How useful is the concept of skills mismatch?
How useful is the concept of skills mismatch?
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
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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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.
This paper was prepared as a background note for the International Conference on
Jobs and Skills Mismatch held in Geneva on May 11-12, 2017.
The term skill mismatch is very broad and can relate to many forms of labour market friction, including vertical mismatch, skill gaps, skill shortages, field of study (horizontal)
mismatch and skill obsolescence.
In this paper the authors provide a clear overview of each concept and discuss the measurement and inter-relatedness of different forms of mismatch. They present a
comprehensive analysis of the current position of the literature on skills mismatch and highlight areas which are relatively underdeveloped and may warrant further research.
Using data from the European Skills and Jobs Survey, they examine in detail the incidence of various combinations of skills mismatch across the EU and review the
European Commission’s country specific recommendations and find that skills mismatch, when referring to underutilised human capital in the form of overeducation and skills
underutilisation, receives little policy attention.
They argue that in cases where skills mismatch it is specifically addressed by policy recommendations, the policy advice is either vague or addresses the areas of mismatch for
which there is the least available evidence.
