Attracting skilled labour from third countries : the role of public employment services : thematic paper

The objective of the document is to explore the current and evolving role of European public employment services (PES) in the international recruitment of skilled labour and develop recommendations to expand and/or streamline their role. The document maps current involvement of PES structured along the process chain of recruitment, from monitoring labour demand and skill needs and administering labour market tests, to active involvement in specific recruitment programmes. The paper confirms that to date PES across Europe mainly performed administrative tasks. However, in view of the need to address (regional) labour and skills shortages, the patterns of involvement of PES started to shift towards more active engagement, either within structured government strategy, or without it. The paper concludes that a growing role and engagement of PES in the international labour recruitment is possible, and advisable, given PES' central role in domestic labour markets, established relationships with key stakeholders and their expertise in the process of administration of recruitment procedures. The key condition is a presence of an overarching policy and government strategy, that would enable structured involvement of PES.