Work is critical to all dimensions of life, for citizens and for society; it is a key factor for economic productivity and wealth creation and contributes to social harmony and stability. It is often said that a decent job is the best form of social security, but how to ensure that anyone can access a decent job?

Labour markets worldwide face challenges of an unprecedented scale, stubbornly high levels of unemployment and underemployment, job fragmentation, persistent high rates of employment in the informal economy, later entry and later exit from the labour market, migration, population ageing, and the need for skilled workers. All these challenges are occurring against a backdrop of global “digitalization”, which accelerates the pace of change as it changes the very nature of work.

While a single career path used to be the norm, careers are now characterized by often frequent job changes, even across different professions, and back and forth from the formal to the informal economy. To keep pace with this evolution, public and private employers increasingly focus on education and continuous training as the essential foundation on which to build the sustainable employability of the workforce.

In this regard, employment agencies and social security institutions are adjusting their business and administration processes to adapt quickly to new conditions and to be not only reactive but also proactive.