Division 1.3.1 Attract and retain more people in employment and modernise social protection systems

Widening the base of economic activity, raising employment levels and reducing unemployment are vital to sustain economic growth, promote socially inclusive societies and combat poverty. Increasing participation in employment is all the more necessary because of the expected decline in the working age population. In the framework of the Employment Guidelines, Guidelines for action under this heading are the following:

• Implement employment policies aimed at achieving full employment, improving quality and productivity at work, and strengthening social and territorial cohesion.

• Promote a life-cycle approach to work.

• Ensure inclusive labour markets, enhance work attractiveness, and make work pay for job-seekers, including disadvantaged people, and the inactive.

• Improve matching of labour market needs.

Actions should be based on prior identification of needs by, for instance, using relevant national and/or regional indicators such as unemployment and participation rates, long-term unemployment rates, population at risk of poverty rates and level of income. Attention should be paid to the local level, where acute disparities may fail to be picked up by regional level statistics.

The presence of efficient and effective labour market institutions, notably employment services that can respond to the challenges of rapid economic and social restructuring and demographic ageing, is essential in order to support service delivery to job seekers, the unemployed and disadvantaged people and could be supported by the Structural Funds. These institutions have a pivotal role to play in implementing active labour market policies and providing services on a personalised basis with a view to promoting occupational and geographical mobility and matching labour supply and demand, including at local level. They should help to anticipate shortages and bottlenecks in the labour market and occupational and skills requirements. Positive management of economic migration would also be assisted as a result. Easy access to, and transparency of, the services on offer are crucial. The EURES network is central to increasing occupational and geographic mobility, both at European level and nationally^f1.

An important priority should be to strengthen active and preventive labour market measures to overcome obstacles to entering, or remaining in, the labour market and to promote mobility for job seekers, the unemployed and inactive, older workers as well as those at risk of becoming unemployed, with particular attention to low-skilled workers. Action should focus on the provision of personalised services, including job search assistance, job placement and training to adjust the skills of job-seekers and employees to the needs of local labour markets. The potential for self-employment and business creation, ICT skills and digital literacy should be fully taken into account. Special attention should be paid to:

• implementing the European Youth Pact, by facilitating access to employment for young people, by easing the transition from education to work, including through career guidance, assistance in completing education, access to appropriate training and apprenticeships,

• implementing the European Pact for gender equality by mainstreaming and by specific actions to increase women's participation in employment, to reduce occupational segregation and address gender pay gaps and gender stereotyping and to promote more family-friendly working environments, and the reconciliation of professional and private life. Facilitating access to childcare and care services for dependent persons is crucial, alongside gender mainstreaming in policies and measures, awareness raising and dialogue among stakeholders,

• specific action to strengthen access of migrants to the labour market and facilitate their social integration, through training and validation of competences acquired abroad, personalised guidance, language training, appropriate support for entrepreneurship and raising awareness among employers and migrant workers of their rights and obligations, and strengthening the enforcement of anti-discrimination rules.

Another important priority should be to ensure inclusive labour markets for people at a disadvantage or at risk of social exclusion, such as early school-leavers, the long-term unemployed, minorities and people with disabilities. This calls for an even broader range of support to build pathways to integration and combat discrimination. The aim should be to:

• improve their employability by enhancing participation in vocational education and training, rehabilitation and appropriate incentives and working arrangements, as well as the necessary social support and care services, including through the development of the social economy,

• combat discrimination and promote the acceptance of diversity in the workplace through diversity training and awareness-raising campaigns, in which local communities and enterprises would be fully involved.