1. What type of recovery and what type of skills?
Daniel Münich, CERGE-EI
Thematic conference, March 2009, Prague, Czech Republic
Implementing flexicurity in times of crisis.
Session 2: LLL, matching skills and labour market needs on the path to recovery.

2. Path to recovery When will recovery start?
long-term unemployment, fresh graduates, resources, etc.
What will be the recovery like?
possibility of more fundamental changes in comparative economic advantages,
resulting structural changes in economies
 need for all types of mobility.

3. What are labour market needs?
Skills forecasting/anticipation is difficult task even during stable times
data limits, schooling systems rigidity, structural changes)  more general skills are less risky investment.
Carefully evaluate local demand for narrowly skilled workers
shorter term motivation of employers,
not necessarily internalizing long term benefits of training and personal and social costs of matching failure.

4. Matching skills General or specific skills?
Multiplier (snowball) effect of general skills / education - general skills make LLL cheaper and effective.
Education at upper-secondary school lasts 2-4 years, work career +40 years.

5. Schooling and training policies
How to bring people back to school/training  incentives.
Intervene in case of market failures  identify types of market failures first.
Provision of general skills (economic constraint of low earners, uncertain investment).
Resources for LLL
Achieve higher utilization of facilities for formal education vis-à-vis demographic downturn.
Reform of tertiary education systems – more flexible (access and schedules) arrangements (employed parents).
Training is an important tool of ALMPs
screening tool
need for reliable impact evaluations
flexible capacity and use of private agencies in a competitive set-up