The OAED is the main institutional body which implements government employment policy and assesses the impact of this policy on employment. It also works towards improving the qualifications of the labour force and offering them support. To this end, the OAED operates in various fields:
Matching labour supply and demand through labour market intervention and job placement. These tasks are carried out by the employment offices, which have a threefold function:
- They maintain contacts with employers by visiting enterprises, where they investigate possibilities for the creation of new jobs and inform employers about financial incentives available for the recruitment of unemployed workers from specific target groups.
- They register vacancies and find the appropriate jobseeker to fill them.
- They provide advice to jobseekers from disadvantaged groups who are having difficulty finding work and provide all jobseekers with information concerning new developments and trends on the labour market, particularly with respect to new skill needs. Each employment office is equipped with a network of terminals linked directly to a central computer which can achieve immediate matching on the basis of vacancy and jobsearch data.
The OAED is responsible for paying out benefits and social security allowances such as unemployment benefits, insolvency allowances, special seasonal allowances, children's allowances, supplementary maternity allowance and military service allowance.
The OAED also provides vocational guidance through its special services, offering information on training and employment prospects especially to young people aged between 15 and 18 and newcomers to the labour market.
- It provides vocational training in Vocational Training Centres, Vocational Training Schools and Institutes of Vocational Training. The target group are persons aged between 16 and 46 years.
The (dual) apprenticeship system run by the OAED ensures that trainees receive both theoretical training and practical training in enterprises.
- The OAED subsidises employers who create jobs for particular groups of the population, e.g. youth, unskilled workers, women, etc., as well as so-called new self-employed (first-time entrepreneurs).
- The OAED also promotes the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons by adopting special measures which are carried out in six employment offices for special social groups.
- The OAED subsidises seasonal enterprises, enabling them to maintain turnover during slack periods.
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