Challenges

Public employment services play a crucial role in connecting jobseekers with employers and thereby contribute to the efficient functioning of labour markets. They provide regularly collected, comprehensive and up-to-date labour market information and contribute to designing effective labour market policies and programmes. By providing information on occupations and skills requirements, they assist jobseekers not only to find jobs matching their skills and capacities but also to upgrade their skills to enhance their employability.

However, in the OIC region, where the unemployment and youth NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) rates are quite high, various challenges exist to provide efficiency and effectiveness of their public employment services; among them, the following are major challenges:

• Technological advances and various transformations in labour markets,
• Digital transformation of the public employment services
• Mismatch between skills supply and demand
• Limited access for vulnerable groups
• Insufficient human resource capacity
• High unemployment rates, particularly among young people in OIC Countries
• Developing Effective upskilling and reskilling programmes
• Establishing an Effective Labour Market Information (LMI) system
• Lack of strong policies and mechanisms that support entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
• Lack of effective strategies for supporting a circular and green economy for integrated economic growth.

Toward a Solution

The OIC-PESNET was established in accordance with the “Resolution on the Cooperation on Labour, Employment and Social Protection among the OIC Member States” adopted by the 2nd Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April 2013. The objective of the Network is to strengthen cooperation among the OIC member countries in the field of employment and labour market issues and contribute to the implementation of the said framework.

Therefore, the Network serves as a platform for public employment institutions among the OIC member countries by systematically sharing information and experience among public employment authorities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of the public employment services in the OIC member countries.

As of 2013, in light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and the OIC 2025 Programme of Action, the OIC-PESNET strives to enhance the capacity of its members to achieve these ambitious targets.

The bureau of the Network is constituted of a chairman, three vice-chairmen, and national focal points from OIC countries. Additionally, the network includes the Secretariat of the OIC- PESNET, performed by SESRIC.

The members of the network regularly get together to discuss and debate the current challenges and future threats to employment and the labour market. Accordingly, they also evaluate their institutional and human capacities and identify their needs in order to overcome challenges they must face and find innovative solutions. Thus, a two-year work plan is developed within the active commitment and participation of the members. The most recent work plan, the OIC-PESNET Work Plan 2024-2026, identified 4 main domains of cooperation as follows:

• Thematic area 1 : Digital Technologies for Employment and Skills Development

In this area the objective is to raise awareness of the importance of IT and digital technologies on skills development systems. and increase the use of digital technologies for the effective development of employability and skills development

• Thematic Area 2: Labour Market Information (LMI)

In this area the objective is to assist the OIC member countries to establish a well-functioning LMIS and explore the possibilities and models of establishment and operationalisation of National Labour Market Observatories.

• Thematic Area 3: Entrepreneurship as a Lever for Sustainable Growth and Economic Inclusion

In this area, the objective is to exchange knowledge, experience, and best practices within entrepreneurship ecosystems to promote sustainable growth, enhance entrepreneurial education, improve access to quality education, and foster innovation.

• Thematic Area 4: Economic Inclusion of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

In this area the objective is to bridge the gap: empowering NEET youth for economic inclusion in OIC member countries and implementing activities to highlight the importance of improving economic opportunities for NEET youth.

Within the framework of the OIC-PESNET Work Plan 2024-2026 and in line with these thematic areas, 16 capacity building activities were planned to be implemented during this period in collaboration with PES institutions in OIC countries.

SESRIC, as the secretariat of the OIC-PESNET, plays the role of catalyst by bringing together the OIC member countries and coordinating the work plan activities and the capacity-building activities. SESRIC, within the framework of the OIC-PESNET, initiated the Public Employment Services Capacity Building Programme (PES-CaB) in order to facilitate the improvement of human capital in the OIC Member States. As its initiations, under the following different modalities – training course, workshop, study visit, project, webinars – implemented 28 activities that benefitted from 1653 in line with the OIC-PESNET work plans.

In addition, SESRIC developed a project titled “Fostering Information Technology (IT) Solutions to Improve the Effectiveness of Public Employment Services (PES) in the OIC Member Countries”, which is funded by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) under the 9th Call for Project Proposals of COMCEC Project Funding. the Centre, in collaboration with the project partners, namely, the Malaysian Social Security Organisation (SOCSO), the Ministry of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia and the Turkish Employment Agency (??KUR).

The main objective of the project is to share best practices and tools for high-level IT involvement in PES systems and to increase the capacities of the staff working in relevant areas of PES through conducting a capacity building training course and a workshop on the topic. During the project, to address the challenges associated with developing IT solutions and integrating them into PES systems, a set of recommendations was discussed and agreed upon as an outcome of the project\\\’s activities.

The OIC-PESNET facilitates member countries\\\’ learning and benefiting from one another\\\’s experiences and fosters bilateral collaboration in the specialised technical area of PES. This cooperative approach not only improves the dissemination of best practices but also cultivates innovation and capacity development among the OIC countries, ultimately resulting in enhanced outcomes in public employment services across the region.