In our first blog in this series, we examined the need to balance supply and demand in the labor market. And the strategic goals that governments need to have in place to achieve this. We have already seen that Public Employment Services (PES) has a vital role to play in Labor Market Management. In this second blog, we take a further look at this role and some of the trends in Labor Market developments that have influenced WCC’s Public Employment Service solutions.

WCC designed the Employment Platform specifically to assist PES, helping to bridge the gap between supply and demand. Using our in-depth knowledge of the employment sector, the Employment Platform matches the needs of both Public Employment Services and Staffing Agencies. Understanding trends in Labor Markets concerning PES has been crucial to this success.

Maximizing potential

We have seen that one of the strategic goals of Labor Market Management is maximizing the potential of the workforce. A fundamental change in PES worldwide has, therefore, been a dramatic shift from unemployment management to workforce development. To ensure a well-functioning labor market, today’s Public Employment Services take a more active role in workforce development.

For example, Public Employment Services and Staffing Agencies aim to help individuals improve their employability and skills throughout their lives. This goal not only benefits the individual, but also allows governments to plan for new industries, anticipate new occupations and emerging professions, and ensure the timely availability of trained workers. PES also assists capable, but inactive, groups of people to participate in the labor market.

Influencing labor markets

Another critical goal of Labor Market Management is anticipating developments in the workforce. To this end, Public Employment Services and Staffing Agencies need the capability to monitor how the labor market is changing. They can then respond quickly to labor market demands. Also, they can easily define target groups, and therefore identify appropriate matching strategies for each group. As a result, they can construct targeted employment measures such as additional skills training or education opportunities.

Budget constraints

Pressure on budgets means that fewer people are increasingly called upon to do more work. Such trends in Labor Markets calls for greater efficiency. But it should be remembered that introducing advanced software solutions can increase effectiveness, and therefore reduce the workload on PES. For example, finding jobseekers sustainable jobs minimizes the chances of repeated unemployment. Smarter matching also helps jobseekers find work, although they may not have succeeded previously. Another way to improve effectiveness has been to use systems that dynamically manage programs, influencing the process as well as the results.

A welcome outcome of budget pressures has been a move from custom-made systems to out-of-the-box solutions. System implementations are faster. As a result, the initial costs are lower, and the long-term cost of ownership falls.

User expectations

The expectations of those using PES core services is continuing to increase. Users nowadays want smarter systems with user-friendly interfaces, accessible whenever or wherever they want, and on any device.

To make this possible, PES needs smart, knowledge-driven IT solutions to quickly and reliably match capabilities to demand. The rapid changes and trends in Labor Market requirements mean that they need flexible and scalable solutions that can dynamically differentiate between a wide range of target groups.

Big data

The amount of information available on people, jobs, skills, and education has grown dramatically over recent years. This change has, in turn, sparked a demand for high-quality information. A significant challenge for PES is to identify which information should play a leading role in effective labor matching solutions, filtering only the relevant data from all possible sources. Because its context determines the relevance of data, reliable knowledge bases have become crucial.

WCC and PES

Keeping abreast of these trends in Labor Markets has meant that WCC’s ELISE Smart Search & Match Platform empowers PES to actively influence labor markets, reduce unemployment figures, and also improve a nation’s employment potential. The next blog in this series will examine several technological advancements the IT industry has made in search technology.

If you would like to find out more about our Employment Solutions, please get in touch.