inclusion requires several other actions.
According to ILO, “the emergence of properly regulated private employment agencies provides cooperation opportunities in the delivery and reach of services to different groups within the labour market.” Ratification of ILO Convention 181 on private employment agencies in every Latin American country would enable the articulation of these companies and PES, both of which could coordinate joint actions of employment training based on demand.
ILO’s Bureau for Employment Policies is actively working to help Member States on four key areas:
PES must be rethought, reconfigured and managed in a different way if they aim to provide services to jobseekers, companies and to those who need help to enter the labour market. Tripartite social dialogue, benchmarking successful cases from other countries in the world and interacting with global public and private employment associations, such as WAPES and CIETT, are key actions to lift the quality standard of services and successfully manage this complexity.
Clearly, PES have played a leading role helping vulnerable groups within the labour market and have been effective improving their skills in the past. However, they need to update their strategy.
There are successful cases in Latin America, such as SENCE (National Training and Employment Service) in Chile, which plays a major role as regards training people for employment. Nevertheless, it still has a long way to go in terms of labour intermediation and articulation with private employment agencies.
The SENA (National Learning Service) in Colombia might be the best PES in the region. It plays a very active part in employment training and labour intermediation. There is room for improvement due to the lack of proactivity to find out the skills the labour market will demand in the medium term, as well as to the lack of articulation with staffing companies.
To be effective key actors of employment policies, public employment services must play that an active role. Their receptive condition must be modified. PES need to become proactive agents of change. They need to communicate, to spread information and to be very close to the community using every possible mean: proper network of offices, mobile offices, social media, websites, call centres, associating with educational institutions, forming strategic alliances with intermediate organisations, working together with private companies, joining efforts with private employment agencies and having social assistants working in the field to bring vulnerable sectors closer to labour world. These are just some of the initiatives needed to actually transform reality.
To act as a career advisor and employment trainer a deep knowledge on the local reality is needed. PES must become active social actors in their communities. To guide and implement training based on demand there are two requisites. On the one hand, mapping the existing skills. On the other hand, surveying the skills the market demands right now and, more importantly, the skills it will demand in the medium term.
Anyway, a Training Program on Basic Skills and a Training Program on Crafts shall always be the basis of a structure that should be strong and aligned with the market.
PES require a Permanent Observatory of Employability to increase the human capital of the place that has to be transformed. Specific decentralized actions that address local needs, shall enable the general process through the consolidation of changes.
Last, but not least, public employment services demand professional management based on specific goals, with performance evaluations applied to those who offer services to the community, audits and controllerships and following world level quality standards.
The transformation suggested aims to build more dynamic and inclusive labour markets. It seeks to make a real contribution to the social and economic progress of our societies. Maybe, it is all about using these institutions to actually serve people and transform their lives.
About Martin Padulla
Managing Director of staffingamericalatina. Martin Padulla is Sociologist (USAL), MBA (UCA) and labour markets expert. He published “Flexible Work in South America” and “Regulatory framework for private employment agencies in Latin America” two books about the new realities of work in Latin America.
mpadulla@staffingamericalatina.com
About staffingamericalatina
It is the unique independent digital media specialized in Latin American´s labour markets.
Produce and spread contents, researches and developments about issues such us Employability, Youth Employment, Training for Employment, Decent Work, Private Employment Agencies, Active policies for employment, Teleworking, Public and private actions for the creation of decent work, Green Jobs and Corporate Social Responsibility.
It is the meeting point for companies, providers, candidates, service´s companies, academics and independent professionals of Latin America.
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