Productivity

The skill matching challenge: Analysing skill mismatch and policy implications

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Document

Content Type:

The skill matching challenge: Analysing skill mismatch and policy implications

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Experts from many international, regional and national agencies generously share their views, experiences and findings on skills, helping policy-makers among other stakeholders to understand the linkages between education, training and the world of work, and how to integrate skills into national development planning to promote employment and economic growth.

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skpOSource

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other-sources

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Anticipating and matching skills needs

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Anticipating and building skills for the future is essential to a rapidly changing labour market. This applies to changes in the types and levels of skills needed as well as in occupational and technical areas. Effective methods to anticipate future skills needs and avoid potential mismatches include: sustained dialogue between employers and trainers, coordination across government institutions, labour market information systems, employment services and performance reviews of training institutions.

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skpAFSN

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anticipating-and-matching-skills-needs

Research papers

Working papers, reports, and other publications from international organizations, academic institutions and bilateral agencies. Research findings to stimulate informed debate on skills, employment and productivity issues.

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skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

08 May 2013

Open

wcmstest4_044437.pdf

The report argues that matching skills with jobs is of critical importance for a well-functioning labour market. The mismatch between skills and jobs is a complex phenomenon that affects individuals, enterprises, economies and societies. It often takes the form of a skills gap or shortage, but can also refer to cases where skills exceed job requirements. The paper aims to structure the data available today on the mismatch of skills and jobs by analysing a series of important questions. It discusses the features of the skill mismatch phenomenon and provides an overview of factors contributing to it; analyses its economic and social costs; and argues that the issue should be taken seriously by national and European policy-makers. The study also discusses how skill mismatch can be better measured in surveys; this will make it possible to provide more detailed and sound analyses in the coming years.
Cedefop is the European Union’s reference centre for vocational education and training.

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productivity

Identifier

188

Skills anticipation

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skills-anticipation

Identifier

677

Skills mismatch

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skills-mismatch

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654

Survey

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survey

Identifier

611

Regions:

Europe and Central Asia

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Productivity increases in SMEs: With special emphasis on in-service training of workers in Korea

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Document

Content Type:

															Productivity increases in SMEs: With special emphasis on in-service training of workers in Korea  
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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Information is gathered from other international organizations that promote skills development and the transition from education and training to work. The Interagency Group on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (IAG-TVET) was established in 2009 to share research findings, coordinate joint research endeavours, and improve collaboration among organizations working at the international and national levels.

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

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Monitoring and evaluation

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Measuring the outcomes of skills systems, policies and targeted programmes is essential in order to monitor and improve their effectiveness and relevance. Elements of sound assessment processes include: institutions to sustain feedback from employers and trainees; mechanisms to track labour market outcomes of training and systems of accountability that use this information; and, quantitative and qualitative labour market information and its dissemination to all stakeholders.

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skpPolPer

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monitoring-and-evaluation

Knowledge Products:

Research papers

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skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

30 Apr 2013

Open

wcmstest4_043640.pdf

This paper is the result of a joint partnership between the Social Protection Unit of the World Bank and the Korean Ministry of Labor on Skills Development. This partnership was aimed at better understanding the Korean skills development strategy and drawing lessons and best practices for developing countries. This paper is about the evolution of an innovative in-service training program and its effects in Korea. In many developing countries, small- and medium- scale enterprises (SMEs) play important roles in outputs, exports, and employment. Therefore, governments have used various policy instruments to promote productivity of SMEs through in-service training of their workers. However, those policy tools have not been effective to date. An exception to this general trend was found in Korea. The Government of Korea tested a pilot in-service training project and achieved significant results. The government encouraged SMEs to organize themselves into training consortiums (TCs) and provided them with institutional and technical assistance by financing employment of training specialists who manages human resources development of TC-member SMEs. Since mainstreaming, nevertheless, the progress of the TC program has been less than magnificent. Some factors responsible for the lukewarm achievements are analyzed and policy measures for reinvigorating the program have been suggested, together with some lessons learned.

Subject Tags:

Enterprises

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enterprises

Identifier

175

Human resources development

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human-resources-development

Identifier

118

Productivity

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productivity

Identifier

188

Regions:

Asia and the Pacific

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Countries and territories:

Republic of Korea

Disability in the workplace: Employers' organizations and business networks

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Document

Content Type:

Disability in the workplace: Employers' organizations and business networks

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English

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english

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skpEng

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Employers' organizations

Employers invest in training in order to improve productivity, innovate and adopt new technologies, and compete in changing markets. Case studies and research from individual employers and associations of employers on the Global KSP deal with apprenticeship and workplace skills provision, quality assurance and governance of training institutions, and employers’ roles in anticipating skill needs and in influencing national and sector policies on skills development.

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skpEmp

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employers-organizations

ILO

The International Labour Organization is the tripartite U.N. agency that promotes Decent Work through employment, social security, labour standards and social dialogue. Its work on skills development is guided by the conceptual framework on Skills to improve productivity, employment growth, and development agreed in 2008 by representatives of Governments, Employers’ Associations and Workers’ Associations. Research, policy advice, and pilot projects and technical cooperation programmes to apply good practices in different circumstances across its 185 member States aims to boost the employability of workers, the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises, and the inclusiveness of economic growth. The ILO Secretariat in offices in 40 countries works with Ministries of Labour, employers’ organizations, and trade unions to integrate skills development into national and sector development strategies in order to better meet current labour market needs and to prepare for the jobs of the future; to expand access to employment-related training so that youth, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are better able to acquire skills and secure productive and decent work; and to improve the ability of public employment services to provide career guidance, maintain labour exchange services, and deliver active labour market programmes.For more information regarding the ILO’s work on skills and employability go to: http://www.ilo.org/skills/lang--en/index.htm; for ILO/Cinterfor's Knowledge Management Plarform, see: http://www.oitcinterfor.org

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skpILO

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ilo

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Participation of employers' and workers' organizations

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The world of learning and the world of work are separate but linked. While one involves learning, the other produces goods and services. Neither can thrive without the other. Strong partnerships between government, employers and workers help ensure the relevance of training to the changing needs of enterprises and labour markets.

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skpPSP

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participation-of-employers-and-workers-organizations

People with disabilities

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Of an estimated 1 billion people with disabilities in the world today, some 785 million are of working age. While many are successfully employed and fully integrated into society, most face a disproportionate level of poverty and unemployment. This is a massive loss both to them and their countries. A strategy of including people with disabilities in training and employment promotion policies, combined with targeted supports to ensure their participation, can help disabled persons obtain productive mainstream employment.

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skpPeoDis

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people-with-disabilities

Knowledge Products:

Case studies and good practices

Case studies that document good practices and illustrate the benefits and lessons learnt of particular approaches or methods in real practice.

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skpCaseStdy

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case-studies-and-good-practices

Research papers

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Identifier

skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

29 Apr 2013

Open

fm11g_021831.pdf

The publication is a compilation of 12 case studies of employers’ organizations and business networks, describing their activities related to disability and employment. It provides insights into how representative organizations of business address the issue of disability. The practices described in these examples demonstrate how such organizations are well placed to link business interests and the productive integration of people with disabilities in the labour market.

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Employers

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employers

Identifier

672

Enterprises

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enterprises

Identifier

175

Human resources development

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human-resources-development

Identifier

118

People with disabilities

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people-with-disabilities

Identifier

323

Private sector

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private-sector

Identifier

229

Productivity

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productivity

Identifier

188

Regions:

Global

Growing old in an older Brazil: Implications of population aging on growth, poverty, public finance and service delivery

Type:

Document

Content Type:

															Growing old in an older Brazil: Implications of population aging on growth, poverty, public finance and service delivery
													

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English

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english

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skpEng

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skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

Topics:

Older workers

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Access for all to good quality education, vocational training and workplace learning is a fundamental principle of social cohesion and economic growth. Some groups of people may require targeted attention if they are to benefit from education, training and employment opportunities.

This is particularly the case for disadvantaged youth, lower skilled workers, people with disabilities, and people in rural communities. The attractiveness of vocational education and training is enhanced when combined with entrepreneurship training and when public policies encourage utilization of higher skills by business.

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skpOldwor

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older-workers

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Research papers

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skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

03 Apr 2013

Open

wcmstest4_037028.pdf

The report addresses population aging in Brazil and its implications for the labor market. Chapter 5, Productivity and Education, focuses on issues related to the age-productivity profile, opportunities to improve education and training investments, and the wage-productivity gap. It finds that the consequences of population aging are that (1) the working-age population is becoming smaller and (2) the share of the most productive individuals within the labor force is also becoming smaller. Hence, if overall production output is to be maintained, some measures or interventions are needed to increase labor force participation and productivity.
The chapter discusses (1) the effect of age on labor force productivity and consequently on productivity growth; (2) how improvements in education and on-the-job training could reverse the trend of declining age-productivity effects, with a description of Brazil’s efforts in these areas; (3) how differences between age-productivity and age-wage profiles could damage the firms’ competitiveness; and (4) evidence of the effect of the aging labor force on firms’ productivity among Brazilian industrial firms.

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Lifelong learning

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lifelong-learning

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400

Older workers

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older-workers

Identifier

682

Productivity

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productivity

Identifier

188

Skills re-training

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skills-re-training

Identifier

655

Regions:

Americas

Region Image

Countries and territories:

Brazil

From red to gray: The third transition of aging populations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

Type:

Document

Content Type:

															From red to gray: The third transition of aging populations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
													

Language:

English

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english

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skpEng

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Identifier

skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

Topics:

Older workers

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Identifier

skpOldwor

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older-workers

Knowledge Products:

Research papers

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Identifier

skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

03 Apr 2013

Open

wcmstest4_037027.pdf

The report focuses on the challenges that the aging countries of Central, South-Eastern, and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union are experiencing as a result of a political, economic and demographic transition.

The report finds that some of the concerns about aging in Eastern European and Former Soviet countries are probably misplaced and growth is unlikely to be significantly lowered by dwindling labor forces—if policies that promote greater labor force participation and, especially, greater labor productivity are adopted. The paper argues that the greatest positive impact can come from a combination of three factors:
• creating a business environment conducive to enterprise restructuring and innovation;
• investing in measures such as lifelong learning and flexible retraining programs to increase the productivity and employment of aging workers;
• bringing hitherto idle youth and adults into the workplace, and allowing migration of workers from the “younger” countries in and around the region.

Subject Tags:

Lifelong learning

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lifelong-learning

Identifier

400

Older workers

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older-workers

Identifier

682

Productivity

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productivity

Identifier

188

Skills re-training

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skills-re-training

Identifier

655

Regions:

Europe and Central Asia

Region Image

Promoting Pro-Poor Growth: Employment: Policy Guidance Note

Type:

Document

Content Type:

Promoting Pro-Poor Growth: Employment: Policy Guidance Note

Language:

English

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english

Identifier

skpEng

Sources:

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Identifier

skpIntOrg

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international-organizations

Topics:

Participation of employers' and workers' organizations

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Identifier

skpPSP

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participation-of-employers-and-workers-organizations

Knowledge Products:

Policy and strategy

Recommendations and advice on resolving policy challenges related to skills development systems and their linkages to the world of work. Concise syntheses of experience from the international organizations.

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skpPolOp

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policy-and-strategy

Publication Date:

02 Apr 2013

Open

wcmstest4_036429.pdf

This policy guidance for donors is aimed at reducing poverty by increasing employment and making labour markets work better for poor people. It was prepared by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee through the work of its Network on Poverty Reduction and builds on earlier work on private sector development. Recognising that poor people identify getting a job – whether through self-employment or from wages – as their most promising path out of poverty, this policy guidance advocates making employment a central feature of poverty reduction strategies and highlights the importance of addressing both the formal and informal labour markets more effectively. This policy guidance is based on available evidence from developing countries and lessons learnt from good practices, elaborated after consideration of a series of topics: (i) informality, (ii) vocational training, (iii) international migration, (iv) social protection, (v) youth and employment, (vi) women and employment, and (vii) situations of fragility. Additional work, including a conceptual framework on employment and poverty reduction and on the relationship between economic growth, employment and poverty reduction, underpinned preparation of this guidance.

Subject Tags:

Employability

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employability

Identifier

643

Entrepreneurship

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entrepreneurship

Identifier

182

Informal economy

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informal-economy

Identifier

187

Slug

poverty-alleviation

Identifier

149

Productivity

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productivity

Identifier

188

Vocational training

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vocational-training

Identifier

124

Women

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women

Identifier

318

Youth

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youth

Identifier

319

Regions:

Poland'?s education and training: Boosting and adapting human capital

Type:

Document

Content Type:

Poland'?s education and training: Boosting and adapting human capital

Language:

English

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english

Identifier

skpEng

Sources:

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Identifier

skpIntOrg

Slug

international-organizations

Topics:

Training quality and relevance

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Identifier

skpTrainQR

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training-quality-and-relevance

Knowledge Products:

Research papers

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Identifier

skpRPS

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research-papers

Publication Date:

21 Mar 2013

Open

wcmstest4_034226.pdf

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 495 The paper discusses the returns to education and provides an overview of the structure of the education system in Poland; it then discusses its organisation and performance, taking the different levels of education and training in turn.
An effective system of education and training is important for both social and economic reasons. Its role in the Polish economy is to provide the current and future labour force with skills to facilitate both continuing productivity growth and reallocation of resources as structural adjustment proceeds. Important reforms to decentralise primary and secondary education in the late 1990s are now reaching maturity, as cohort sizes decline steeply. These reforms and PISA results have focused attention on quality control and the place of vocational education. Both are important in the tertiary sector, too, which has seen a four-fold expansion in 15 years, mushrooming of private-sector provision and questions on the appropriate balance of public and private funding. Participation in adult training is low too and, as elsewhere, seems to be concentrated among already relatively highly-educated groups but does not seem to be having much impact on improving the human capital of older and less skilled groups. This Working Paper relates to the 2006 OECD Economic Survey of Poland.

Subject Tags:

Human resources development

Slug

human-resources-development

Identifier

118

Productivity

Slug

productivity

Identifier

188

Vocational training

Slug

vocational-training

Identifier

124

Regions:

Europe and Central Asia

Region Image

Countries and territories:

Poland

Poland’s education and training: Boosting and adapting human capital

Type:

Document

Content Type:

Poland’s education and training: Boosting and adapting human capital

Language:

English

Slug

english

Identifier

skpEng

Sources:

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Identifier

skpIntOrg

Slug

international-organizations

Topics:

Training quality and relevance

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Identifier

skpTrainQR

Slug

training-quality-and-relevance

Knowledge Products:

Research papers

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Identifier

skpRPS

Slug

research-papers

Publication Date:

21 Mar 2013

Open

wcmstest4_034226.pdf

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 495

The paper discusses the returns to education and provides an overview of the structure of the education system in Poland; it then discusses its organisation and performance, taking the different levels of education and training in turn.
An effective system of education and training is important for both social and economic reasons. Its role in the Polish economy is to provide the current and future labour force with skills to facilitate both continuing productivity growth and reallocation of resources as structural adjustment proceeds. Important reforms to decentralise primary and secondary education in the late 1990s are now reaching maturity, as cohort sizes decline steeply. These reforms and PISA results have focused attention on quality control and the place of vocational education. Both are important in the tertiary sector, too, which has seen a four-fold expansion in 15 years, mushrooming of private-sector provision and questions on the appropriate balance of public and private funding. Participation in adult training is low too and, as elsewhere, seems to be concentrated among already relatively highly-educated groups but does not seem to be having much impact on improving the human capital of older and less skilled groups. This Working Paper relates to the 2006 OECD Economic Survey of Poland.

Subject Tags:

Education and training

Slug

education-and-training

Identifier

116

Human resources development

Slug

human-resources-development

Identifier

118

Productivity

Slug

productivity

Identifier

188

Vocational training

Slug

vocational-training

Identifier

124

Regions:

Europe and Central Asia

Region Image

Countries and territories:

Poland

Skills, productivity and employment growth: The case of Latin America

Type:

Document

Content Type:

Skills, productivity and employment growth: The case of Latin America

Language:

English

Slug

english

Identifier

skpEng

Sources:

ILO

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Identifier

skpILO

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ilo

Topics:

Training quality and relevance

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Identifier

skpTrainQR

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training-quality-and-relevance

Knowledge Products:

Case studies and good practices

Case studies that document good practices and illustrate the benefits and lessons learnt of particular approaches or methods in real practice.

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Identifier

skpCaseStdy

Slug

case-studies-and-good-practices

Research papers

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Identifier

skpRPS

Slug

research-papers

Publication Date:

28 Feb 2013

Open

wcmstest4_148453.pdf

The aim of this study is to illustrate the relationship between training and workers' skills, productivity and the growth of quality employment in Latin America societies through the analysis of the existing information and the study of some national case studies. The main focus is on the evolution of later decades, particularly since the end of the 1980s up to the present.

Subject Tags:

Competency

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competency

Identifier

641

Employability

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employability

Identifier

643

Enterprises

Slug

enterprises

Identifier

175

Poverty

Slug

poverty

Identifier

148

Productivity

Slug

productivity

Identifier

188

Vocational training

Slug

vocational-training

Identifier

124

Regions:

Americas

Region Image

Countries and territories:

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Resilience, equity, and opportunity: Social protection and labor strategy

Type:

Document

Content Type:

Resilience, equity, and opportunity: Social protection and labor strategy

Language:

English

Slug

english

Identifier

skpEng

Sources:

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Identifier

skpIntOrg

Slug

international-organizations

Topics:

Skills policies and strategies

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Skills and employment policies should be viewed together. The full value of one policy set is realized when it supports the objectives of the other. For investments in education and training to yield maximum benefit to workers, enterprises, and economies, countries’ capacities for coordination is critical in three areas: connecting basic education to technical training and then to market entry; ensuring continuous communication between employers and training providers so that training meets the needs and aspirations of workers and enterprises, and integrating skills development policies with industrial, investment, trade, technology, environmental, rural and local development policies.

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skpPolConv

Slug

skills-policies-and-strategies

Knowledge Products:

International standards

International conventions and recommendations and other international instruments on human resource and skills development. Strategy papers on the practical application of international standards from international organizations covering issues related to training, effective utilization and development of skills, and on linking skills to employment.

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Identifier

skpISSP

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international-standards

Publication Date:

27 Feb 2013

Open

wcmstest4_030627.pdf

This publication sets out a snapshot of the World Bank’s Social Protection and Labor Strategy, its goals, direction, and commitments. The strategy promotes effective policies for productive employment which help people gain access to labor markets and accumulate skills, both during recovery from economic crisis and in normal times. While the strategy builds on the basic analytical foundation of the first World Bank’s Social Protection and Labor Strategy, it also stakes out new ground to meet new challenges. Central role of jobs and opportunity is among its priority areas. The strategy lays out an agenda for both operations and partnership—a multisectoral approach to both improve human capital – with a strong focus on children and workers’ skills and productivity – and to improving people’s ability to access those jobs and opportunities.

Subject Tags:

Policy convergence

Slug

policy-convergence

Identifier

674

Slug

poverty-alleviation

Identifier

149

Productivity

Slug

productivity

Identifier

188

Regions:

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