Creating new jobs only goes so far towards addressing unemployment: people need the skills to do these jobs. And our fast-paced labour market means the skills to keep up are changing constantly.
This is an urban challenge: cities are hubs of knowledge, innovation and industry. City authorities are in tune with the needs of local labour markets and citizens. They can identify and predict skills shortages, and ensure the right skills are being developed. This is especially true for those who find it hardest to find a job, like vulnerable groups and young people.
It is in cities where new approaches can be tried and tested. Rotterdam was the first city in continental Europe to use a social impact bond, a relatively new financial mechanism based on a “pay for success” model, to address youth unemployment. Buzinezzclub offers a full package of support that has helped hundreds of young people gain the skills needed to realise their career goals and get off benefits for good. Projects like these can make a real impact on Europe’s unemployment levels – especially if national governments and the EU institutions work with cities to scale up and capitalise on their success.
Young people and the most disadvantaged people in society have been hardest hit by the employment crisis. Phenomena such as the “gig economy”, where independent workers are contracted to complete specific jobs, and crowdsourcing work, are on the rise.
But low-skilled workers can find it difficult to access this kind of work, which also threatens a “race to the bottom” in terms of income. This is a challenge for local authorities, who need to ensure these approaches benefit all involved.
We have witnessed a huge transition in our cities over the course of EUROCITIES’ 30 year history. The end of mass manufacturing in the 1980s left many cities in decline, while the emergence of concepts like the circular, green, sharing and knowledge economies in recent years has brought with it the need for brand new skills.
Cities need to keep ahead of the game. The green economy, for example, is one of the few sectors that continued to grow despite the economic crisis, and cities are seizing this opportunity. Glasgow operates a “green wardens” scheme to train and employ people in various greening and sustainability projects in the council’s core services. This is aimed at people who have been out of work for a long time, left school without qualifications, or have been discharged from the armed forces.
Investment in skills needs to start locally, and must meet local needs. In Ghent, the city carried out a study to assess the needs of local employers now and in future. It has helped the authorities to better understand the impact of disruptive technologies, changing demographics, globalisation and other factors on local employers, and forms part of a demand-driven approach to skills development.
Some cities offer training adapted to local needs, or provide support to jobseekers. Brighton & Hove operates the Brighton Employability Advice and Careers Hut, for example, a collaboration between local schools and employers to design an employability hub for young people.
Many cities take advantage of diverse networks to draw up programmes working with schools, educational institutes, social services, NGOs and local employers. Malmo is one such city, having recently set up partnerships with six civil society organisations to provide training and skills development and training, and to put in place measures to support labour market inclusion. This approach is being recognised at European level too, with the European Commission’s New Skills Agenda for Europe, launched in June this year, mentioning the importance of partnerships at local level.
The work is happening in cities, but the impact goes much further. European cities are keen to scale up their success. We hope this might soon become a reality, with the launch of a new urban agenda partnership on jobs and skills by the European Commission early next year. This tests a new way of working between cities, national governments and the EU institutions, with the aim of guiding better policies and funding for the local level.
The impact of this, we hope, will be that cities are better prepared to face future challenges, to the benefit all European citizens.
Anna Lisa Boni is secretary general of EUROCITIES.
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