Effective forecasting as a mechanism for aligning VET and Economic Development Strategies

The VET-EDS project has developed a suite of materials, including a new toolkit, targeted primarily at labour market forecasters but also at those policymakers looking to commission and utilise labour market information. The materials are new and will help ensure the alignment of VET policy and economic development strategy, in line with the priorities of the European Commission. The tools have been disseminated through Europe’s primary network of Labour Market Observatories – the European Network on Regional labour Market Monitoring (EN RLMM).In doing this work the project has identified good practices and case studies where labour market intelligence has reinforced the links between education, training with the world of work and this typically has emphasised the importance of a demand-led system and one where differing types of labour market forecasting have successfully informed VET and economic development strategies. Our innovative new toolkit is available both on a Flash Drive (to facilitate dissemination at the EN RLMM Annual Conference) and online via the project website. This major resource will enable the many organizations providing labour market intelligence and forecasting in Europe to ensure their ‘offer’ is both capable of supporting a more aligned system and indeed helps to progress the process of alignment. It contains a large number of tools, the necessity for each of which was identified through the literature reviews and case study analysis that preceded the toolkit production. We believe that better aligning VET policy and economic development strategy will enhance the quality and relevance of Europe’s learning and training offer, particularly when combined with state of the art labour market forecasting – for which we provide examples – including examples of the very latest developments such as web scraping and real-time labour market data.Our project has explored and described a very large number of good practices and a smaller number of more detailed case studies, both at two levels; national and regional/local. This generated a massive amount of information which has been presented both through three major compendia and as a series of summary tools/reports included within the toolkit. The need for the following tools emerged from our work and in particular from our two successful workshops and from our case studies and good practice analysis. They are:Economic Development and VET Policymaker Toolsa.The Strategy Formation Process Tool b.Employer Responsiveness Tool c.Commissioning LMI Tool Labour Market Intelligence Practitioners Toolsd.What 21st century LMOs are currently actively pursuing and how they interact with policye.Supplementary Fundraising Tool f.Measuring Impact Tool g.Harnessing the web for skills and employment data Toolh.Public Engagement Tool i.Local Labour Market Assessments Toolj.Employer Responsiveness Tool (as above) The great many good practices and case studies that are presented thematically should help in establishing new ways of working or new regional LMI models/approaches. These have been set out with thematic summaries bringing these together under the headings of:•Meeting Employer Needs•Forecasting•Sector Specific LMI and Training•Social Integration of Disadvantaged People•Analysis and MonitoringOur project has identified the importance of policymakers in the evidence formation process and has sought to support this role specifically with new tools (see above) and through two targeted reports. The first for local and regional policymakers and the latter for national and European policymakers.To ensure the efficacy of the approach and of the project activities and outputs we have engaged the University of Stirling as a project evaluator and interim and final evaluation reports are available for the project. The partners were chosen as they encompass the very best examples of labour market forecasting organizations/experts from across Europe, including local, regional and national examples. All partners remain key players in the EN RLMM, which is Europe’s network of regional observatories and this network has been and will continue to be used to drive dissemination and to help gather good practices and case studies. The partners encompass Higher Education Institutions, private sector organisations and the public sector. In the longer term we anticipate significant ongoing benefits from the use of the Toolkit by partners and the Network and future publications are planned including an article by Stirling and a Working Paper form the ENRLMM.