High unemployment is creating pressure to make connections between jobseekers and vacancies, faster. Every government has needed to reassess the viability of their labor market solutions in pandemic situations, but there is some good news for the Public Employment Services tasked with restoring the economically active workforce.

Consultancy firm McKinsey has reported that digital takeup amongst both consumers and businesses jumped forward five years, over just eight weeks in 2020. The challenge now is how to rapidly assist unemployed technology adopters, some of whom were just recently converted to managing their lives online during the pandemic, in using new technologies to find their next careers.

The role of AI in recruitment

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is already in widespread use for candidate selection processes. To date, its main use has been for task automation to reduce administrative burden in routine work such as candidate screening, interview scheduling and CV scanning. Then, in 2020 some AI advances that had been expected to roll out over a number of years were fast tracked to cope with the sudden onset of remote working. In 2021, mainstream usage will develop further to handle first-round online interviewing and skills testing. In the Netherlands, the UWV needed to improve the search experience for jobseekers with a platform that can meet the challenges of a constantly changing labor market. Using WCC’s AI-based Taxonomy Manager tool, they gained the functionality to support semantic searching and augmented matching. This module creates results that are sensitive to a customer’s full range of skills, plus their aptitude and ambition to work in new sectors and roles. In a short period of time, the number of searches performed increased and the UWV have reported greater customer satisfaction since WCC started providing this service.

Introduction of Virtual Reality

Undoubtedly one of the most exciting developments in recruitment technology is the use of VR, or Virtual Reality. It’s a revolutionary way to engage with prospective candidates by allowing them to explore potential workplaces, then actually try out parts of the job themselves, creating a far more immersive recruitment process. Gap analysis and advanced taxonomies signpost completely new ideas to some jobseekers, who may understandably be nervous. Using VR allows workers to comfortably explore new sectors and career directions before they commit, by jumping into the role in a secure VR environment.

Customizable platform portals

At WCC we have dynamic off-the-shelf solutions that can be used immediately. We also know that when countries are facing specific unemployment issues or skills shortages, governments need a bespoke solution. These allow us to target the demographics, industry characteristics and workforce of a particular country or region. In Malaysia, the public employment service Perkeso required a platform that could combine job search functionality with match technology. The system had to address both the widening gap between demand and labor supply, and a high youth unemployment rate that worsened further due to the pandemic. The Myfuturejobs portal has been finely tuned to address the specific needs of the Malaysian labor market and was an immediate hit. Since it was first introduced in January 2020, more than 600,000 jobseekers have registered, together with some 197,000 active employers.

Applicant tracking systems

Also known as ATS, these systems typically replace many of the manual tasks a Public Employment Service would handle when posting a vacancy. The capabilities of these systems extend beyond the initial recruitment phase to provide additional benefits to the employer. As soon as a candidate accepts a job offer, their record can be populated with information that will speed up onboarding and allow hiring managers to view the results of pre-employment checks in real-time.

Distance learning

The ability to learn at a time and place that fits around your work schedule – instead of interrupting it – has helped busy employees to reach their career development goals in ever-increasing numbers over the last decade. Now, it’s the final step in a career rebuilding process. Focused development allows workers to slot into a new role with confidence when their self-esteem has been hit by lack of work and declining industry demand. Our Referral Manager module guides jobseekers directly to the learning materials they need to make successful transitions into new and exciting jobs. Any learning or knowledge gaps that have arisen during a gap analysis can be quickly filled by online learning tools when your systems have the knowledge to send people in the right direction.

So, with increased technical capability amongst jobseekers, it’s the perfect time to adopt new solutions for Public Employment Services. Much more than a quick fix to address the current global unemployment crisis, these are interventions that will support workforce strategies well into the future.

A wealth of experience

With more than 20 years of experience in the employment domain, WCC is a leading provider of knowledge-driven IT solutions. By understanding the demands of a rapidly changing labor market, we can help employment services respond to change, guide jobseekers to sustainable job opportunities, and reduce unemployment.
To find out more about our employment software solutions, please get in touch – wherever you are in the world.

Published on: May 25, 2021