New Publication to Focus on Job Market Big Picture
New Publication to Focus on Job Market Big Picture
The New Zealand job market - how it works, what opportunities exist for people and how and why it’s changing – is the focus of a new Labour Department publication, workINSIGHT, launched by Social Services and Employment Minister, Steve Maharey, at an international Careers Conference in Wellington today.
Mr Maharey said workINSIGHT will be of particular interest to people choosing education or training, those already studying or in training, people thinking about changing their careers and new or re-entrants to the labour market (e.g. migrants, women returning to the workforce).
“workINSIGHT is one of several initiatives the government is implementing to provide better quality and more accessible information to help people make informed decisions about their involvement in the labour market.”
Mr Maharey said that the publication brings together a raft of quality information on a range of vital issues affecting the labour market. Users will find it of considerable value in making informed decisions on any area relating to the New Zealand labour market.
“workINSIGHT complements a range of measures we’re undertaking through the Skills Action Plan to build skills capability within the New Zealand labour market. This new publication will help people match their skills to the job opportunities available at any given time and help reduce future skill shortages by helping people make better decisions about participating in education and training – or those providing education and training.”
While New Zealand was experiencing sustained economic growth and strong growth in jobs – unemployment levels this year are at their lowest in 14 years – some firms were finding it difficult to find staff, Mr Maharey said.
“Some level of skills shortage is a natural consequence of a dynamic, healthy economy but the government wants to make sure skill shortages don’t reduce the country’s productive capacity, that’s why we’re launching initiatives like workINSIGHT.”
. . / 2 Mr Maharey said workINSIGHT, which is to be published twice yearly in November and May will contain a wide diversity of labour market information useful for anyone making decisions about work.
“The job market is changing all the time. Job opportunities evolve as new products and services are developed that require new kinds of knowledge and skills to produce them.
Not only does the matching process have to keep up with the new opportunities; it is evolving in its own right – as recently as five years ago hardly anyone could imagine searching for a job over the Internet.”
Mr Maharey said workINSIGHT will also be of interest to people looking at job market trends and those following what is happening in specific industry sectors such as manufacturing, construction, retailing and transport and communication, for example.
WorkINSIGHT will be published in hard copy format and will also be available on-line via the government’s new on-line work information portal, WorkSite, launched on Monday, Mr Maharey said.
This backgrounder provides an overview of the government’s Skills Action Plan with an update on progress. The Skills Action Plan, announced in the May Budget, has two main aims. Improve the matching of people’s skills to the job opportunities currently available. Reduce skill shortages in the future by helping people to make better decisions about education and training. The government is implementing several initiatives to give effect to these aims. Two of these initiatives which were recently launched include: Electronic Labour Market Information Portal, WorkSite Launched on 25 November, the electronic information portal called WorkSite provides seamless access to labour market information from a single website http://www.worksite.govt.nz. WorkSite allows people to quickly identify and acquire skills relevant to available work. Improved matching of available skills to current demand reduces the potential for future skill mismatches. WorkSite is also a “shopping mall” offering everything there is to know about the New Zealand labour market – careers, training, migration, self-employment, employer and employee rights and obligations and forms of assistance available. A Skills Report, workINSIGHT Launched on 28 November and titled workINSIGHT, this publication, available from the Department of Labour and via http:// http://www.worksite.govt.nz, provides an alternative way to access current and new labour market information. WorkINSIGHT is produced in plain English to provide employers, careers advisors, training providers and self-employed people with quality information about labour market trends. It will also be useful to people who are making training and career choices. The next edition of workINSIGHT will be published in May 2003. Some other Skills Action Plan initiatives: Integrating data on employees and their jobs, to better understand the process of job creation, job retention and skill development. A survey on job vacancies that will improve knowledge of the demand for skills. Designing a survey on employment and earnings outcomes for tertiary graduates. Each of these initiatives is currently being implemented and will improve the labour market decisions of individuals, institutions and policy-makers over time.