How to support an employer? Manual for managerial and operational teams in PES

Job seekers typically come to Public Employment Service (PES) agencies on their own, but employers are often much less engaged. Too few businesses use public employment services for their recruitment needs. This common trend across many countries hampers effective job matching and limits the overall impact of employment policies.

However, without job offers, how can we effectively support jobseekers? Without a structured dialogue with companies, how can skills needs be anticipated, training adapted, job seekers guided, and recruitment challenges addressed? Strengthening relationships with employers is, therefore, not an option. It is an essential condition for the PES to fully fulfill its public interest mission.

This guide was designed to meet this need. It explores the specific expectations of businesses, the particularities of the "hidden recruitment market," and the persistent barriers to using public services. It offers PES stakeholders concrete benchmarks, operational tools, and proven field strategies for building a lasting relationship of trust with employers, drawing on inspiring international examples of successful cooperation with the business world.