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Labour force flexibilityand skills mobility –right person, right skills,
right place, right time
Anne GreenIER, University of Warwick
Scope of presentation
• Context
• What is a healthy labour market?
• Regional and sub-regional variations in:- quantity and quality of employment- demand and supply
• Skill shortages and gaps
• Skill utilisation
• Mobility- migration- commuting
• Implications
Context
• Shift in concerns from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’• Greater emphasis on demand• Concern with stocks and flows
• Labour market change: Decrease in unemployment Concerns about inactivity – and concentration in
particular sub-groups and areas Rise in employment → ‘tightening’ labour markets Matching supply and demand – issues of mobility and
accessibility
• Skills as a key driver of regional competitiveness (within context of overall regional development)
‘Healthy labour market’ concept
• Goal: a labour market which produces desirable results, both socially and economically, and which is sustainable over time
• 3 dimensions: strong DEMAND side – in terms of quantity and
balance /quality of jobs that the labour market generate strong SUPPLY side – relates to the numbers and
characteristics of people able to take those jobs efficient and equitable FUNCTIONING to bring together
demand and supply sides of the labour market
• appropriate supporting conditions – education, training, workforce development, benefits and welfare, housing and transport infrastructure
Mobility, flexibility and balance:scope for tension
Mobility and flexibility • Healthy labour market
emphasises movement up the skills and value chain
• Implies existence of progression routes
• Need for flexibility to adjust to change – but how much?
Fine dividing line between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ mobility and flexibility
Balance• Job opportunities at all
levels• Success in one part of
the labour market not achieved at the expense of another part – geographical dimension
Imbalance can be ‘healthy’ as well as ‘unhealthy’: it may be a driver of desirable change
% of employment in K1-K4 categories(source: LFS, 2004 [via emda])
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
NE Y&H EM WM SW NW E SE UK L
% t
ota
l e
mp
loy
men
t, 2
004
K1K2K3K4
Employment rates, 25-49 yearsHighly qualified No qualifications
Highly qualified% 25-49 in w ork
90 to 99.999 (54)80 to 89.999 (322)70 to 79.999 (13)
No qualifications% 25-49 in w ork
80 to 89.999 (4)70 to 79.999 (142)60 to 69.999 (150)50 to 59.999 (74)40 to 49.999 (13)30 to 39.999 (6)
Skill deficiencies Skills utilisation (NESS, 2003)
• Issues of interpretation
Typology of regions on skills deficiencies
• YH and WM:> average skills deficiencies &> average non-employment
• EM, E, SE and SW:> average vacancies &< average non-employment
• L, NE and NW:< average vacancies &> average non-employment
• under-education• over-education
• ‘signalling’ function of qualifications
do industries / employers have capacity to absorb and utilise high level skills?
are high level skills used effectively?
‘move on up’ – to create openings for others
Role of mobility
• right person, right skills, right place, right time implies occupational, industrial and geographical flexibility and mobility
• ‘jobs to people’ and/or ‘people to jobs’?• MIGRATION and COMMUTING
- brain drain (training for export?)- brain strain- skills circulation
• competing for skills – context of tighter labour market, ageing population, lower fertility, international migration
• What is the capacity for mobility in the labour market?• What are the constraints on mobility?
Understanding migration in the UK
• The Greater South East is the motor of the UK economy and the driver of the UK migration system
• An “escalator region”: it offers the largest quantity and greatest range of employment opportunities (particularly higher level occupations) in the UK
• London attracts young people at the start of their careers from the rest of the UK and loses population to all other regions except in the 20-29 age group
• It attracts full-time workers
• It attracts international migrants – from all parts of the world (‘global reach’)
Migration of 20-29 year olds, 2000-2001(source: 2001 Census)
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
NE NW YH EM WM E SE L SW Sc Wa NI
% o
f p
op
ula
tio
n,
2000
in-migration rate
out-migration rate
net migration rate
international migrants
International migration:towards a ‘managed migration’ policy
Role of migration in addressing labour market deficiencies
• migrants over-represented at both ends of the skills hierarchy:- highly skilled - less skilled
• refugees and asylum seekers
• skills utilisation – evidence for occupational downgrading
• labour market integration
Factors associated with employment rates of migrants:
• gender & family status
• ethnicity
• qualifications
• area of residence
• year of arrival /nationality
• language
• discrimination
Competing for people and skills:the example of Fresh Talent (Scotland)
Countering population loss through:
• retaining home-grown talent
• encouraging Scots who have moved away to return
• attracting new people to Scotland
Policies:• closer working with Work
Permits UK• visa extensions for
students staying after graduation
• support to universities in recruitment
• improving visitor impressions
• establishment of relocation advice service
Fresh Talent (Scotland):questions and issues
• Welcoming all comers?
• Do migrants go where you want them to go?:- the success and attractiveness of Edinburgh- is it desirable/possible to create other magnets?
• Importance of non-economic (environment, leisure, schools, etc) as well as economic factors
• Limits to the role of interventions at Scotland level:- UK level policy (e.g. Home Office on immigration)- Scotland tied into UK migration system
Commuting
• trend to longer flows, but most commutes are short distance
• local areas play different roles - characterised by:- high in-commuting- high out-commuting- ‘transit camps’: high in- and out-commuting
• complexity of commuting flows in some areas
• sub-group differences
Constrained mobilitySpatial barriers to employment
physical: accessibility especially in 24/7 economy
social – information flows, social divisions, perceptions
• ‘bounded rationality’ –unwillingness to venture into terra incognita (mental maps)
• labour market opportunities my be restricted because jobs in accessible yet unfamiliar locations are not considered
Permeability of spatial labour markets
• job growth does not necessarily ‘trickle down’ to local residents – even if local residents have the required skills higher-skilled workers can bump down’ in the labour market and compete for lower-skilled jobs: processes of mobility and job competition leave behind the weakest
4%
30% from outside UK
5%
Base: 993 workers on sites in London 30% from outside the UK
26%14%
7%
5%
1%
3%2%
3%
1%
Workers in London – where from originally
57%
Base: 993 workers on sites in London
4%4%
2%
2%2% 10%
14%2%
2%
2%
Workers in London: where permanently resident
1%
1%
0% from outside UK
1%
Base: 378 workers on sites in NE
1%1%
1%
91%
2%
1%
1%
Workers in NE – where from originally
% of workers on sites in region with permanent residence in same region
98%
100%
57%
68%
73%
75%
81%
87%
88%
95%
90%
89%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
London
East
South East
East Mids
North West
South West
Y & H
West Mids
Wales
North East
Scotland
N. Ireland
Construction workers living in temporary accommodation
• 8% of construction workers live in temporary accommodation – but ranges from:
• 19% in London – of whom 67% have permanent address elsewhere in England, 10% in Scotland, 7% in Wales, 16% outside UK (4% Irish Republic)
• 9%-10% in NW, SW and N Ireland
• < 4% in NE and YH
Reasons given:• No / little work in home
area (27% nationwide, more often cited by workers on sites in London)
• Sent by company (27% nationwide)
• Better pay (21% nationwide, more often cited by workers on sites in London)
• Better job opportunities (11% nationwide, more often cited by workers in London)
ImplicationsCreating a ‘healthy labour market’
vision of the desired result
processes that might bring about that result
how processes may be influenced by intervention – scope and limitations of regional-level intervention
importance of advancement in work
capacity for mobility
Possible policy interventions
public procurement cluster policy role of public sector
Inter- and intra-regional disparities
• use of ratio measures and floor targets - for geographical / sub-group differences and setting minimum standards