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In pursuit of kindred skills on Valentine’s Day!

Do you dream of meeting that perfect match? Where the requited fulfilment of your needs allows you to flourish in a nurturing environment? And, through meeting the other’s needs they are propelled forward on a path of growth and success? The right skills match can satisfy both employee and employer!

What is skills mismatch?

Skills mismatch is recognised as a major challenge by policy makers, practitioners and social partners. It is not only due to low-quality education, but also demographic change, rapid technological development, new sources of job creation and new forms of work organisation. It can negatively affect labour market outcomes, workers’ productivity, competitiveness and economic growth contributing to high and persistent levels of unemployment, and unfulfilled job vacancies.

What is the ETF doing about skills mismatch?

In 2020, the ETF is launching a new ‘skills initiative’ including a review of matching and anticipation methodologies, compilation of case studies on evolving skills needs in traditional sectors, and big data analysis exploration for skills intelligence to better equip education and training systems in our partner countries response to labour markets’ fast changing needs.

The ETF has also undertaken studies and developed a training course, the Skills Anticipation and Matching (SAM) e-toolkit, to enable policy makers and practitioners to spot trends and drivers for current and future skills requirements, which lie at the heart of a successful strategy to make education and training responsive to labour market needs.

More information on the trends and drivers for skills needs and matching and skills supply and demand in ETF partner countries– Egypt, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia and Serbia –  is available from the ETF project in 2017- 2018 which sought to better understand the nature and incidence of the complex phenomenon of skills matching at national level.  

What is the Skills Anticipation and Matching e-toolkit?

The ETF’s digital toolkit offers a virtual course on skills matching and anticipation tools. Policy makers and practitioners in vocational education and training and employment, as well as young people and job seekers can benefit from increasing their knowledge on education and training and employment policies. Users self-train and learn at their own pace through a series of interactive modules to anticipate skills needs and match skills supply and demand. The course is available in the ETF Open Space. The toolkit is based on the joint ETF-CEDEFOP-ILO methodology laid out in the six methodological guides on developing tools for skills anticipation and matching and supporting their implementation.

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