Employment Services and ALMPs to Support Transitions

Employment services (ES) are one of the key institutions that facilitate a well-functioning labour market, support adjustment to shocks, enhance resilience and ensure inclusion of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the labour market. Public employment services (PES) are government institutions that implement employment and labour market policies, both active (ALMP) and passive. PES work in collaboration with other public, private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. 

The ILO Employment Services Convention, 1948 (No.88) and the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No.181) provide the normative framework for the functioning of public and private employment services and agencies, respectively.

While PES retain authority over employment policy and use of public funds, the conventions together promote cooperation between public, private and third sector employment service providers.

ILO’s approach to effective employment services and ALMPs

The ILO supports national capacity to effectively and coherently design and implement employment services and ALMPs, as well as employability related social assistance programmes that facilitate job matching and placement for smooth labour market transitions. With a strong gender focus, it targets especially the youth and older workers, including disadvantaged groups such as the disabled, migrants and forcibly displaced persons.

The multiplication of crises, in combination with increasing inequalities between and within countries, risk hampering economic and labour market developments more than ever before and calls for a more coordinated and integrated policy, programme and delivery approaches. Employment services and social protection systems need to work in partnership and with other stakeholders to promote resilient labour markets.

Active labour market policies comprise of:

• Employment intermediation services
• Labour market training
• Entrepreneurship and self-employment support
• Employment subsidies
• Public employment programmes

These can be classified by objectives: 1) incentives for retaining or creating employment (demand side); 2) incentives for keeping or seeking employment and enhancing employability (supply side); and 3) matching of supply and demand.

Typology of ALMPs

© ILO

Priority areas within ALMPs and employment services include:

• Innovative approaches and modernization of (public) employment services with a focus on digitalization of services and delivery.
• Capacity development, both at upstream (policy) and downstream, to ensure a conducive policy and legal framework, along with effective design and delivery of integrated services.
• Emphasizing the vital role that both public and private employment services play in strengthening labour market systems and promoting cooperation and partnership working among them.
• The promotion of integrated delivery of measures including integration of ALMPs and social support policies and programmes to ensure coherence and effectiveness of interventions, especially for those facing multiple barriers to employment.
• Supporting transparency in the labour market through strengthening of data collection and analysis systems and methodologies and tools for the evaluation of employment services and active labour market policies.
• Supporting inclusiveness in the labour market through effective profiling and service segmentation and customization in the design and implementation of ALMPs.
• Supporting enhancement of the agility and resilience of the labour market systems while also securing the importance of ALMPs on the national priorities in employment policies.

Our services and how ILO can support you

The ILO supports member States and constituents to strengthen capacity to develop, implement and monitor employment services and active labour market policies in all priority areas highlighted above. We do this through:

• Knowledge development and dissemination: cutting edge primary and action- oriented research on key topics, such as the design and delivery of employment services, including policy and legal frameworks; digitalization of services and PES, including for youth; evidence on what works in ALMPs; ALMPs for just transitions; partnership working and integrated design and delivery of policies and programmes.
• Capacity building: global, regional and country customized tools, including: career guidance tools; establishing effective job centres in a developing country context; assessing the capacity of a public employment service; and a training kit for job counsellors and other employment service staff. We also offer specialized training for staff of public employment services.
• Technical advisory services at regional, country and subnational levels: one of the key competencies of the ILO is the provision of technical assistance to member States and constituents for designing and implementing employment promotion policies and programmes. The multiple crises and their impact on the labour market, have increased the importance of ALMPs and the need for policy and programme coherence as well as for an integrated design and delivery, including through partnerships. ILO supports the strengthening of capacity, designing policies and programmes and monitoring and evaluation.

The ILO PES Scan

The ILO’s Public Employment Services Diagnostic tool and guide is a combined hands-on tool and method—the ‘PES scan’—designed to support decision-making aimed at aligning organizational resources and capacity with changing labour market conditions from a performance perspective. The PES scan offers a forward-looking framework with which to examine the various elements that must be in place to run an effective PES and optimize its functioning. It helps PES organizations to identify the areas where existing capacity effectively contributes to delivering expected results and where there are opportunities for improvement.

Using these tools, PES systems can gain a better understanding of their performance, setting in motion a strategy for closing gaps, aligning resources and ensuring that clients receive consistent and good-quality services. A cluster-based approach offers the possibility of running an overall diagnostic of all PES functions and processes, or of focusing on single areas without losing sight of the system as a whole.

This diagnostic method is designed to support qualitative analysis with quantifiable inputs and evidence. Findings resulting from the diagnostic provide evidence-based information that feeds the deci­sion-making process and guides PES investments. The tool and guide should be used by an external evaluator of the PES. The process requires the commitment of PES management as well as policy makers in the country.