Key drivers to develop a skilled workforce include the strengthening of training and education(57) targeted at future labour market needs so as to increase the learning mobility of young people and teachers while at the same time promoting measures that increase incentives to participate in these schemes. Efforts to support those with low skills and increasing the employability of older workers should be at the core of such policies.
Given the uncertainty associated with future skill needs, it could also be appropriate to promote more general training and longer courses rather than very specific training until the economy fully recovers (OECD (2009).
Better labour market matching requires the introduction of new training paths that meet the future demands posed by an ageing population, globalisation, economic greening, and technological progress, and the introduction of measures that improve the occupational, sectoral and geographic mobility of the workforce.
The certification of qualification levels could be promoted as a useful instrument for increasing the mobility of workers. If a worker is laid off, part of the value the previous employer put on their experience and skill levels is liable to be lost, while a new prospective employer may have difficulties assessing the value of the applicant’s experience and skills. The same holds for (PES provided) training activities; their value will be clearer when a recognised completion certificate is provided.
(57) | I.e. covering all sectors from early childhood education and schools through to higher education, vocational education and training, as well as adult training. |