17-18 February 2005, International University Bremen

Thursday, 17 February  2005

Klaus Schömann (IUB, Germany):
Welcome, opening and introduction

Dough Smith (Carleton University, Canada):
Canadian labour market information: a regional perspective   v abstract

Peter Nielsen (Aalborg University, Denmark):
Innovation and regional development    v abstract

Lorenz Lassnigg (IHS, Austria):
Regional approaches for the anticipation of skill needs – the Austrian experience with special emphasize on Lower Austria’s approach   v abstract  

Yvette Grelet (Université Caen Basse-Normaandie, France):
The French decentralisation and the apprenticeship of co-ordinated action   v abstract

Friday, 18 February 2005

Christoph Hilbert (WZB, Germany):
Identifying skill needs: transparency through a national-regional framework? – Relevance of skills in labour market policy and regional development    v abstract

Ben Kriechel (ROA, Netherlands):
Forecasting regional labour market in the Netherlands – experiences in measuring and implementation    v abstract

Jörg Michel (Agentur Mark, Germany):
Prospecting regional labour market in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) – experiences, methods and implementation    v abstract

Final Session: Analysing skill needs in regions: how should we proceed?
Statements by Lorenz Lassnigg and Klaus Schömann and Discussion

Canadian labour market information: a regional perspective

Abstract

The study of future skill needs in Canada and how to estimate them accurately remains an issue of active interest among labour market analysts. The Canadian economy is very diverse so that regional differences in labour markets are quite substantial. This implies that regional approaches to identifying and responding to skill needs are likely to be important. Much of Canada’s labour market is concentrated in just four of its ten provinces and three territories. Although past expressions of concerns about skill needs and shortages may not have led to identifiable problems, some of Canada’s regions now face a combination of circumstances that make this a more pressing issue. In Canada, substantial resources are devoted to occupational forecasting and other forms of labour market information. The Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS) is a quantitative projection system and operates in Canada and its regions where it provides forecasts of skill needs that are used by governments, education and training providers, students and labour force participants. There are many other labour market information (LMI) products that also play an important role in identifying and responding to regional skill needs. Many technical improvements have been made in the COPS system so that it now produces outputs for 139 occupations in all provinces. The current model has a clearly specified supply model that interacts with the traditional demand side manpower requirements approach. The Canadian system provides, at the national and regional levels, the detailed COPS occupational information plus substantial amounts of related LMI, most of which does focus on regional labour markets. Within Canada’s regions, career decisions, educational planning and job matching appear to take place in an environment of substantial information but it is difficult to link this information directly to how these decisions are made.

Innovation and regional development

Abstract

Two approaches to innovation can be defined: a science and technology approach to innovation and a network and learning approach to innovation. The science and technology approach (STI) is based on codified and documented knowledge and the use of scientific methods and professional skills. The network and learning approach (DUI) is based on more tacit and embodied knowledge, situated learning and use of competence development and cooperation between users and producers. An empirical overview of the science and technology approach shows that this approach is only moderately used in Danish firms. This leads to the argument that it is worthwhile to consider the potentials of the network and learning approach in depth. The internal cooperation processes of firms developing DUI dimensions are considered as well as the human resources policy and competence development. DUI-firms often use functional-, working time- and intensive flexibility in combination. Competence development is important in DUI-firms and all employee groups seem to benefits from this. The formal training is more frequent for all employee groups in DUI-firms as well. Looking at performance, it is shown that innovative and learning firms create more jobs than more static firms over a period of seven years. The combination of the learning and network approach with the science and technology approach give the firm a crucial capacity.

Regional approaches for the anticipation of skill needs – the Austrian experience with special emphasize on Lower Austria’s approach

Abstract

The purpose of the anticipation of skill needs is the translation of expected future dynamic of demands on “human resources” into education systems. Anticipations systems are social systems of knowledge management in which different actors are linked together. Thereby always two perspectives exist: the technocratic perspective which implies forecasting of skill needs and the professional-political perspective which means the embedding of the technocratic element into the social process of knowledge production. The challenge of an anticipation system is the combination of the two perspectives. Even if on the technocratic level the best available methods are applied, problems occur in terms of the use of the research results. This concerns the link between the technocratic and the professional-political level. The Equi-Centre at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) is currently accomplishing a project concerning the development potentialities of the Lower Austrian (LA) polytechnic-sector. In Austria regular macro-foresight of qualification needs is missing. But small scale short term demand studies are required for the accreditation of polytechnic-programms. Thus the objectives of the project in LA are the anticipation of regional skill needs as well as the creation of a network which links actors from employment and education systems. The aim is a combination of research and practice. Therefor the set-up of the project implies regular arranged ”anticipation-workshops” with employment actors and ”feedback-workshops” with education actors. A quantitative result of the project is a ”Match-Mismatch” assessment of employment demand and supply. On a qualitative level the bridging of seperate systems and instituions on the employer- and on the education-side is an important outcome. Key challenge remains the combination of ICT-skills with specialised area specific knowledge and competences. There is a continious demand for ”technocratic” analyses of future skill needs especially from education-actors, but the establising of practical consequences needs much time.

The French decentralisation and the apprenticeship of co-ordinated action

Abstract

In France the central government and administration played for long a dominant role. If State has always been represented at lower territorial levels, political and financial choices were decided in Paris. The main aim of decentralisation is to struggle against growing disequilibrium between territories. It is thought that bringing the decision-makers closer to the field of application of their policies should allow for a better adaptation of policies to specific local features. As regards the change in the demand for skills and qualifications, the results of nationwide quantitative training forecast are hardly valid at a disaggregated level. Analytical approaches led at a local level help for a better understanding of the training-employment relationship. Since 1993, the Regional Development Plan for Vocational Training (PRDFP) is elaborated by the Regional Council in co-operation with the State. In the context of the French regional policies, founded on dialogue between the elected representatives and representatives of the socio-professional world, there is a common acknowledgement of the virtue of the PRDFP, as a tool to enhance the debate between all players. The development plans have favoured a broad consultation within the activity sectors and an increased dialogue between State and regional partners. Beyond the diversity of regional features there is also a need for harmonising practices and methodologies. That is why the network of OREFs (Regional Observatories of Employment and Training), is now working with Céreq at pooling data, experience, tools and expertise. An indirect outcome of the decentralisation has been an undeniable improvement in the field of research and analysis of the training-employment relationship: the observation of this relationship at a local level, and the inter-regional comparisons allowed by the availability of harmonised data bases helps to a better understanding of its mechanisms.

Identifying skill needs: transparency through a national-regional framework? – Relevance of skills in labour market policy and regional development

Abstract

There is widespread consensus about the key role of human capital to achieve stable employment patterns. Due to this the question arises of how to qualify in the right way. Calling for higher qualification level is one possibility to answer to the needs of the information society, but this strategy is not only expensive and sometimes inefficient, but also difficult to implement. For this, information about skill needs in labour markets is essential for transparency in competitive economies. On the basis of this hypothesis, the project “Qualification Needs in OECD Countries” of the WZB focuses on two issues: The comparison and analysis of forecasts of qualification and skill needs in OECD-countries, and sector-specific and institutional aspects of skill needs in an international perspective. While finding growing activities in skill analyses in nearly all European countries, and by accepting that this is important for international competitiveness, question arises if there is any need for a European perspective. We see more or less two important arguments supporting this view. First, from a more academic viewpoint and based on our project experiences, sharing knowledge about methods and results helps to put the quality of information further in a substantial way. But, beside this a more practice-driven argument in an integrated European Union, of growing mobility becomes more and more important: Due to the fact that, in many ways, specific regions from different countries have better comparable structure and economic potential due to their economic and human capital endowment, looking at and comparing these regions, i.e. ICT-centres is often more useful to learn from each other than looking at diverging regions within one country. For this, an international perspective has two advantages: learning from each other in a scientific perspective and benefit from experiences and learning from regions beyond national borders.

Forecasting regional labour market in the Netherlands – experiences in measuring and implementation

Abstract

Goals of labour market models are increasing the transparency on the labour market by producing medium term forecasts as early warnings and ‘Ex ante’ forecasts. In the Netherlands development and funding of labour market forecast brings together different actors: The independent Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) which is affiliated to Maastricht University, the Ministry of education and science, the public employment office, branch organisations and commercial institutions on educational and occupational choice. National labour market models aim to describe future labour problems for employers and school leavers by occupational group and type of education. They imply a comparison of expansion and replacement demand by occupational group with the amount of short term unemployment and school leavers by type of education. The fact that the matching of some occupational labour markets is predominantly regional and that the regional labour markets differ in their demographic and occupational structure makes regional labour market models necessary. The development of the regional labour market model contains strategies to forecast labour market supply and demand: Expansion demand is based on sectoral employment forecast for provinces to which national trends of occupational shifts are applied. To predict the replacement demand regional age distribution and participation rates are combined with national occupational age distributions. Regional labour market models focus on lower and intermediate education levels. An example is the development of a regional labour market model in the Netherlands province Overijssel. Here the ROA provides reports on regional labour market forecasts with additional studies as well as electronic labour market information system. The labour market forecast in Overijssel was initiated by the provincial government and different actors like the commission of “economic regions”, schools, employer- and labour-unions participate in setup and use of data. The implementation of a regional model for all provinces of the Netherlands is planned. Moreover the interactions among regional labour markets regarding to commuting and regional migration are to be included.

Prospecting regional labour market in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) – experiences, methods and implementation

Abstract

The Prospect method of labour market monitoring was introduced into the NRW labour market policy in 1999 and is used in 9 of the 16 economic regions in NRW. Methodologically it focuses on economic sectors and combines a telephone survey and company visits with the examination of the regional labour market and training offers. The main objectives of Prospect beneath the information aspect are the development of a coherent active labour market strategy, the design and implementation of labour market projects and measures and the integration of institutions and companies into the regional activities. Activities, measures and projects can comprise joint projects and round tables between companies, vocational training for employees and unemployed people, job-rotation-projects, external advice/counselling for companies etc. The benefits of Prospect can be seen in the development of a strategic approach towards regional labour policy, the detection of vacancies and recruitment difficulties, the increase of information about current and future skill requirements which can be matched with vocational training programs and the involvement of regional companies and labour market institutions/key players.