Bottleneck Vacancies in France Construction and industry with the largest share of bottlenecks Bottleneck vacancies mainly appear in the construction and industry sectors. There are also specific bottlenecks in the health sector, including dentists and medical practitioners, and in the services sector with vacancies for computer engineer or commercial sales representatives affected. France 2013 Population: 65.8m Workforce: 25.8m Unemployment: 10.9% Many skilled manual occupations affected In construction and industry sectors, bottlenecks are mainly observed for skilled manual occupations. In the industry, difficulties affect especially the metallurgy sector and related production process workers such as sheet-metal workers, pipefitter or working machine setters and operators. High-skilled bottleneck occupations are observed in the health sector, with both generalist and specialist practitioners, and computer engineering. Most bottlenecks have been persistent since 2008. Underlying reasons vary for bottlenecks For skilled manual bottlenecks, the main reason seems to be a shortage of applicants, related to a lack of candidates who are attracted to sometimes unknown occupations. The global construction and industry sectors, especially for metallurgy, also suffer from a negative image among young people, which is identified by stakeholders as the main reason behind these tensions. Regulation seems to have an important impact on bottlenecks in health sectors, considering the French well known désert médical issue (the shortage of health professionals in some geographical areas of the country, which, for this reason, are defined as medical deserts ). The combination of freedom of choice for location and a regulated number of graduate students seem to lead to bottlenecks in non-attractive regions and rural or suburban areas. Initiatives combine policy makers, employers and public employment services Identified initiatives aimed at mitigating bottlenecks vacancies are implemented by policy makers, PES and employers or employers association. These initiatives mainly concern the upgrading of skill level for unemployed persons to increase the recruitment pool. In the health sector, mitigation actions target mobility and the attraction of medical practitioners in regions where shortages are observed. Communication campaign are observed in many sectors like construction, ICT or industry. Assessment of available evidence TOP 20 Bottleneck Vacancies in France 2013 Occupation (ISCO-08) Dentists Pipefitter Handicraft workers in leather, texti [ ] Metal working machine [ ] operators Sheet-metal workers Roofers Metal moulders and coremakers Structural-metal preparers and erectors Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers Printing trades workers Wood treaters, cabinet-makers [ ] Generalist medical practitioners Draughtspersons (metal industry) Draughtspersons (electric + electronic) Specialist medical practitioners ICT service managers Commercial sales representatives Building designer Process control technicians n.e.c.* Plumbers Development since 2008 Good. See page 5 for more information. *Note: not elsewhere classified Page 1
Top 20 Bottleneck Vacancies The bottleneck vacancies have been identified by using the Besoins en Main-d Oeuvre-BMO annual survey from French PES, based on a 1.6 million employers sample from all sectors excepted state administrations and public firms. This survey estimates the recruitment intentions of employers for the coming year and the associate recruitment difficulties. Bottlenecks are mainly observed for skilled manual occupations, especially in the industrial and construction sectors. For the industrial sectors, it particularly concerns metalworking and mechanical industries. Unmet labour demand is high for specific occupations like pipefitter or sheet-metal workers or more general occupations involved in the production process like working machine tool setters or process control technicians. In the construction sector, bottlenecks are observed both in structural work, like roofers and structural metal preparers and erectors, and sub-trade work, like plumbers. High skills bottleneck occupations are observed in medical and ICT sectors. Bottleneck occupations in the medical sector are observed for both generalist and specialist practitioners. In ICT sectors, an increasing lack of computer engineers is reported by employers. In two thirds of French regions, recruitment difficulties stated by employers affect more than 60% of the expected recruitment projects for this occupation in 2013. Other specific bottleneck occupations not are handicraft workers in textile and leather or commercial sales representatives. For a large majority of the identified bottleneck occupations, the number of employed in the occupation is low. For plumbers, handicraft workers and printing trades workers the number of employed is less than 70 000. The occupations with the highest number of employed are in the health and construction sectors. The number of commercial sales and representatives is over 500,000. Ranking is based on an index of expected recruitment difficulties stated by employers for the coming year. The index was developed by the French PES and the survey is conducted yearly with a large sample of employers (see p. 5). Rank Bottleneck Vacancies ISCO-08 Number of Employed in Occupation 2009-11 Skills level (ISCO-08) Geographical aspects 1 Dentists 369,000 HS Regional 2 Pipefitter 151,000 SM National 3 Handicraft workers textile, leather and related [ ] 70,000 SM National 4 Metal working machine tool setters and operators 105,000 SM National 5 Sheet-metal workers 151,000 SM National 6 Roofers 393,000 SM National 7 Metal moulders and coremakers 105,000 SM National 8 Structural-metal preparers and erectors 393,000 SM National 9 Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers 185,000 SM National 10 Printing trades workers 66,000 SM National 11 Wood treaters, cabinet-makers and related [ ] 102,000 SM National 12 Generalist medical practitioners 369,000 HS Regional 13 Draughtspersons (metal industry) 223,000 HS National 14 Draughtspersons (electric + electronic) 140,000 HS National 15 Specialist medical practitioners 382,000 HS Regional 16 ICT service managers 344,000 HS National 17 Commercial sales representatives 536,000 HS National 18 Building designer 287,000 SNM National 19 Process control technicians n.e.c. 223,000 HS National 20 Plumbers 28,583 SM National Elem:Elementary, SNM: Skilled non manual, SM: Skilled manual, HS= High skilled Page 2
Sectors with Bottleneck Vacancies Sectors Metallurgy industry Construction Bottleneck vacancies Pipefitter, Metal working machine tool setters and operators, Sheetmetal workers, Metal moulders and coremakers, Draughtspersons (metal industry), Process control technicians n.e.c. Roofers, Structural-metal preparers and erectors, Buiding designer, Plumbers The main sectors with bottleneck vacancies are the construction sector and the metallurgy industry. In 2013, firms declared 55% of their expected recruitment projects as difficult in the construction sector, and 62% in the metallurgy industry, compared to 40% for all sectors. Bottlenecks in construction and metallurgy Several bottleneck occupations are apparent in the metallurgy industry. Despite the image of a declining metallurgy industry, specific sectors are still recruiting. Moreover, this sector is faced with a large number of workers who are retiring. In this context, average labour needs for the whole sector until 2020 are estimated to range between 115,000 and 130,000 per year. The construction sector is deeply related to the global economic activity. From 2000 to 2009, 300,000 new recruitments were observed each year in this sector, but only 50,000 per year since the beginning of the economic crisis. However, the construction sector still faces persistent structural recruitment difficulties. The number of recruitments is also impacted by energy renovation work and environmental standards. Main reasons for Bottleneck Vacancies Lack of skilled candidates The main reason for recruitment difficulties reported by employers in the overall labour market is the lack of candidates, especially of skilled candidates. Lack of candidtaes is the reason identified behind many of the top 20 bottleneck occupations identified. This includes low nubers of candidates due to low interest in ceratin occupations. Evidence suggests that the poor image and lack of attractiveness of the construction and industry sectors lead to shortages in candidates for needed skilled manual occupations. Candidates unwilling to move In the health sector, (specialist and generalist medical practitioners and dentists) regulation and unwillingness to move are reasons for the shortages. In fact, regulation establishes numerous clausus and health practitioners are often concentrated in attractive regions or urban areas. Rapidly evolving technology The ICT sector shows important recruitment needs with more than 100,000 job offers since 2010. It faces particular difficulties due to fast technological changes and related skills evolution. Moreover some of the required skills can be very specific and strongly related to initial training or work experience. In this context, employers associations are engaged in professional training improvement. For pipefitters and sheet metal workers, the evolution of work tasks and materials leads to high specialization and required experience. Page 3
Initiatives to cope with Bottleneck Vacancies Identified initiatives aimed at mitigating bottlenecks vacancies are implemented by policy makers, PES and employers or employers associations. These initiatives mainly concern the upgrading of skills levels, especially for unemployed people with common objectives to reduce unemployment and increase the recruitment pool. In the health sector, mitigation actions target mobility and the attraction of medical practitioners to regions where shortages are observed. Initiatives on wages and work conditions implemented by policy makers or employers association are not frequently targeting directly bottleneck vacancies issues. Moreover, many communication campaigns are implemented among young people to improve the attractiveness of different sectors like ICT or industry. Below are some examples of relevant skills strategies. Targeted training National strategies Plan Formations Prioritaires pour l Emploi (Policy makers and employers). Implemented in the second semester of 2013, this action plan stems from the national social conference including national and regional administrations and social partners (employers and union organizations). It is aimed at mobilizing professional training to help filling bottleneck vacancies through skills and qualifications development for the unemployed. Delivered trainings focus on identified bottleneck vacancies, such as occupations in the construction and industry sectors. The objectives are to train 30 000 unemployed people in 2013 and 100 000 in 2014. This action plan will be built on existing programs such as individual and collective POE and local initiatives. Méthode de Recrutement par Simulation- MRS (PES and employers) MRS evaluates candidates by testing and identifying their capacities, it does not refer to usual recruitment criteria such as experience and qualification. This recruitment method is based on transferable competences and helps to overcome a lack of candidates. It is used in different sectors like construction or metallurgy. Agir pour l insertion dans l industrie -A2i (Employers) A2i has been created in 2009 by the employers association in metallurgy (UIMM). A2i funds projects (such as awareness capaigns or training design) which permit the insertion of job seekers in the industry sector to face candidates shortages. Preliminary training Mobility Préparation Opérationnelle à l Emploi - POE (Public Employment Services and employers) Created in 2009, POE allows employers to recruit and provide a preliminary training to unemployed persons when they face recruitment difficulties. The PES and the employer set the characteristics of required competences and then a specific training program. The PES also funds this training. POE can be individual or collective when employers associations identify common recruitment difficulties. Examples of actions to improve mobility in the health sector (policy makers and employers) In the health sector, mitigation actions are mainly implemented to attract more medical practitioners in rural or suburban areas. At a local level, administrations fund the establishment of medical practitioners to resolve shortages. For example, the initiative Operation Wanted, in Allier, offers financing of 40 000 for the establishment of generalist medical practitioners who have recently been graduated. Some dental offices also recruit work and training students from other regions to help fill shortages. Page 4
Main sources used to identify Bottleneck Vacancies in France The bottleneck vacancies have been identified by using the: Besoins en Main-d Oeuvre-BMO annual survey from the Public Employment Services (PES). This survey estimates the recruitment intentions of employers for the coming year and the associate recruitment difficulties. In addition, a study published by the Conseil d Orientation pour l Emploi COE has been a useful source of information on bottleneck vacancies. The study conducts a cross analysis of sources identifying bottleneck vacancies in the French labour market, confirming the robustness of the first ranking of bottlenecks. Furthermore, explanations and reasons have been explored through desk research on internet and studies from employers associations. The desk research has been complemented by interviews with French PES and labour ministry statistical services and the COE, mainly focus on unidentified bottlenecks vacancies ranking. Then, interviews have been done with some employers association s observatories to collect information about reasons and mitigation strategies. Overall, the data quality is assessed to be good. BMO ranking of bottleneck occupations is based on the number of difficult recruitment projects for the coming year. Using the survey data, a ranking by percentage of recruitment difficulties among recruitment project has been realized for each occupation to set a new ranking. The survey is based on a 1.6 million employers sample from all sectors excepted state administrations and public firms. Given the fact that the survey is published yearly since 2002, the timeliness of data can be considered good, notwithstanding a change in the classification was observed in 2009. The report is based on the latest survey available, covering year 2013. The response rate was 24%, and a statistical adjustment has been implemented to ensure its representativeness. The employers answer questions on their expected recruitment projects, and expected difficult recruitment projects for the coming year. A complementary survey shows that recruitment difficulties tend to be overestimated by employers. 52.8% of employers, when interrogated (Dec 2011) expected to encounter difficulties in filling vacancies during the year to come, while this number fell to 35.9% when the same question was made six months afterwards (June 2012). Sources Pôle Emploi, Enquête Besoin en Main d'œuvre, 2008-2013. Conseil d'orientation pour l'emploi, Emplois durablement vacants et difficultés de recrutement, 2013, available at: http://www.ressources-de-la-formation.fr/img/pdf/coerapport_emplois_durablement_vacants_et_difficultes_de_recrutement_1_.pdf Gaumont S. (2012), Enquête complémentaire Besoins en Main-d œuvre 2012, Repères et analyses statistiques, Pôle employ, n 50 Seven interviews conducted with key stakeholders and experts. Page 5