Transcript Managing of labour skills and talents during crisis time

Ewa Matuska
Hanseastic Academy of Management , Slupsk
Poland
Vilnius 22-23. X. 2009
Focus on human talents and skills
Background - the Lisbon Strategy
 adopted by the European Council in 2000, placed new
emphasis on knowledge, education and training
 the European Council set itself a new strategic goal for
the upcoming decade:
to become “the most competitive and dynamic
knowledge - based economy in the world capable of
sustainable economic growth with more and better
jobs and greater social cohesion”
(European Council, 2000)
Goals
 1. To enhance economic competitiveness through
improvements in human capital.
Skills, knowledge and competencies are increasingly
seen as crucial factors to achieve productivity and
competitiveness of EU economy.
 2. To promote social inclusion - in the view of Lisbon,
competitiveness should be achieved “with more and
better jobs and greater social cohesion”, and not at the
cost of greater inequality or social marginalisation.
Coherence by skills and jobs
 …..”A dynamic and competitive economy should
benefit all, and the entire European population
must be involved in and benefit from reform and
development.
 The „knowledge society” is a society of not only full
employment but “all-employment”.
 It is “an information society for all” - in which:
“every citizen must be equipped with the skills needed
to live and work”, where “info-exclusion” and illiteracy
must be prevented, and where special attention is
given to the disabled”………..(European Council, 2000).
Labour market disturbances
 The current economic crisis has destabilized the labour
markets in many European countries and has caused
problems for various enterprises and many workers in both
the west and the east of Europe
 An efect : large-scale job losses reported in many countries
worldwide and on EU market
 In the Global Employment Trends report of May 2009
estimations that unemployment of EU could increase by
between 29 million (lowest scenario) and 59 million
(highest scenario) unemployed people in the year 2009
versus that of 2007, with a middle scenario of 39 million.
Unemployment for Developed Economies and
European Union
(source: Global Employment Trends Update , ILO 2009, p.35)
Situation of EU migrant workers
 Migrant workers and their right to free intra-EU
movement have caused general reduction in job
vacancies across Europe - what creates a number of
job problems, especially for them.
 Problems they face in their host countries are still less
than the problems they have in the country of origin due to the unavailability of good jobs in their home
country,
 However : staying outside the labour market – abroad
or in their own country - would rapidly worsen their
professional skills and chances for good job in future !
Case of Poland - reemigration in 2008 less than
expected
(amounts in thous. )
Case of Poland - double marginalisation of
reemigrants ( research 2009)
Before migration
employed
After coming back home
unemployed
Double effects of current crisis for
talents/ skills shortages in EU
Negative
 Increased unemployment
may push a number of people
into long-term
unemployment and labour
market withdrawal .
 Intensification of de-skilling
and social marginalisation.
 Aggravating the situation of
labour shortages in the EU.
 The brain drain in some of
EU members will grow up.
Positive
 Economic restructuring, especially
job’s positions restructuring will
last as structural effect on skills
demand.
 Job creation through current
stimulus packages , will cause a rise
in public employment, jobs in
infrastructure and carbon-neutral
building, retrofitting, renewable
energies and energy efficiency.
 Revitalised labour markets will
require different skill profiles from
job applicants – including migrant
workers.
During time of significant
unemployment
Shifts in occupations demand and
job places
 Phenomenon of job polarization :
1996-2006
high employment growth in skill- intensive occupations
and in elementary occupations - as a result of
technological changes and off- shoring of manufactoring.
 An actual pan-European forecast of occupational skills
demand in Europe suggests that this trend will continue.
 In its low scenario - a net increase of 8 million jobs in 2006
– 2015 , mostly in services and the loss of 2.3 million jobs
in the primary sector and 1.25 million in manufacturing
and construction (Cedefop, 2008).
 An evident problem of the ageing of the EU labour force.
Demand by broad occupational group in the EU-25, Norway and Switzerland,
2006-2015 (change in millions of jobs): Low scenario
Source: Calculated from Cedefop 2008, based on the low scenario of expansion demand.
Note: Data for Bulgaria and Romania not available
UE companies needs for skilled
workers / Manpower Report, 2009
UE countries needs for skilled
workers / Manpower Report, 2009
Skills composition of employment
 Trend towards up skilling - the share of secondary and tertiary
educated workers has increased significantly in all occupational
groups, including elementary occupations.
 This may signify the substitution of qualifications - as a result
of skills mismatches , as well as - a rise in educational
attainment levels of the European workforce, which are pushing
skills levels on the labour market upwards
 But question arise:
as to whether available skills are being utilized optimally, when
nearly half of elementary jobs in the EU are currently occupied by
medium and high - skilled staff ?
EU migrants - waste of talents and
skills ?
 Migrant workers - mostly those from new EU -12
member states ,working in the EU-15, demonstrate
comparable skill levels to those of the domestic
workforce, but are employed disproportionately in
low-skilled jobs,
 The result : positive contribution to productivity in
host coutries or de-skilling and underperformance of
such workers ?
 How it fits to the goal of social cohesion from Lisbon
Strategy ?
Benefit of EU membership or the
risk of brain drain ?
EU-15 and EU-12
 Common problem : occupations
experiencing shortages ( similar list)
 Basic difference : EU -12 are suffering
shortages due to the migration of workers
with the requisite occupational skills to the
EU-15
The top 10 jobs that employers are having
difficulty filling positions/ Manpower Report , 2009
Common EU problems
 Skill/labour shortages are an European -wide

-
problem, requiring European level policy measures .
These measures include:
Efficient job-skill matching,
Investment in the right skills for the labour market,
specifically targeting increases in labour productivity,
Activities aimed for increasing labour force
participation - especially among women and older
workers
Regulated migration .
From brain drain to brain gain ?
What for to compare skills?
 The proper aggregation of skills could help to
minimize the negative effects of skills migration, that
is the brain drains, and especially - brain wastes.
 Portability of skills by national or international
qualification frameworks, could help migrant workers
to obtain employment that is appropriate to their skills
level and in the same – to adopt to the full
competencies of the labour market of their host
country.
Portability of skills
According to the Human Resource Development
Recommendation (2004) , the portability of skills is
defined in two dimensions:
 Employable skills that can be used productively in
different jobs, occupations and industries ;
 Certification and recognition of skills within national
and international labour markets.
ISCED and EQF - Formal Qualifications vs.
Broader Competences
 ISCED (the International Standard Classification of
Education) and EQF (the European Qualification
Framework) are two different approaches to setting
standards for the categorisation of job competences
and qualifications.
 The ISCED framework represents the traditional
approach, focuses on formal educational activities
designed to meet learning needs, excludes various
forms of learning that are not organized and the basic
unit and analytical focus is the single educational
programme, especially its scope (e.g. field) and level.
Adventages of EQF
 In contrast, the EQF ( 2008)- represents a more modern
approach linked to the context of lifelong learning.
 The EQF defines learning as taking place in formal as well
as informal settings.
 The analytical unit and focus of the framework is the
learning outcome which defines the competences of an
individual at 8 different levels of reference.
 EQF as the “translation instrument” between the different
European education systems - employers and employees
are to be provided with a facility for better comparing
qualifications and competences.
EQF implementation plan
 By 2010 – all EU countries will relate their qualifications
systems or frameworks to the EQF
 From 2012 –all new qualifications issued have to carry a
reference to the appropriate EQF level ( from 1 to8)
 The need for more urgent solutions ( as a steps to EQF):
for example - recognition of expected competences and
comparable certifications of migrant workers between
sending and receiving countries, particularly - in sectors
and occupations where migration is high and the demand
for workers is stable
Summary : how to manage of talents and skills
during crisis time ?
 EU countries that are hosting a highly qualified migrant
workforce could reap the benefits of them by investing in
them before they will come to their labour markets.
 The desirable skills and qualifications have to be extracted
and defined on the basis of co-operation between branch
representatives of companies in migrants sending and
receiving EU countries.
 Migrants have to be early identify as the probable
important workforce by future hosting countries and
informed by them about the competence requirements for
concrete demandable positions.