Employment services explained: Key questions on labour market challenges and opportunities

1. Who tends to benefit from the support provided by employment services? Are there particular groups you focus on?

If you are in any way related to the labour market- trying to find a job, hiring someone, moving jobs, then employment services in some form or another work for you.

That said, public employment services place particular emphasis on people who face barriers in the labour market. This includes young people entering work, the long-term unemployed, women, older workers, migrants, persons with disabilities, and displaced workers.

2. You started your career many years ago. How is the labour market different today, and how have you adapted your approach to keep up?

While labour markets have always evolved with economic crises, technological breakthroughs, or global disruptions like pandemics, today’s change feels faster and more complex than ever.

We’re seeing the combined impact of digital transformation, demographic shifts, climate transitions, and geopolitical uncertainty.

We also haven’t seen a time when jobs and career paths are evolving so rapidly. Careers are no longer linear, job changes are more frequent, and skills gaps are more pronounced.

We also haven’t seen a time when jobs and career paths are evolving so rapidly. Careers are no longer linear, job changes are more frequent, and skills gaps are more pronounced.

In response, employment services have moved beyond simply matching people to jobs. Today, the focus is on supporting transitions- helping people reskill, adapt, and build resilience over time.

This shift has also made coordination more important than ever. Employment services now work closely with training providers, employers, private employment services providers, and other partners to help people navigate an increasingly complex system.

Considering the barriers people face and the complications brought about by the drivers I mentioned earlier, employment services are better implemented as part of an integrated package with other active labour market policies as well as with social protection policies.

3. People often have misconceptions about employment services. What’s the biggest misunderstanding you encounter?

A common misconception is that employment services are just about matching jobseekers with vacancies. That’s part of the story but only a small part. Thinking that’s all they do is a bit like saying a school only hands out diplomas.

In reality, public employment services do much more, including improving the employability and skills of jobseekers as well as supporting employers to find and sometimes manage the talent they need to be productive. They implement active labour market policies, including , training and skills referrals, government subsidies for employment of target groups, entrepreneurship and self-employment support, and public employment programmes; provide income‑support administration, and support employers with recruitment, retention, and workforce adjustment. Most of these are tailored and integrated as part of a package of support for a customer’s journey to integration in the labour market. Much of this work happens behind the scenes.

© ILO Prospects Flickr

© ILO Prospects Flickr

At their core, employment services are about organising and strengthening the labour market as a whole, helping it function more effectively and fairly for everyone involved.

4. In today’s labour market, men and women can face very different challenges. How does your work take gender into account when designing programmes and support?

Simply stating that men and women are equal doesn’t remove the real challenges many women still face in the labour market.

That’s why gender needs to be actively considered when designing employment programmes. This means looking at who has access to opportunities, the quality of jobs available, and differences in pay.

For example, women are often concentrated in lower-paid sectors or carry a larger share of care responsibilities. Addressing these issues might involve promoting access to a wider range of occupations, supporting childcare solutions, or designing more flexible work pathways.

We also focus on building the capacity of employment services to deliver gender-responsive support, so they can better meet the needs of all jobseekers.

5. Technology is changing the way people look for work. How has your work changed in recent years with the rise of digital tools and AI?

Technology and AI have reshaped employment services almost everywhere, but not at the same pace. Nearly all public employment services now use digital tools, from online job portals to sophisticated profiling and matching systems based on skills and competencies. In richer countries, this has led to more fully digital, personalised services, with online matching, profiling and case management. In many developing countries, progress has been slower, held back by limited infrastructure, skills gaps and unequal Internet access.

Technology and AI have reshaped employment services almost everywhere, but not at the same pace.

While technology brings new opportunities, it also comes with important caveats, particularly the risk of deepening existing divides. As a result, in both advanced and developing country contexts, face-to-face services remain essential, often complemented by digital delivery.

6. Labour markets can be very different from region to region. How do local conditions affect the kind of support you offer?

While the core principles of employment services remain consistent, the way they are delivered varies significantly depending on local context.

Local economic structures, informality levels, skills demand and demographic factors shape the mix of services, partnerships and policy instruments used to support workers and employers. In many cases this has led to a decentralised structure and/or management of public employment services to institutionalize adaptation of services to the local context.

For example, the type, range and depth of services offered by a PES office in a more developed region with many industries will be different from another region that is agriculture based with limited formal enterprises.

7. Employers face new challenges when hiring today. From your experience, what do they struggle with most, and how can employment services help?

As jobseekers are facing challenges in the labour market, employers are also struggling.

Many report difficulties finding the right skills, adapting to rapid change, and managing workforce transitions. Skills shortages and mismatches are common, even in tight labour markets.

Employment services help by going beyond simple recruitment. They improve job matching by for example looking at skills and not qualifications only, support reskilling initiatives, promote inclusive hiring practices, and strengthen links between employers and training systems.

In doing so, they help businesses find not just any candidates but the right ones, while also supporting a more adaptable workforce.

* The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ILO.

Michael Mwasikakata is the Head of the Labour Market Services for Transitions Unit in the Employment, Skills and Sustainable Enterprises Department, at ILO HQ in Geneva.

His work include research and knowledge development, development of tools and strategies to strengthen employment services and active labour market policies, provision of technical assistance to member states to strengthen and modernise public employment services and support regulation of private employment agencies, as well as promotion of partnerships and cooperation between public and private employment services.