Changing labour markets require extensive competence — MDI’s survey looks at identifying and utilising the competence needs of the labour market in Häme region

Over the past few decades, the dominant feature of the labour market has been constant change. Among other things, the competence needs of the workforce have diversified, the general image of employment and occupations has become more extensive while predicting skills development and labour needs has become more difficult.

Since each labour market is spatially different, the need has grown, in particular, to identify competence needs at the regional level, deepening understanding and predicting needs and changes. Understanding competence is a key factor in the development of regions in order to bring jobseekers and work tasks together and to orient training activities in accordance with the competence requirements of the labour market. Safeguarding the availability of access to a knowledgeable workforce is thus a key factor in ensuring regional vitality.

Cooperation is key to extensive and effective competence

MDI carried out a survey in the Häme ELY Centre territory, aiming to collect information, analyse and describe how different actors in the region collect and utilise information related to the competence needs of the labour market and their prediction.

The survey explored a suggestion for the creation of an action model for cooperation in the collection and exploitation of competence and development suggestions on how to make more effective use of the competence data collected in the region. The work aimed at increasing understanding of how, systematically, data is collected, how information is processed and analysed and for what uses the information is utilised. The report was carried out in cooperation with Mikael Andolin of Foredata Oy.

Among the primary discoveries was that an abundance of competence information is collected but that information is often scattered across organisations. In order to make more effective use of the data collected from the perspective of the different parties and the region’s development objectives, considerable cooperation is therefore required. Moreover, in order to increase cooperation levels, a well-defined approach to, and understanding of, the benefits of sharing and cooperation must be put in place. As such, the parties require a common approach and a firm commitment to the process in order to ensure that cooperation is successful.

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