Database of labour market practices
This database gathers practices in the field of employment submitted by European countries for the purposes of mutual learning. These practices have proven to be successful in the country concerned, according to its national administration. The European Commission does not have a position on the policies or measures mentioned in the database.
Download the full practice
|
|
| Original Title: | De Werkverkenner and De Werkmap |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Responsible body: | UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) |
| Name(s) of other organisations involved (partners / sub-contractors): | Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment; Groningen University; TNO; NOA-VU; VUMC |
| Start Year of implementation: | 2014 |
| End Year of implementation: | Ongoing |
| EU policy relevance: | The Work Profiler supports the following common priorities and targets of the EES employment guidelines - enhanced labour and skills supply and better functioning of the labour markets. |
| National labour market context: | Compared to other EU countries, Dutch unemployment benefit schemes are rather generous. Illustrative of this is the replacement rate of the wage in benefits. In the first 60 months following unemployment the average EU household in 2015 received a rate of approximately 52% of the previous wage, while the average Dutch household would receive a rate of approximately 70% of the previous wage. At the same time, the Dutch unemployment rate is below the EU average. It must be mentioned however, that until 1 July 2015 unemployment benefits had a maximum duration of 38 months, which was then reduced to 24 months. The Work Profiler was implemented nationally in 2015. In February of that year the Dutch unemployment rate was 7.1 %, 633,000 people were unemployed and 455,000 people received unemployment benefits from UWV. 289,000 of the unemployed were long-term unemployed. As for the demand side of the market: there were 125,000 vacancies. In January 2018, the Dutch unemployment rate was 4.2 %. 380,000 people are unemployed and 335,000 people receive unemployment benefits from UWV. 136,000 of the unemployed are long-term unemployed. At the end of December 2017 there were 227,000 vacancies. Moreover, the total labour force has grown from 8.91 million people in 2015 to 9 million in 2018. |
| Policy area: | Active labour market policies, Labour market participation |
| Specific policy or labour market problem being addressed: | The Work Profiler was originally developed to support the job counsellors with evidence-based academic knowledge, in order to further customise the assistance these advisors give to the UWV clients. Moreover, the UWV has to allocate its limited resources as efficiently as possible, meaning UWV aims at providing the most intensive services to those who have the biggest distance to the labour market. The Work Profiler contributes to realising this, as it a) helps job counsellors to customise the kind of assistance the clients get; and b) differentiates the group with more than 50% risk of becoming long-term unemployed from the group with less than 50% risk of becoming long-term unemployed. That way, UWV can provide more intensive services in an earlier stage to the group with the biggest risks. One of the first services provided after applying for unemployment benefits is the Work Profiler and the Personal Work Folder. While the Work Profiler assesses the risk of the person in question, the adequate services and information are provided through the Personal Work Folder. The activities in the Personal Work Folder are monitored by job counsellors who give advice and other forms of support to jobseekers for an effective job search. |
| Aims and objectives of the policy or measure: | The main objectives are systematic, evidence-based profiling of jobseekers, and depending on the result of the profiling, the implementation of a targeted and customised strategy for the activation and integration of jobseekers. The main reason for implementing the Work Profiler and the Personal Work Folder is to ensure that jobseekers continue to receive tailored orientation, guidance and support after registration, at a high standard and in a structured way. Another important reason is to efficiently allocate the UWV’s limited resources. |
| Main activities / actions underpinning the policy or measure: | The activities carried out include the development and implementation of the Work Profiler and the Personal Work Folder. The Work Profiler is a selection and skills diagnosis tool. The tool supports the job counsellor to provide tailored services to jobseekers who receive unemployment benefits. The tool combines a questionnaire with administrative data to predict the likelihood of work resumption within one year and assesses which factors hinder work resumption. The questionnaire includes questions on, for example, health perception, view on work resumption, etc. The Personal Work Folder is one of the main communication platforms between the jobseeker and the job counsellor. It contains a digital personal job plan for each individual jobseeker which focuses on job seeking activities. Components include registration of a personal data resume, matching activities, access to e-learning modules, and other job-finding activities. Such data and activities can be monitored by the job counsellor via a dashboard. The dashboard is an overview of all personal e-folders for the job counsellor. All job seeking activities of a personal job plan have a deadline and are indicated by a colour, and the jobseeker has an overview of all activities/deadlines in his personal e-folder. If the jobseeker misses a deadline, a reminder will be sent by the job counsellor; in cases where the jobseeker does not respond, sanctions may follow (enforcement). |
| Geographical scope of policy or measure: | National |
| Target groups: | Other |
| Outputs and outcomes of the policy or measure: | The system has successfully been implemented and allows job counsellors to focus on the individual integration process by acting as job coaches. One very important outcome is that nearly 60 % of all registered unemployed only served electronically find a job within three months after registration. The timeframe for successful integration into the labour market for the remaining 40 % is longer. |
|
Download the full practice
|
The Work Profiler and the Personal Work Folder