EEPO Review Spring 2015: Upskilling unemployed adults

Transcription

1 European Employment Policy Observatory (EEPO) EEPO Review Spring 2015: Upskilling unemployed adults The organisation, profiling and targeting of training provision Czech Republic Written by Daniel Münich and Štěpán Jurajda CERGE-EI March 2015

2 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Unit C.1 Europe 2020: Employment Policies: European Employment Strategy and Governance European Commission B-1049 Brussels

3 EUROPEAN COMMISSION European Employment Policy Observatory (EEPO) EEPO Review Spring 2015: Upskilling unemployed adults The organisation, profiling and targeting of training provision Czech Republic March, 2015 Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion European Employment Policy Observatory (EEPO)

4 European Employment Policy Observatory Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet ( Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2015 ISBN ABC DOI European Union, 2015 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

5 1 Introduction National policy framework and changes since 2008 In the Czech Republic, skill upgrading for the unemployed, as one of the dimensions of active labour market policy (ALMP), is governed by the relevant Employment Act provisions. The key institution responsible for the implementation of training programmes for the unemployed, including the low-skilled unemployed, is the network of District Labour Offices (DLOs). This network has had to face four key challenges during the economic crisis years. 1. Significant reduction in public expenditure from the Czech Republic state budget, which resulted in the reduction in the number of staff within the network of DLOs at a time when unemployment flow rose sharply. 2. Reform of the DLO agenda to cover not only ALMP and Passive Labour Market Policies (PLMP), but also the disbursement of social benefits, which were previously the responsibility of the municipalities. While this is a sensible policy reform, it coincided with several other major administrative events (information system collapse, which is still not fixed to the original capacity; poorly managed restructuring of DLOs network). 3. The Ministry of Labour (MoL) introduced major changes to contracts governing IT services that underpin the operation of DLOs which resulted in severe problems with the functioning of the database information system that DLOs use for disbursement of both unemployment-insurance and social benefits and for operating their advising and ALMP agenda. 4. Reduction in public expenditure on ALMP spending, including funding for training programmes, declined in 2012; it has since been increased although with most funding derived from European Social Fund (ESF) sources. The combined effect of these four factors had a hugely significant impact on the operation of DLOs. These are examined in more detail in chapter 2. Governance and providers The network of DLOs, which are responsible for the provision of training programmes for the unemployed, was merged under the umbrella of the Directorate General of the Labour Office in The MoL has retained its organisational unit for Employment Services, however the exact interaction between the two bodies in terms of employment services provision remains unclear. Training programme provision in the Czech Republic is governed by the Employment Act, which is specific in its stipulations on the subject (ALMP, Section 5): training programmes are listed as one of the permissible ALMP tools and can be carried out only by licensed subjects, public or private, which are accredited by the Ministry of Schooling (MoS). 1 DLOs are given the responsibility and decisionmaking powers in in terms of the implementation of training programmes, while the MoL is responsible for updating the relevant legislation, providing implementation guidelines with respect to targeting, data collection, and the overall funding decisions for ALMP. 1 The accreditation committee includes representatives of DLOs. There is over active accreditations. Internet: March,

6 Key Labour Market Policy measures The Employment Act specifies two types of retraining policies i.e. Retraining ( Rekvalifikace) and Self-Organised retraining (Zvolená rekvalifikace) and these correspond to the only two relevant labour market policy measures in terms of the country LMP qualitative reports. Most retraining of unemployed people in the Czech Republic falls under the regular Retraining program, where the DLOs offer a retraining programme to selected unemployed people and cover the costs of the training (together with minor associated costs such as books or work clothes). The approved forms of retraining and types of reimbursable costs are stipulated jointly by the MoL and MoS. The participants who are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits receive support that is elevated by 20 % during the training period. Others receive benefits equal to 60 % of their previous wages, up to a maximum of 2.8 times the minimum subsistence income. Since 2012, the Employment Act also allows for the so-called Self-organised Retraining (paragraph 109a), which enables registered unemployed to self-select a desired form of training from a list of licensed training providers, subject to DLO approval. Unemployed applicants may be asked to refund the total cost of training if they decline to accept a job offer that corresponds to the training obtained in the programme. The total cost of the training covered by the DLO may not exceed approximately EUR within a three-year period starting on entry to a programme. Table 1. Participants in Retraining Year Standard Retraining Self-organised Retraining Total ,846 n.a. 53, ,451 n.a. 36, ,831 n.a. 39, ,453 n.a. 65, ,521 n.a. 45, ,631 6,568 25, ,877 13,561 41,438 Source: Bi-annual reports of the Mol on the Situation on the labor market Internet: Amounts and sources of funding Training programme reimbursements by DLOs are covered from the (central) state budget and from the ESF. In 2009, total support of almost EUR 15 million (CZK 400 million) supported around retrained individuals. 2 In 2010, the number of unemployed retrained grew to around ; however, in 2012 less than half 2 Various MoL reports give different statistics for most years. The number of retrained unemployed in 2009 ranges between and depending on the source. The largest recipients were regional DLOs in the North Moravian, South Moravian, and North-West Bohemian regions, each receiving over 13 % of the total allocation. March,

7 of the funding allocated for 2009 was spent on only unemployed in regular retraining courses, and in self-organised courses. 3 As of 2013, the extent of retraining was roughly back to 2009 levels, and, in 2014, EUR 13 million was spent on over courses. The share of self-organised courses on all retraining is about one third in recent years. Over 70 % of funding comes from the ESF, creating an implicit central budget deficit for years when ESF funding will not be available. Allocation rules on distributing funding from the OP Education for growth retraining to regional DLOs remain unclear, as are the allocation rules for the centrally-operated national individual projects on retraining. Table 2. Expenditure on Retraining (th. Euro) Year Retraining CZ (incl. Selforganised) Retraining OP (incl. Selforganised) Total Costs per person [th. euro] 2007 n.a. n.a. 9,973 n.a n.a. n.a. 10, ,421 9,953 14, ,580 17,984 21, ,163 8,574 11, ,774 1,646 5, ,159 5,002 11, Source: Bi-annual reports of the Mol on the Situation on the labor market Internet: In sum, retraining is the largest ALMP tool in terms of the number of participants, but this is largely given by the short typical length of retraining programmes (1-3 months). Overall funding per retrainee remains very small, at roughly EUR Targeting and description of training provision General Issues The Czech Republic is no exception in that its low-skilled unemployed form a disproportionate part of the pool of unemployed and long-term unemployed (LTU) in particular. However, given the very high secondary-education attainment rates, the Czech low-skilled are particularly negatively selected on their innate talents, compared to a country where there is a substantially larger share of low-skilled in the population. Unfortunately, the combined effect of the four factors affecting the operation of the network of DLOs (see chapter 1) was that central monitoring (by the MoL and DLOs) of both the targeting and efficiency of training programmes has been limited over the last five years. This means there is very little central monitoring (in official policy documents) of the extent of targeting of training programmes to particularly 3 This drop is likely related to MoL requesting the use of the Act on Public Procurement to govern the contracting of retraining providers by the DLOs (see chapter 2 for further details). March,

8 vulnerable groups, including those with only basic level skills. 4 Crucially, none of the existing regular MoL/DLO reports provide information on what share of lowskilled (or any other vulnerable group of) unemployed participate in retraining (at a given unemployment duration). 5 The MoL is undertaking work on a new monitoring tool within a new updated IT system; however, there appears to be no specific deadline for when new statistics will become available. The MoL regularly issues a general directive as to how ALMPs should be targeted (i.e. demographic groups for priority treatment). However, it is up to the network of DLOs to make specific operational decisions. Information from the MoL about the extent to which the MoL directive is being followed is not available. The only recent evidence on targeting) comes from Sirovátka et al. (2014), which uses 2010 adhoc individual data collected from the IT system of DLOs. As concerns targeting of unemployed by retraining, the study finds that the groups targeted most are middle-aged tertiary-educated women and skilled unemployed with health problems. Furthermore, according to Sirovátka et al. (2014), 6 the practice of ALMP at the DLOs, including that of retraining programmes, is focused on filling out the requested forms and procedures with little time left for individual client consulting. About half of DLO officials deal with more than 20 clients per day, some more than 50 per day. The report also suggests that retraining-provider choice decisions taken by DLOs at higher level of management may not be based on any impact analysis, at least not in any formalised way. DLO staff numbers started increasing again in 2014, and anecdotal evidence suggests staff/client ratios across DLOs remain highly uneven. Another major obstacle to efficient implementation of retraining programmes is the fact that the MoL requires the (regional) DLOs to use the practice of public procurement to contract (multi-year packages of) retraining services. 7 Public procurement processes in the Czech Republic can often be lengthy (reflecting legal uncertainties and frequent appeals and re-runs of competitions) such that DLO staff focus on managing the legalese of Terms of References rather than on advice for unemployed clients. Sirovátka et al. (2013) argue that these legal/administrative obstacles have curbed efforts to provide up-to-date retraining programmes for the large inflow of unemployed who entered unemployment during the recent economic crisis. From this perspective, the 2012 introduction of selforganised retraining, which is not governed by procurement procedures, was a positive development. ESF funding is being selectively applied to support vulnerable groups within Regional Individual Projects (IPRs), some of which focus on those with only 4 The last bi-annual MoL report on labour market developments, which contained one table devoted to this issue, was published for the year It shows that the majority of retraining programme participants has been registered unemployed for over five months, but it does not offer a breakdown by skill level. 5 Currently, there is no official statistic available on the skill structure of the inflow of registered unemployed or the skill-duration structure of unemployment. 6 Internet: 7 This requirement has been introduced by the MoL and it results in contracts being awarded based on lowest costs (with little regard to quality or other criteria). This has been criticised by the OECD and local practitioners alike (e.g. the 2014 OECD Review on Local Job Creation: Employment and Skills Strategies in the Czech Republic). March,

9 elementary education or on those unemployed and aged above 50 years. 8 Regional DLOs publish their annual reports, which provide basic information (i.e. the number of participants and the budget) for each ESF-funded project. 9 However, there is insufficient information for analysing, systematically, the extent of targeting across the numerous RIPs across all regions. What is also not fully clear is whether the practice of retraining programmes differs systematically between those funded by the central state budget and those covered from ESF sources. 10 Access for unemployed adults to training and provision of specific training paths DLO staff offer retraining courses to the unemployed based on their best judgement. The registered unemployed must have qualifications that allow him/her to benefit from a given programme and the allocation is made based on an interview with the unemployed. There is no information about any specific mediation channel involving the social partners or of systematic profiling practice. Anecdotal evidence from reports based on interviews of DLO staff (see Sirovátka et al. (2013), pp. 77) suggest unemployed people with low skill levels are not considered suitable for retraining. Furthermore, there is no information available about specific retraining tools designed to suit those with only basic initial skill levels. The availability of self-organised retraining (since 2012) has supported a better match of unemployed with specific training needs and with sufficient activation effort to a desired retraining programme. 11 There are no systematic differences that we know of, across the various target groups, in the nation-wide guidance on training path content. Length, types, certification and targeting The last detailed descriptive statistic on retraining programme types was compiled before the near-collapse of DLO IT services and covers the period Over half of all participants were in programs that lasted less than one month and less than 10 % lasted longer than three months. There is no detailed information on the extent of digital skills provision. As of 2011, 12 % of retraining participants were in IT courses. The little and most recent evidence on targeting is based on 2010 data. Sirovátka et al. (2014) compares the shares of several groups of unemployed (defined by 8 There are also several IPN (national) projects that focus on retraining. The broadest is IPN Education and skills for the labour market, which, according to a 2014 report, supported about 14 thousand individuals who concluded retraining. 9 For example, the 2014 report from the West-Bohemian region (Karlovarsky kraj) provides descriptions for eight such IPRs, of which one targets the youth, one the LTU, and one targets parents after parental leaves. 10 Under both sources of funding, the nature of retraining is governed by the same provisions of the Employment Act. 11 Activity report of the Czech Labour Office for the 1 st half of 2014 [Zpráva o činnosti Úřadu práce České republiky za první pololetí roku 2014], Internet: 12 This statistic also sheds some light on the extent of targeting to low-skilled, but it does not compare the structure of participants in retraining programmes with the structure of unemployed (ideally, at given unemployment duration) as it only offers a breakdown of participants in retraining from It shows that at the moment of retraining entry about 40 % of participants have been registered for less than six months while over 30 % have been registered for over a year. About 30 % of participants are over 50 years of age, and less than 20 % have only primary education. Internet: and March,

10 age, gender, and education) participation in retraining programmes with shares of overall unemployed. 13 It shows that men with only elementary education aged over 25 are strongly under-represented among retraining participants compared to the total share of all unemployed. Younger elementary-educated men (under 25) and elementary-educated women under 35 are represented proportionately. The groups that are strongly targeted (over-represented), on the other hand, are older women with apprenticeship education, women with secondary education (with the school-leaving exam) aged 25 to 35 and men with secondary education aged over 50. In short, the large group (of over ) unemployed men with elementary education is particularly unlikely to receive retraining. Selection and supervision of providers, role of actors DLOs select providers from the list of accredited providers (see chapter 1). The actual training is supervised, in principle, by the DLOs and the MoL. We know of no systematic report on accreditation recalls or experience with pro-forma retraining (and only 0.1 % of accreditations have been recalled). Web portals show active retraining providers by region. 14 Social partners interact with DLO representatives in regional Councils for Human Resource Developments and/or in advisory bodies of regional DLO director. There is no information relating to systematic reviews of the involvement of social partners or chambers of commerce in the process of retraining accreditation or regional-dlo contracting of specific retraining providers. It is likely, however, that there is strong local feedback from employers to DLO staff which assign individual retraining courses although the process for this is unclear, as is the extent to which this is formalised. Examples of good cooperation between different Ministries The Ministry of Schooling (MoS) runs accreditations of retraining programmes that are then available for selection by the MoL DLOs. The MoL generates statistics on unemployed recent school graduates for each school and makes those available to the MoS and the regional administration of secondary education, who can take this into account in their funding decisions, although it is unclear how well this information is used. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) manages investment incentive programmes that involve subsidies for retraining, but the exact extent and nature of cooperation of the MIT with the MoL and its DLOs again is unclear. Evaluations There is no available assessment of the impact retraining has on job finding chances, accepted wage levels, or skill match between retraining programme content and accepted job type. In 2009, 32 % of participants found a job within a year of participation, however potential deadweight effects are unclear, as is the measurement basis of the performance indicator itself. Hora et al. (2012) compare the evolution of unemployment registry chances for retraining participants with a constructed control group of similar non-participants. It identifies highly-skilled participants in 2009 did worse than their highly-skilled non-participants. This could easily be the effect of unobservable quality that drives selection into programme. Similarly, the fact that elementary-educated participants 13 Our discussion of targeting here focuses on unemployed with no health disabilities. 14 See internet March,

11 do somewhat better than similarly skilled non-participants is likely down to selection. Overall, the effects across all groups are small or even negative. A similar study by the same lead authors (Sirovátka et al. 2014) based on 2010 data uses exact matching to construct the control group, where matching is again based on demographics. This is a more promising approach, even though many selection issues remain open, including previous history of ALMP participation. 15 The evidence is somewhat more favourable than the earlier results from 2009, but this could easily be due to the changing nature of selection into retraining (conditional on demographics) during the economic crisis years. According to Sirovátka et al. (2013), DLO personnel are largely sceptical about the effect of retraining in the after-crisis years due to the low number of vacancies. DLOs often view retraining as a placebo effect that gives unemployed something to do while they are waiting for demand conditions to improve; the alternative being losing interest and labour market attachment altogether. Any policy-relevant evaluation of retraining effects should be in part based on direct costs of retraining (but the reports we cite above do not consider a cost/benefit comparison). Average costs appear to be around EUR 300 per person per course. Regional DLO reports imply that almost all participants conclude programmes successfully (i.e. get a certificate, as required by the Employment Act). Whether this reflects outcomes for participants based on robust standards of assessment is unclear. Retraining certificates are often linked to the skills/position types listed in the National Register of Vocational Qualifications. Retraining courses do not lead to a vocational or other education degree, although unemployed people have the opportunity to participate in a series of courses and bank learning, which can be used to apply for a degree from an education institution. 3 Most Significant Practice There is no detailed evidence on the effects of retraining programmes by type (professional, for disabled, IT, preparing for entrepreneurship, etc.) and there is no summary of the operation of the many specific IPRs. Hence, the fragmented nature of Czech retraining provision makes it impossible to identify one type of most significant practice, especially not when the task is to focus on upskilling of lowskilled, about which there is limited information. However, a significant new training practice has recently been introduced aimed at addressing weaknesses in vocational training, namely the weak link between companies (demand) and vocational programmes (supply). It is operated within the broader measure called Support for unemployed under 30 years of age. 16 CASE STUDY BOX Country: Czech Republic Name of training programme: Internships for unemployed under 30 Short description and aims of the training programme: Support of up to 15 Matching should also be based on the length of registry before entry into the retraining programme. Even accepting its assumptions, this evaluation exercise is not yet conducted in a methodological fashion that would pass peer refereeing in international journals March,

12 EUR 800 a month is provided for internships in companies (a form of specific real-workplace training) for young unemployed, typically those with vocational initial training. Support of EUR 200 per month can also be provided to cover employer s costs of providing a mentor. This type of training is needed for many recent vocational school graduates who have little work experience (company training) and who often become unemployed after graduation. It allows companies to learn about a prospective hire and may thus facilitate hiring. Target group: Recent apprenticeship graduates who are unemployed. Number of participants: The project started in the summer of As of the first half of 2014, this measure supported almost young unemployed. Duration of programme for the beneficiary: Up to 12 months, but often much shorter. Target group or educational level targeted: Apprentices. Eligibility Criteria: Registered unemployed under 30 years of age. Funding source and total budget (share of EU funding, if applicable): The project is implemented in each region as a Regional Individual Project and funded from ESF sources. Types of skills (or qualification if relevant) delivered: Practical companyspecific skills. Actors involved in the provision of training and their role: Employers provide a mentor (get reimbursed for mentor costs). DLOs connect employers with unemployed recent school graduates with suitable skills. Summary of evaluation findings: No evaluation available yet. Policy lessons: A retraining program that solves structural issues in vocational education provision where schools do not sufficiently cooperate with employers. References: Example of regional project information in note Conclusion Retraining is one of the key elements of ALMPs in the Czech Republic in terms of participating unemployed, covering almost 10 % of unemployed people each year. However, spending levels remain low with at around EUR 300 per retraining course. There remains limited evaluation evidence in terms of assessing retraining counterfactual effects, including recent information on the extent of targeting of vulnerable groups. There is also little data about specific programmes that focus on upskilling of those with very low levels of education (or basic skills). It may well be that IRPs are better targeted than centrally funded retraining programmes, but in the absence of any systematic tool for monitoring targeting this remains unclear. The only available analysis based on 2010 data suggests elementary-educated men are less likely to receive retraining than most other types of unemployed idualni_projekty/odborne_praxe_pro_mlade_do_30_let_v_lk March,

13 5 Bibliography Hora, O. and Sirovátka, T., Comparison of active employment policy effects in the Czech Republic in the period of growth (2007) and during the first phase of the crisis (2009) (Srovnání efektů aktivní politiky zaměstnanosti v České republice v období růstu (2007) a během první fáze krize (2009)), [RILSA / VÚPSV, Prague, ISBN Internet: OECD 2014, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation: OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation, Employment and Skills Strategies in the Czech Republic. ISBN (PDF) Internet: Sirovátka, T. and Šimíková, I., Employment policy and other labour market measures in long run and during the crisis (Politika zaměstnanosti a další opatření na trhu práce v dlouhodobé perspektivě a v průběhu krize). RILSA / VUPSV, Prague, ISBN Internet: Sirovátka, T. Horáková, M. and Horák, P. eds. Czech employment policy during and after the crisis (Česká politika zaměstnanosti v době krize a po krizi). Brno: Masarykova universita, ISBN Bi-annual reports of the Mol on the Situation on the labor market. Internet: Labour Office of the Czech Republic (Zpravy o cinnosti Uradu prace). Internet: March,

14 Annex 1: Measure Description Table Main training programmes in the CZECH REPUBLIC Name of training programm e LMP measure: Short description and aims of the training programme: No. of particip ants Duration of programme for the beneficiary (and amount of subsidy, if applicable) Target group or educational level targeted Criteria for accessing the programme Funding source and total budget Types of skills (or qualification if relevant) delivered Actors involved in training provision and their role Evaluation results available If no evaluation is available, what is the expert s assessment of the impact of the measure? Retraining Most of retraining of unemployed in the Czech Republic falls under this programme. DLO staff offers a retraining course to unemployed based on their best judgement. The registered unemployed must have qualifications that allow him/her to benefit from a given programme and the allocation is made based on an interview with the unemployed. Unemployed with very low level of skills are not considered as suitable for retraining given their current skill levels. The approved forms of retraining are provided by licenced agencies and types of reimbursable costs are stipulated jointly by the MoL and MoS. Ministry of Labour requires the (regional) DLOs to use the practice of public procurement to contract (multi-year packages of) retraining services. ESF funding is being selectively applied to support vulnerable groups within Regional Individual Projects (IPRs), some of which focus on those with only elementary education or on unemployed above 50 years of age. There is no systematic way we can summarize the extent of targeting across these numerous IPRs across all regions and the MoL apparently has no way of doing so either particip ants during 2013 Most typical 1-3 months. Average costs of training one unemployed is for years EUR The participants who are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits receive support that is elevated by 20% during the training period. Others receive benefits equal to 60 % of their previous wages, up to a maximum of 2.8 times the minimum subsistence income. Available to all, but real focus is on uppersecondary educated w/o Maturity diploma. The DLO staff offers a retraining course to unemployed based on their best judgement. The registered unemployed must have qualifications that allow him/her to benefit from a given programme and the allocation is made based on an interview with the unemployed. Czech state budget and OP ESF. Total amount in 2013 was ~ EUR This includes also self-organised retraining (see below) Various types of skills including manual, IT, administrative. Licenced (accredited) agencies, district labour offices and their counsellors and advisors, employers in contact with labour offices, social partners at higher levels of coordination. Systematic impact evaluations of retraining programs are not done regularly. Last ad-hoc external evaluation was done in 2010 and findings presented are difficult to understand. DLO personnel is largely sceptical about the effect of retraining in the after-crisis years due to low number of vacancies. DLOs often view retraining as a placebo effect that gives unemployed something to do while they are waiting for the demand conditions to improve; the alternative being losing interest and labour market attachment altogether. Not possible Selforganized retraining Contrary to standard Retraining program, registered unemployed selects a desired form of training himself/herself from the list of licenced training providers and the DLO then decides whether to provide support. The unemployed may be asked to refund the total cost of training ~13500 particip ants during 2013 From weeks(s) to several months All are eligible. Information on actual targeting is not publicly available. The unemployed may be asked to refund the total cost of training if s/he Not reported separately from total retraining expenditures As above As above As above Not possible March,

15 if s/he declines to accept a job offer that corresponds to the training obtained in the programme. declines to accept a job offer that corresponds to the training obtained in the programme. The total cost of the training covered by the DLO may not exceed approximately 2 thousand Euro in a 3- year period starting with the entry into such a programme. Internships for unemploye d under 30 A retraining program that solves structural issues in vocational education provision where schools do not sufficiently cooperate with employers. This type of training is needed for many recent vocational school graduates who have little work experience (company training) and who often become unemployed after graduation. It allows companies to learn about a prospective hire and may thus facilitate hiring. The project started in the summer of As of the first half of 2014, this measur e support ed almost 4000 young unempl oyed. Up to 12 months, but often much shorter. Recent apprenticeship graduates who are unemployed. Eligible are registered unemployed under 30 years of age. The project is implemented in each region as a Regional Individual Project and funded from ESF sources. Support of up to EUR 800 a month is provided for internships in companies (a form of specific real-workplace training) for young unemployed, typically those with vocational initial training. Support of EUR 200 per month can also be provided to cover employer s costs of providing a mentor. Provided are practical companyspecific skills. Employers provide a mentor (get reimbursed for mentor costs). DLOs connect employers with unemployed recent school graduates with suitable skills. No evaluation available yet. March,

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