Level: REGIONAL
Poland
Between 2004 and 2013 Poland established 12 Labour Market/Skills Observatories – almost one per region. The availability of EU funding and the identification of information gaps in the local labour market were the direct triggers for establishing this network of Observatories.
Their positions in the structure of regional labour offices vary regionally. In some cases the Labour Market/Skills Observatories act as internally financed projects carried out by existing organisational units of the employment offices. In other regions the Observatories are separate specialised statutory units that apply for EU funding for research projects. Depending on the needs identified at regional level, Observatories conduct research closely related to labour market, education and skills dynamics. In certain cases the research fields are much wider and include the economy, industries and economic forecasting.
France
The regional dimension of skills anticipation and matching is a structural feature that is linked to the decentralisation strategy of France, which has devolved most competences in the management and financing of important sections of education and training policy to the regions (e.g. VET, continuing training). The decentralisation of public employment and training policy started in the 1980s and has been a long process based on a number of milestone laws. The decentralisation of the employment-skills observatory function echoed the overall decentralisation policy: this is the policy and legal framework behind the creation and continuing development of the Regional Observatories, Employment and Training: OREF (Observatoire Régional Emploi-Formation).
These Observatories were created in 1988 with the main function of gathering, compiling and interpreting existing but fragmented and dispersed data. OREF elaborated shared labour market and skills intelligence, making it accessible to all stakeholders, which was indispensable for inter-institutional dialogue. This function was strategic in the context of decentralisation and the involvement of multiple stakeholders in public employment and training policy.
In the early 2000s the evolution of these Observatories was marked by the reinforcement of their visibility, sustainability and capacity via their integration with a larger network: CARIF. The CARIF-OREF Network (Réseau CARIF-OREF: RCO) is a not-for-profit Association with representations in each French administrative region. The public service missions of the RCO are formalised in the framework of the National State-Region Project Contract, and are funded jointly by the State (centrally) and by the Region. Social partners are involved in the activities of the RCO.
The OREF are in charge of the third function of the RCO: observation and statistical activities to support regional decision-makers in monitoring the labour market and training fields. To this end, OREF have developed a methodology and analytical capacity, forming networks with data generation bodies at the regional level, and sharing methods and good practice across the RCO. The demand for OREF’s research and products has been growing, and the forecasting of labour market needs and skills supply is now a top priority. Tracking pathways within training and between education and employment remains a key area of work for all the Observatories, bound, as they are, to provide data and evidence for effective and efficient policy-making and public expenditure on training at the regional level.
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