Resources
Quick Introduction
This toolkit combines tools useful for helping policymakers design the LMI offer for their region and for practitioners to help them utilise best practice approaches and to understand the changing needs of the labour market and their own role within it.
Toolkit Content
This tool incorporates a series of resources that should be useful for activities that underpin 21st century labour market monitoring. This includes new good practices and case studies at national and Regional and Local levels, (and set out below by Theme). Importantly, we have created a series of new Tools with two specific audiences in mind:
- Economic Development and VET Policymaker Tools
- Labour Market Observatory Tools
The next section includes a summary of how you can benefit from utilising each of the various tools.
Economic Development and VET Policymaker Tools
The Strategy Formation Process Tool
Purpose and function: Accurate and up-to-date LMI needs to be embedded within a broader framework of policy formation. Furthermore VET-EDS has recognised the need to link into both economic development and VET policy and strategy formation. This tool looks at the mechanisms and means of embedding effective LMI into the strategy formation process and has been tested in real world strategy formation.
Purpose and function: This tool is designed to help local and regional VET policymakers and VET providers and those who work with them, to understand the potential market and framework for provision that better meets the needs of the economy – termed here ‘employer responsiveness’. Employer responsive provision is provision that has been designed with the end-user and ‘demand-side’ as its focus and priority. This has been a driver for a number of EU countries over the last few years, particularly where there was a perceived dominance over the design of training and skills provision by the education or ‘supply side’. The result of this was that employers perceived the provision not to be sufficiently ‘fit-for-purpose’.
Purpose and function: Commissioning LMI is not straightforward and there are many different types, scales, levels and methods of generating and managing LMI resources. This tool looks at how a policymaker can ensure they create the correct form and type of LMI systems including ensuring they understand the potential within LMI, how it can be used, what types can be implemented and what types are ideal for what purpose (forecasting, sectors, real-time etc).
Labour Market Observatory Tools
What 21st century LMOs are currently actively pursuing and how they interact with policy
21st century LMOs engage in numerous different actions and processes. Traditionally, they were passive LMI providers. Today, they also act as interpreters, evaluators and mediators in contexts of local or regional labour market policy and action. This indicates a major shift in role and function of LMOs. This tool helps understanding this shift and new roles and functions of LMOs. It can be used both by Policymakers to understand the need for up-to-date labour Market intelligence and by labour market Observatories and experts to gauge their own work and to explore where it could go next and the kinds of pressures on the sector in other countries.
Supplementary Fundraising Tool
Purpose and function: With the economic crisis still playing a significant role in reducing public sector finances LMI practitioners find themselves faced with having to do the same or more with less resource. As a result, they are looking at alternative means of funding either a continuation of existing LMI analysis and reporting or to pay for innovative new techniques and methods. This tool looks specifically at how organisations can and if they should look for supplementary funding and what it may require form them to achieve it. It contains a great deal of advice and guidance on bidding.
Purpose and function: Measuring the impact of actual and potential/alternative actions is an area where LMI practitioners are already finding they are expected to become expert. However it is a very difficult area with little established ‘good practice’ and where the term ‘impact’ can mean many things (financial, skills uplifts, productivity etc). This detailed look at the latest practice in measuring impact is essential for those looking to understand what is increasingly being sought by policymakers and funders.
Harnessing the web for skills and employment data Tool
Purpose and function: Real-time data on the availability of jobs in certain areas and sectors can be achieved through embracing vacancy websites. Web crawlers enable large amounts of data to be analysed and presented. However this is still a growing area and certain jobs and roles are always over and under-represented. Similarly there are major geographical variations. This report highlights how best to engage with this activity and where expertise can be found.
Purpose and function: Our work highlighted the need for LMI practitioners and experts to engage ever more through a variety of mediums from traditional reports and publications through websites, inter-active online resources and social media. This tool is seen as a general first step for LMI experts and practitioners to gain a quick understanding of the principles and practices of public engagement and how to approach what could be a relatively new topic for them.
Local Labour Market Assessments Tool
Purpose and function: Local labour market assessments should draw on a wide range of data sources, including robust, recognised secondary data such as national statistics, as well as qualitative research. To ensure assessments are authoritative and have value to local partners it is important to design methodologies that enable the views of local partners and other stakeholders to be incorporated into the analysis. It is also important that assessments have a context and narrative in order to aid interpretation.
Employer Responsiveness Tool (as above)
Purpose and function: Employer responsive provision is provision that has been designed with the end-user and ‘demand-side’ as its focus and priority. This has been a driver for a number of EU countries over the last few years, particularly where there was a perceived dominance over the design of training and skills provision by the education or ‘supply side’. The result of this was that employers perceived the provision not to be sufficiently ‘fit-for-purpose’. This tool though originally envisaged for policymakers is also significant for practitioner in ensuring a responsive offer.
Thematic Analysis of Good Practice Examples and Case Studies
VET-EDS gathered a great many case studies and good practices form a variety of geographies and sectors. These have been analysed thematically and provide valuable models and examples for your work. The individual case studies and good practices are contained within the three VET-EDS Compendia:
- Local and Regional Good Practices
- National Good Practices
- Case Studies (longer more detailed pieces from our Workshops)
The following themes have been written up and included within the Toolkit:
- Meeting Employer Needs
- Forecasting
- Sector Specific LMI and Training
- LMI Facilitating the Social Integration of Disadvantaged People
- Analysis and Monitoring
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