The ILO Fair Recruitment Initiative, in collaboration with ITC-ILO and with the support of the Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment (FAIR, phase III) hosted on the 15th of June an online knowledge exchange spotlighting the role of Public Employment Services (PES) in promoting and implementing fair recruitment. The webinar welcomed a total of 156 attendees from 75 countries and brought together representatives and officials from Public Employment Services from varied national policy and labour market contexts.

The aim of the webinar was to discuss practices, challenges, and achievements in ensuring quality services in line with international standards and fair recruitment principles, and ultimately access to decent work opportunities for all. The webinar covered various regions and examples where Public Employment Services (PES) are driving good practice in realising fair recruitment and through this, increasing labour market efficiency and protecting workers’ rights.

The webinar was opened by moderator Mr Charles Crevier, Programme Manager at the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO) who introduced the guest speakers, international experts, and national practitioners. In all the presentations the notion of constant proactive adaptation of PES to the changing environment came through.

To kick off the discussion, keynote speaker Ms Anna-Karin Palm-Olsson, Technical Specialist in Labour Market Services (EMPLAB) at the ILO emphasised on the importance of PES in maintaining resilient intermediation and facilitation in a changing world rocked by megatrends such as demographic changes, climate change, and the need to adopt sustainable and inclusive economic models.

Next, specific examples were presented in a panel discussion by representatives of EURES (European Network of Public Employment Services) Sweden, the Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT, international placement service), Morocco’s Public Employment service (ANAPEC), and the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES).

The first panellist, Ms Naima Barri from the ‘Agence nationale de promotion de l'emploi et des compétences’ (ANAPEC) spoke about PES developments in Morocco such as a new line of services for vulnerable workers and proactively reaching out to enterprises. This practice drives social inclusion which requires new techniques and tools for PES professionals to adopt, as well as partnerships with civil society and technology providers. Furthermore, persons with disabilities and migrant workers in the country benefit from this extension of services for job seekers.

Mr Jon Stråth of the European Employment Services Network (EURES) outlined how the EURES network supports fair labour mobility through mapping shortages of labour market information and providing information for job seekers across Europe on living and working conditions of each member state. These developments have enhanced access to information for job seekers and transparency for PES through the sharing of candidate CVs across the network. Furthermore, EURES puts strong emphasis on including private public labour market providers, and on helping workers understand their rights at work and employers meet their goals. Through EURES, both businesses and job-seekers benefit from greater access to information and business opportunities.

The panellist from Tunisia, Ms Khansa Gharbi, emphasised the ongoing developments realised by the ‘Agence Tunisienne de coopération technique’ (ATCT) to adapt to a changing global labour market. The ATCT monitors labour trends and the changing demand in destination countries while establishing partnerships through agreements with employers. The agency also establishes partnerships through agreements with employers in destination countries. ATCT operates on the basis of six principles for fair recruitment throughout the migration cycle. Furthermore, the evolution of online services for both job seekers and enterprises has helped facilitate additional training for job seekers.

Finally, the last panel speaker Ms Nicole Clobes from the World Association of Public Employment Services (WAPES) explained that WAPES applies a needs-based approach to support its member organisations. They focus their Research & Development efforts on greening the labour market, and also driving the fair recruitment agenda. Ms Nicole Clobes shared promising inclusive practices including South Korea’s PES promoting non-discrimination, North Macedonia’s efforts to include Roma job-seekers in the labour market, and the USA’s promotion of equitable approaches aligned with ILO fair recruitment principles.  

After a lively Q&A session, the online knowledge exchange ended with the closing remarks of Ms Gaëla Roudy Fraser, CTA Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment at FUNDAMENTALS ILO Geneva who shared a few additional examples from other regions - the middle East and the Americas, and thanked the speakers, the French and Spanish interpreters, the session moderator Mr Charles Crevier, and the ILO and ITC-ILO team organising the event.

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The recording of the event is available in all 3 languages here.

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Additional Resources

Want to learn more about fair recruitment promising practices? Consult the following fact sheets: https://www.bit.ly/FRI-GoodPractices

Check out the Fair Recruitment Initiative strategy: https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/fair-recruitment/fri/lang--en/index.htm

Please consult the list of ILO’s publications on Fair recruitment: https://www.bit.ly/FRI-Publications

Do you want to learn more on the work of FAIR III Programme? Consult the dedicated page: https://www.ilo.org/fairprogramme

Check out the ILO Global Study on recruitment fees and costs: https://bit.ly/ILO-RecruitmentFeesStudy

The General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment and Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs. Available here in 14 languages: https://bit.ly/ILO-GPOG

ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: http:bit.ly/GlobalLabourMigration

Do you want to learn more about the work done by the Alliance 8.7? Check out at this link:  https://www.alliance87.org/