Employment and Social Developments in Europe
27 September 2019
Olga Strietska-Ilina, Senior specialist on skills and employability at the ILO, participated in a conference presenting the 2019 edition of the report 'Employment and Social Developments in Europe'. She advocated for treating human capital as an investment and not a cost, more efficient governance mechanisms for talent acquisition and retention and lifelong learning policies allowing individuals to take advantage of education throughout their career.
Ms Strietska-Ilina contributed to a panel discussion which discussed how to harness social investment in order to raise activity, employment, productivity and well-being, and facilitate a just, socially fair transition to a climate-neutral economy. She discussed several factors which play into improving the functioning of the labour market.
Firstly, one key issue is that one in four employees in Europe are employed below their optimal potential, meaning that they were educated at a higher level than the level of the position. This is also due to a lack of effective talent management and employers are often unaware of the talent available to them. This problem could be remedied by more effective human resource management enabling employers to more efficiently acquire and retain talent.
Secondly, workers should have access to lifelong learning, meaning that they can always access funds to improve their skills and employability. What is also essential, according to Ms Strietska-Ilina, is ensuring that human capital (investment in education) is treated as an investment and not a cost.
On the transition to the green economy, Ms Strietska-Ilina discussed the need to manage job losses which would affect predominantly middle-aged and middle-skilled men, while also affecting the potential job creation for women. Finally, she cited the need for improved public child care, which would increase the labour market participation of women and improve their work-life balance.
Across these policies, she urged for increased cooperation between private and public actors to implement policy solutions to ensure a more efficient labour market.
Ms Strietska-Ilina contributed to a panel discussion which discussed how to harness social investment in order to raise activity, employment, productivity and well-being, and facilitate a just, socially fair transition to a climate-neutral economy. She discussed several factors which play into improving the functioning of the labour market.
Firstly, one key issue is that one in four employees in Europe are employed below their optimal potential, meaning that they were educated at a higher level than the level of the position. This is also due to a lack of effective talent management and employers are often unaware of the talent available to them. This problem could be remedied by more effective human resource management enabling employers to more efficiently acquire and retain talent.
Secondly, workers should have access to lifelong learning, meaning that they can always access funds to improve their skills and employability. What is also essential, according to Ms Strietska-Ilina, is ensuring that human capital (investment in education) is treated as an investment and not a cost.
On the transition to the green economy, Ms Strietska-Ilina discussed the need to manage job losses which would affect predominantly middle-aged and middle-skilled men, while also affecting the potential job creation for women. Finally, she cited the need for improved public child care, which would increase the labour market participation of women and improve their work-life balance.
Across these policies, she urged for increased cooperation between private and public actors to implement policy solutions to ensure a more efficient labour market.