This note examines the role of skills forecasting as one way to identify future imbalances between labour supply and demand. Sometimes called labour market forecasting’ or ‘employment forecasts’, this methodology aims to make predictions about future imbalances in supply and demand by producing a comprehensive picture of future labour market developments in terms of economic sectors, occupations, qualifications and skills.

Evidence from Cedefop’s European skills and jobs survey What has been the impact of the economic crisis on skill mismatch? Is there a cost in getting the unemployed quickly into any job? Why is skill mismatch prevalent among the EU workforce? To answer these and other timely questions on skill mismatch, in spring 2014 Cedefop carried out the European skills and jobs (ESJ) survey. The findings of the survey shown in this report caution that the prolonged economic downturn is threatening the long-term potential of the EU’s human resources. A greater share of recent job finders has entered into jobs that need lower qualifications and skills than their own. The unemployed also run a greater risk of misplacement into jobs of lower skill intensity. More than one in five EU employees has not developed skills since they started a job, as over one third of EU jobs are characterised by poor task complexity and lack of continued learning. Closer stakeholder collaboration and policy action is needed in the EU to generate not only more skills but also, crucially, better jobs for better-matched skills.

At present, the training institutions provide very limited information to the policy makers with regard to the provision of the TVET system. Standard curricula do not exist, training of trainers facilities are not available and there is no registration or accreditation system. Certification is ‘in-house’ and there are no common standards from which trainees or employees can gauge level of study or achievement. This study represents the first attempt to register TVET providers across the sector, collect essential baseline information and to gauge their performance.