Mariagrazia Fugini, Piercarlo Maggiolini and Ramon Salvador Valles
related to the employers in the countries who did not yet join EURES and to employers who want to publish their vacancies in different languages. This foundation is working under supervision of the EU commission and is a public service working with public employment agencies.
Now, to illustrate form a practical viewpoint the three main actors of any government system( PA, Community, and Political Bodies organizations) and their ICT based interactions, we present one system as a use case, namely the Servei d’ Ocupació de Catalunya( SOC) active as the job marketplace support system of Catalonia. The SOC has a network of 73 public employment offices and uses Internet, a call centre, a network of selfservice interactive units( providing access to some Internet services) and a telephone line to each office.
The website( http:// www. oficinadetreball. cat) provides services for job seekers, employers and the general public. Citizens – job seekers mainly – are provided with information on the job market such as the skills required for particular jobs, training courses, professional help, counselling, grants, statistics, etc. Selected information on job offers – including a description of the post, the skills required and the deadline for submitting an application – is provided through a link to a portal called Feina Activa( https:// www. feinaactiva. gencat. cat), where job seekers can apply for job offers. The website also features services for employing companies, private agencies and training organizations, with information on training programmes in companies, guidance regarding employment contracts and information on finance and employment promotion activities. The website also allows firms to upload, publish and manage job offers and to furnish the SOC with data on employment contracts, provided the firms have already registered at a public agency. The website offers information on regulations and registration to private agencies and training centres and provides services to citizens such as information about the SOC, news and events, links to other job market websites and a suggestions box.
Under our framework, SOC is basically inspired by the social model offering ICT services to various stakeholders in order to support active policies to prevent unemployment. Hence, SOC can be regarded as a system of e‐Services. the bureaucratic and purely administrative functions are also present( e‐Administration). The statistics on the job marketplace still have a limited role; hence, the political model and the true e‐Governance applications are of secondary importance.
Private agencies provide companies with services, which include matching CVs and job offers and selecting potential employees using psychometric tests and interviews. The use of private recruitment websites is quite common in Catalonia, with InfoJobs being the most popular( other popular websites are infofeina. com, monster. es, trabajar. com, laboris. net and infoempleo. com).
The performance of the public employment offices web‐based system is perceived to be satisfactory by SOC management, despite being largely determined by the objectives and organization of the institution. Although this web‐based system was conceived as a new channel to complement the existing network of offices, nowadays it is becoming the main channel. Services provided through the website, such as the renewal of job applications and benefits management for unemployed people, gathering mandatory information from companies on contracts and information on job searches and applications, among others, greatly add to the overall performance of the SOC. Many other factors contribute to SOC performance. For instance, the website’ s usability, layout and vocabulary are fit for purpose. Furthermore, digital certification to access the website’ s services ensures privacy and security, thereby further encouraging website use. Nevertheless, there is still room to further develop several functions, so as to improve the quality of services. Moreover, systems exist grounded on public initiatives and external to SOC, e. g., Porta22 promoted by Barcelona City Council. It concerns young people and long‐term unemployed people offering professional guidance through a website, with some services provided in classrooms. These activities, promoted by a public administration, are provided on a voluntary basis.
How the community sphere( as an hypo‐integrated system) is organized
Different initiatives have been created in Catalonia within the community sphere to make it easier to look for a job or a candidate. These initiatives, from individuals, companies and institutions, mainly operate according to market rules but are governed by specific legal regulations. These initiatives, channels or ways to seek jobs or candidates are as follows:
• Self‐standing for a job and networking among relatives, friends and acquaintances.
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