Improvement of jobseeker services

Labour administration services must be adapted to the needs of jobseekers

Slightly differing services are available for various jobseeker and age groups. The system is complex and fails to give labour administration specialists adequate opportunities for reflection when seeking to promote the employment of a jobseeker in the manner best suited to the individual. This would nevertheless be the most effective way to promote employment.

Achieving the objective

• We must develop a simple jobseeker services model based on features of the individual, in which a labour administration specialist considers the needs of the local labour market and the capacities of the jobseeker, and determines the content of service provision accordingly.
• Local and inter-municipal employment and skills ecosystems must be constructed on a sufficiently large regional employment base as labour administration services are transferred to municipalities.
• More attention must be paid to developing the skills of jobseekers and expanding opportunities for learning.

Why is this objective important?

Even though current employment services are based on individual support for the jobseeker, the pursuit of this essentially laudable aim is too dependent on a one-size-fits-all model. Labour administration specialists should be empowered to adapt individual jobseeker services into the kind of package that optimises the conditions for employment. This will enable specialists to devote more time to serving jobseekers who require special support in securing employment.

Effective promotion of employment requires not only labour market policy, but also a wide range of measures and policies (for example relating to business, education, housing and transport). A large city or a joint municipal area is best placed to combine the necessary policy areas into a functioning employment-promoting ecosystem providing a diverse range of services close to residents.

A sufficiently broad employment base is important, as it enables services to be delivered in an economically and efficiently scalable way. A municipality or joint municipal area would ideally be able to serve jobseekers extensively on a one-stop-shop basis.

Jobseekers must remain available to the labour market by participating in employment services and actively seeking work. Nobody loses out if they also want to study in addition to this. Employment is most effectively promoted by abolishing assessments of whether studies other than those that clearly lead to a qualification are a principal or secondary activity affecting eligibility for unemployment benefit.

Supply and demand must be more effectively matched in the labour market

The labour market mismatch and labour shortages cannot be resolved solely through work-related immigration. Measures will include improving employment services and facilitating relocation for employment.

Achieving the objective

• The provision of short-term vocational studies for employees both in and out of work must be increased.
• Employee skills must be improved through such measures as continuous learning, on-the-job learning at workplaces, and developing skills that are the responsibility of the employer.
• Measures to support relocation for employment must include affordable housing and public transport, a cut in conveyancing tax, mobility allowances and tax deductibility of travel costs.
• The quality of public employment services must be improved.
• Proactive jobseeking training must be included in secondary level vocational studies.
• Terms and conditions of employment and working conditions must be improved, particularly in sectors where there are labour shortages.
• Provision of information must be improved to meet the needs and training requirements of the workforce.

Why is this objective important?

Jobseekers and jobs do not always come together. Studies suggest that there is room for improvement in such areas as recruitment practices, and in public employment services and employment agencies.

To resolve the labour market mismatch, we need short and long-term proactive information on labour requirements indicating the occupations and regions that will require staff and how much labour will be needed in future, including workers from abroad. We must also improve our ability to anticipate the kind of training and expertise that will be in demand.

It is important to investigate the extent to which problems of labour availability are due to a genuine shortage of labour, and not to such factors as poor pay and working conditions.

There is much room for improvement in recruitment processes

Regular, researched information is needed on the causes of recruitment problems. A thematic study commissioned by SAK in spring 2022 investigated the causes of employment problems from the employee perspective. One key finding was that jobseeking has become too difficult for many workers.

Complex jobseeking processes even eliminate applicants with adequate skills to fill a vacancy. Requirements set out in job advertisements were considered high, and did not always correspond to the actual content of the job. Job vacancy notices may also be so difficult to interpret that the applicant fails to understand the skills required for the job. They may exclude important details, such as the terms and conditions of employment.

Older employees in particular were keen to have an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and approach to work. The means of jobseeking may be unfamiliar, even among those with the skills required for the work itself. Others expressed the wish for entry positions suitable for those with less work experience, with the workplace investing in orientation and training.

Further details of this study in Finnish may be found online via this link.

The quality of vacant positions is often poor

When discussing a labour shortage, it is important to ask what kind of employment is unpopular among employees. Are we speaking of part-time work or working on commission? Are the positions of short duration or offered in the form of agency work? Can the employee manage on the pay rates offered? The quality of job vacancies is evident from online employment services that enable searches for open positions on various criteria. The study reveals that less than half of the vacancies are for full-time work, and that many of them do not offer an adequate livelihood.