Raymond Morel 4037 days ago
Previous research on how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can support socio-economic inclusion processes for groups at risk of exclusion, namely migrants and youth at risk, provides evidence of the relationships between ICT and employability.
There is, for example, evidence that the adoption of ICT increases the demand for skilled workers and reduces it for unskilled workers. Access and ability to use technology also affects employability by shaping the decision to enter the labour market and to invest in training, and the likelihood of obtaining job offers. Possessing digital skills increases the probability of being employed, especially for older workers. Digital skills significantly increase wage levels; and ICT skills increase the likelihood of older workers remaining employed. Digital skills also increase the opportunities for life-long learning.
Likewise, the rise of the internet has brought about major changes in how individuals look for jobs and the factors that shape their success: job matching services and individual factors, such as a person's motivation and social networks, are crucial.
From another perspective, telework has the potential as well to bring jobs to people who would otherwise be excluded from the labour market because of their life condition, disability, or family commitments to state a few examples.
These partial but encouraging findings have prompted IPTS to pursue a more systematic research approach in order to provide more solid theory and evidence to support policy orientation in the fields of employment, social inclusion and ICT for inclusion (eInclusion).
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A key policy concern of the Members States in the EU is the need to stimulate the creation of employment as part of the 'job rich recovery'. This is happening at a time when the nature and organisation of work is changing rapidly: industry demands more flexible work organisation to maintain competitiveness, globalisation changes the supply and demand for labour and new uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) change the practices and possibilities of work. (More on The Future of Work...)
As a first step in establishing a policy-oriented research line in ICTs for employability, this study will provide a survey and analysis of contemporary theoretical approaches and frameworks used and developed in research, covering:
- employability, its dimensions and factors affecting it in general;
- employability concepts as developed in relation to groups at risk of exclusion: namely migrants, youth and older workers. These concepts include consideration of the specific barriers and pathways to employment for these groups, with particular attention to the low skilled in each group;
- how and why ICTs affect employability dimensions and employability factors (as described in 1);
- how ICT can contribute to employability, support reducing barriers and create pathways to employment for the three specific groups at risk of exclusion
This review will help IPTS, in conjunction with leading researchers in the field, to provide a map of available evidence, identify research gaps and challenges, and define a programme for developing further research and evidence for policy support.
Final reports of this study:
- Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion and ICT, Report 1: The Concept of Employability, With A Specific Focus on Young People, Older Workers And Migrants (2012). Anne Green, Maria de Hoyos, Sally-Anne Barnes, David Owen, Beate Baldauf and Heike Behle, JRC-IPTS Technical Note (Forthcoming)
- Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion And ICT, Report 2: ICT And Employability (2012). Maria de Hoyos, Anne E. Green, Sally-Anne Barnes, Heike Behle, Beate Baldauf and David Owen, JRC-IPTS Technical Note (Forthcoming)
- Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion And ICT, Report 3: Database of example practices on how ICT can support employability four young people, older people and migrants (2012). Heike Behle, Sally-Anne Barnes, Beate Baldauf, David Owen, Anne Green and Maria de Hoyos
- Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion And ICT, Report 4: Review of available data sets on employability and ICT(2012). David Owen, Heike Behle and Beate Baldauf
If you require pre-publication copies of these reports please e-mail james.stewart(at)ec.europa.eu