Ewa Matuska

Hanseastic Academy of Management , SlupskPoland

Vilnius 22-23. X. 2009

Focus on human talents and skills

Background - the Lisbon Strategyadopted 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 disturbancesThe 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 After coming back homeemployed unemployed

Double effects of current crisis for talents/ skills shortages in EUNegative Positive

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.

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-12Common 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 problemsSkill/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 EQFIn 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.