The Italian paradox: 2.5 Million Italians are unemployed, and yet, Italian companies are unable to fill over 200,000 vacancies. So, what is going on?

Investigative journalists Milena Gabanelli and Rita Querzè wrote a must-read article for Italy’s top newspaper. It’s a fascinating case study of one country’s struggle to manage the labor market in general, and respond to COVID-19 unemployment in particular.

In this blog, we provide the article’s main points in English and add a few thoughts of our own.

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in much turmoil and insecurity around employment. Even people who previously enjoyed stable jobs have suddenly found themselves scrambling for work, especially in affected sectors like hospitality, retail, and travel. On the flip side, sectors like logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing seek to expand their workforce dramatically, offering new opportunities for jobseekers, but also new challenges for employers.

COVID-19 has triggered one of the worst jobs crises in memory. Public Employment Services (PES) need to find solutions to manage, control, and revive national labor markets. If not, poverty will increase, and inequalities will widen, with the economic effects felt for years to come. With more than 20 years of experience in the employment domain, WCC understands these challenges. WCC solutions enable PES, helping them to stimulate recovery and reduce the impact of the pandemic.

Established in 1996, the WCC Group is now a leading provider of advanced software solutions for ID/Security government agencies, Public & Private Employment Services, and Enterprise software worldwide. Our unique AI-driven Search & Match Platform is actively contributing to our growth in international markets. To strengthen our management team even further, we have recently appointed three new Sales VPs in EMEA, the Americas, and APAC. Their passion for the business will help drive forward WCC’s vision of continued global growth, while closely supporting our in-region customers.

We began this series of blogs looking at governments’ strategic goals in labor management, and how Public Employment Services (PES) have a pivotal role in achieving and maintaining stable employment. Subsequent blogs described PES trends and how evolving search technology helped meet challenges in the employment market. But what are the critical elements needed for an IT employment solution capable of efficiently and effectively supporting PES? WCC has the answers.

In our latest blog about labor market management and IT’s changing role in the employment sector, we focus on search technology. We examine how technological advancements can be applied to support Public & Private Employment Services. We outline how search technology has evolved over the years and how cognitive systems play an increasing role.

In our first blog in this series, we examined some of the strategic goals that governments need to have in place for Labor Market Management. In this second blog, we take a further look at the role of IT and some of the trends in Labor Market developments that have influenced WCC’s solutions for Public and Private Employment Services.