Activation Policies for the Poor in OIC Member States

advisory services, training incentives, access to credit, and subsidised employment.

The project

was piloted under the Joint UN Programme on Youth Employment and Migration with active

involvement from the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities.

Despite the examples of Tunisia and Albania indicating the investment and efforts being made to

develop job search support, other upper-middle income Member States continue to provide little job

search support. In Lebanon, for example, there are only three regional PES offices, although

increased funding has been allocated to open another two offices and increase staff numbers.

Lower-middle income Member States

Lower-middle income countries are more likely to have support in place than low income countries.

However, this is unlikely to be as widespread as in higher income countries. Although countries are

likely to be aware of the international standards for the provision of support, the intention to deliver

these standards is hampered by a lack of funding. The provision of support can incentivise

jobseekers to register with the PES, but jobseekers also regularly use their networks and the media

to find jobs themselves. Similarly, there is no strong incentive for employers to register job vacancies

with the PES, meaning that the PES needs to actively engage with employers to encourage them to

middle income Member States. However, there are some countries, such as Egypt, Morocco and

(until recently) Syria, where civil society organisations play a larger role in offering these measures.

The lack of funding means that where job search support is offered by the PES, advisor caseloads

tend to far exceed recommended volumes. In Cameroon, advisors reported having caseloads of 3,000

jobseekers. In Morocco, this figure is reported as being 1,500.

The international norm is for

caseloads of approximately 300 (for mainstream caseloads). The services provided by the PES in

lower-middle income Member States are often designed to improve the employability of jobseekers.

Services therefore go beyond those of a job brokerage service. However, research indicates that

training to increase employability, a costly service, is not as effective as employment services such as

enhancing job search efficiency and providing information on job vacancies.

Low income Member States

In low income countries, limited resources and infrastructure mean that comprehensive support is

difficult to provide and labour market information is challenging both to collect and share. Of the OIC

Member States, low income countries therefore appear to be weakest in their provision of job search

support. Due to the lack of support, there is very little incentive for jobseekers and employers to

urban regions and are unlikely to attract the poorest jobseekers.

The limited provision severely constrains the potential impact of the PES in low income countries. In

some cases, few measures are implemented by the PES apart from the sharing of information

regarding job vacancies. The impact of this is still limited as many employers do not advertise

through the PES. Other low income Member States have more services available through the PES.

Mali, for example, also offers support to new enterprises, but there is little evidence available

regarding the impact of this. The Kyrgyz Republic also offers more extensive services, such as

training, career guidance and direct referrals. However, some services such as job clubs have ended

and the main way to find a job continues to depend largely on personal connections.

Zampini, D. (2012)

Local Employment Development: Albania’s experience with Territorial Employment Pacts and Regional

Employment Funds

, presentation at the AER Conference ‘Why are regions best positioned to tackle youth employment?’ 26 June

2012

Angel-Urdinola, D. et al (2012)

Public Employment Services in the Middle East and North Africa

, World Bank

Ibid

Schwegler-Rohmeis, W. et al (2013)

Study ‘Labour Market and Employment Policy in the Kyrgyz Republic’,

German Federal Ministry

for Economic Cooperation and Development