On the basis of Law 2224/94, a legal entity under private law entitled "National Centre for the Examination of Continuous Further Training Structures" was set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
- Administrative Support Department.
The main aims of the National Employment Observatory are the compilation of secondary labour market data and labour market analysis with a view to supporting employment and training policies. As regards training issues, we believe that the most significant factor in ensuring a high-quality but also efficient vocational training and further education system is its orientation towards labour market needs and developments.
On the basis of the studies it has carried out, the EPA has thus oriented its activities towards the collection, analysis and forecast of labour market needs. On the same basis, the EPA also provides support to decision-making bodies in the form of information about the supply of and demand for human resources on the labour market. The EPA's activities are based on an integrated information system for labour market analysis.
The aim of the EPA is to establish a unified and methodological approach and a system of data processing which enables systematic labour market analysis. From the outset this approach incorporates concrete proposals regarding certain occupations and specialisations which require a specific impetus on the labour market and in vocational training and retraining for a particular target group or region.
The National Employment Observatory will primarily be active in the following areas:
1. Provision of technical support to the OAED and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. In particular, the EPA's reports and studies on the labour market are used in the elaboration of labour market policies. As a result, the Observatory has also been charged with providing technical (scientific and administrative) support to the Monitoring Committee for the National Action Plan for Employment.
2. Further development of the EPA's Integrated Information System for recording and evaluating the current labour market situation and labour market trends in Greece. The information will be compiled on the basis of all the secondary data available from the main statistical sources dealing with labour market issues.
3. Field research, in particular in regions experiencing problems with restructuring the production system, in areas with extremely high unemployment rates and in regions with demographic problems, etc. The usefulness of carrying out studies in these fields derives from the necessity for increased use and development of local human resources in conjunction with discernible growth opportunities and in particular with developments as regards demand for particular skills at local level.
4. Planning and implementation of pilot schemes for training and further training in innovative training fields for the unemployed, for persons threatened with unemployment and employees. The scheme will be developed and implemented in cooperation with the OAED with the aim of matching labour supply and demand.
5. Development of a monitoring and evaluation system for Community schemes in order to observe and assess the management and use of human resources on a regional basis. In concrete terms, the elaboration of indicators, i.e. quantitative and qualitative evaluation parameters, is planned, which together will comprise the monitoring and evaluation system.
6. Implementation of an integrated approach for analysing, studying and forecasting developments on regional labour markets and elaboration of a model for forecasting the demand for specialised qualifications.
7. Dissemination of information on regional markets through regular publication of reports, statistics and studies directed at the bodies responsible for economic development, local authorities, professional associations, trade unions and social organisations in all regions.
8. Creation of a bibliographic database of all published analyses and studies which have been prepared for the individual regions.
The Integrated Information System for Labour Market Analysis developed by the EPA is an essential element of the work described above. The planning and implementation of concrete applications developed within the framework of the information system enable systematic, precise and reliable provision of information required on the current situation and trends on regional labour markets.
The EPA has been identified as the national support structure for the Community initiative ADAPT. The EPA, using its infrastructure and its employees' know-how, has developed an integrated system for managing and monitoring Community schemes and initiatives. This particularly important task of providing technical support to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the European Commission and all other relevant bodies as regards planning, monitoring and evaluation of activities (under the ADAPT initiative) is consistent with its own activities.
In addition, the EPA's experts participate in "Expert committees on labour market issues" at a national and European level. Their participation in the "Employment and Labour Market Committee" as well as in the "Benchmarking Expert Groups", which include experts from all EU Member States, also deserves mention.
2.3.4.2.1. Compilation of data (graphical data processing)
Within the framework of the policy followed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to reduce unemployment and increase employment (Law 2434/96), the EPA's Integrated Information System represents a structure for labour market analysis which can be used to supply the Ministry and the OAED with all the information required for adopting measures.
The individual areas are designed to enable comprehensive registration and monitoring of trends developing on local labour markets, regarding both supply of and demand for labour. The system provides all relevant users (that is, from the ministries and regions to the actual people affected, e.g. the unemployed) with immediate and reliable information on labour market issues. Five basic priority areas are covered:
1. labour market cartography;
2. labour market analysis;
3. labour market forecasts;
4. vocational training;
5. vacancies.
2.3.4.2.2. Creation, application and further development of a model for forecasting vocational training needs
Creation, application and further development of a model for forecasting vocational training needs and determining skill and specialisation needs in all occupational fields
One of the EPA's most important tasks is to analyse and forecast specific labour market indicators (unemployment, employment, employment structure by sector, occupations and qualifications).
A methodology for the quantitative evaluation of the principal labour market indicators at regional level is being developed within the context of this activity. The task was first approached through the calculation of indicators for supply of and demand for individual occupations at regional level on the basis of diachronistic data prepared by the National Statistics Office (ESYE). This approach led to the definition of the most dynamic occupations in the 13 regions of Greece, so that vocational training schemes can be developed in those areas where there is a real demand on the labour market.
2.3.4.2.3. Restructuring the OAED's system for registering unemployment
The aim is to reform the entire data-compilation system on employment and unemployment as registered by OAED.
2.3.4.2.4. Annual report on employment and unemployment in Greece
An annual report on employment in Greece will be published on the basis of the EPA's analyses of the labour market situation. The first issue in this series will study the following areas:
