Italian job project set to work in EU

Date: 08/10/1998

By Rory Watson

A PIONEERING project developed by the chambers of commerce in Italy is now helping other EU countries to pinpoint where new jobs will be created in the next two years.

The Labour Policy Information Network (LAPIN), launched earlier this year with European Commission funding, is drawing heavily on Italy's recent experience in identifying future employment opportunities by region, company and sector.

Using detailed telephone and face-to-face surveys, the Italian chambers of commerce asked more than 100,000 companies for their current and projected employment levels over the next two years, the profiles of staff they wished to recruit and what would prevent them from taking on extra employees.

The findings forecast that 260,000 jobs would be created in Italy by the end of 1999, of which almost 90,000 would be in the south. The study suggested the vast majority of these would be generated by small and medium-sized firms, and indicated that the same businesses would create 450,000 jobs if labour costs and fiscal pressure were reduced.

The technique has now been translated to the European stage, with the Italian chambers of commerce Unioncamere leading the two-year LAPIN project which links Nord Pas de Calais, Réunion and Rhones-Alpes in France, the region of Wallonia in Belgium, Campania, Liguria Emilia and Romagna in Italy and County Durham in the UK.

Each region is compiling a databank of job opportunities to help individuals as well as public administrations to identify where employment opportunities will be created. The information is likely to have a major impact on education and vocational training policies by indicating how the supply and demand for labour can be better matched.