GLOSSARY
(Non-official glossary of key terms relevant for anticipation of skill needs)
(skill) shortage occupations define the situation of the shortage of labour with types and levels of skills
suitable for specific occupations. The term however is sometimes used to describe the situation on the labour
market in quantitative terms, where ‘shortage occupations’ and ‘surplus occupations’ are identified as the result
of a macroeconomic forecast. .(Strietska-Ilina, O. Skills Shortages. In: ‘Modernising vocational education and
training in Europe: background report. Fourth report on vocational training research’ Cedefop, Vol.1 2008)
basic skills: Skills that are fundamental for further learning or for performing in a job. (ILO: Glossary of key
terms on learning and training for work, 2006)
continuing vocational training: Further vocational training, undertaken by those who have already completed
basic or initial training, in order to supplement acquired knowledge or skills. (ILO Thesaurus)
core skills / core employability skills: Non-vocational, non-technical skills or competencies that are needed to
perform at work and in society. They apply to work generally, rather than being specific to an occupation or
industry. Core employability skills include the ability to work with others and in teams; the ability to solve
problems and use technology; communications skills; and learning-to-learn skills. Core skills are also called
generic skills, key competencies, key skills, portable skills, soft skills and transferable skills. (ILO: Glossary of
key terms on learning and training for work, 2006)
decent work: A term that sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives – their aspirations for
opportunity and income; rights, voice and recognition; family stability and personal development; and fairness
and gender equality. Ultimately these various dimensions of decent work underpin peace in communities and
society. Decent work is captured in four strategic objectives: fundamental principles and rights at work and
international labour standards; employment and income opportunities; social protection and social security; and
social dialogue and tripartism. (ILO: Decent Work, Report of the Director-General, International Labour
Conference, 87th Session, Geneva, 1999)
direct/indirect/induced employment effect. Direct employment refers to the numbers employed in the activities
studied. Indirect employment refers to employment among suppliers and elsewhere in the value chain as a
consequence of the activities studied. Induced employment refers to employment in the wider economy that
arises from spending by those employed directly and indirectly. (UNEP, ILO, IOE, ITUC: Green jobs: Towards
decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world, Geneva, 2008)
early identification of skill needs refers to an early warning system which allows for timely policy and skills
development interventions
economically active population: All persons of either sex who furnish the supply of labour, usually comprising
all employed and the unemployed, for the production of goods and services during a specified time-reference
period. (ILO: LABORSTA)
employability: Possession of portable competencies and qualifications that enhance an individual’s capacity to
make use of the education and training opportunities available in order to secure and retain decent work, to
progress within the enterprise and between jobs, and to cope with changing technology and labour market
conditions. (ILO: Glossary of key terms on learning and training for work, 2006)indirect employment effects:
Creation or loss of jobs in supplier industries and through the value chain. (UNEP, ILO, IOE, ITUC: Green
jobs: Towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world, Geneva, 2008)
establishment surveys are surveys which target employers (sometimes coupled with surveys among workers)
in business establishments (not entire enterprises). They can be a key source of information in defining the
skills needs of employers in the formal sector. However, where a large portion of employment is found in the
informal sector, such surveys will be of limited use for helping to define skills strategies. (Inter-Agency
Working Group on TVET Indicators).
expansion demand and replacement demand. Expansion demand measures the increase in the number of
people employed in an occupation due to industry growth, or because of an increase in the importance of that
occupation within its industry. Replacement demand measures the net outflow of workers from an occupation
due to retirement, migration or other movements out of an occupation. The total demand for workers is the
sum of expansion demand and replacement demand. (US DoL)
horizontal skills mismatch: Horizontal skill mismatch is the situation where a person might have the required
level of qualification for a job, but the person does not have the right type of knowledge or skills required for
the job (Cedefop 2009).
informal economy: Forms part of the market economy in that it produces (legal) goods and services for sale or
other form of remuneration. It covers informal employment both in informal enterprises (small unregistered or
unincorporated enterprises), and outside informal enterprises. Informal entrepreneurs and workers share one
important characteristic: they are not recognized or protected under existing legal and regulatory frameworks.
The informal economy excludes the criminal economy and the reproductive or care economy. (ILO Thesaurus)
initial training: Pre-employment training in the fundamentals of an occupation. It may qualify a learner for a
job or provide the basis for specialization. (ILO: Glossary of key terms on learning and training for work, 2006)
job: A set of tasks and duties carried out, or meant to be carried out, by one person for a particular employer,
including self-employment. (A. M. Greenwood: Updating the International Standard Classification of
Occupations, ISCO-08, Geneva, ILO Bureau of Statistics, 2008)
Labour Force Surveys (LFS): collect information on the labour force such as whether an individual is
employed, unemployed, or outside of the labour force. It allows for the generation of some relevant indicators
such as length of unemployment, status in employment, employment by sector. LFS facilitate the comparison of
investments in training with outcomes (employment, unemployment etc). (Inter-Agency Working Group on
TVET Indicators).
labour market information is any information concerning the size and composition of the labour market, the
way it functions, its problems, opportunities and employment-related intentions of its actors. Labour market
information and analysis (LMIA) provides an essential basis for employment and labour policies, and informs
the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of polices; it also contributes to a reduction of the
transaction costs in labour markets by helping to improve information on labour market agents. (ILO
(forthcoming), Handbook on Labour Economics for Development).
labour market information system (LMIS): A system that provides information, for the benefit of employers,
workers and jobseekers, on the location and types of jobs available and forecasts of changes in the labour
market, skill composition of the current labour force and prospective changes over time. (ILO Thesaurus). It
includes aspects of inter-institutional coordination on information collection, compilation, flow, analysis and
exchange.
labour shortage stands to denote the situation of an overall shortage of labour at national level (although often
sector and occupation related), often used to refer to the quantitative lack of labour.(Strietska-Ilina, O. Skills
Shortages. In: ‘Modernising vocational education and training in Europe: background report. Fourth report on
vocational training research’ Cedefop, Vol.1 2008)
occupation: A grouping of jobs which have a repeating set of main tasks and duties across industries. For
reasons of classification, occupations are grouped together into narrowly or broadly defined occupational
groups on the basis of similarity in the type of work done. (A. M. Greenwood: Updating the International
Standard Classification of Occupations, ISCO-08, Geneva, ILO Bureau of Statistics, 2008)
overeducation: A situation in where an individual has an educational level which is higher than the current job
requires (Cedefop, 2010)
overqualification: A situation in which an individual has a higher qualification than the current job requires.
(Cedefop, 2010)
overskilling: A situation in which an individual is not able to fully utilise his or her skills and abilities in the
current job. (Cedefop, 2010)
portable/transferable skills: Skills which can be introduced in a different socio-cultural or technical
environment, or which can be used in other occupations. (ILO Thesaurus)
public–private partnerships: Collaborative arrangements among government, private enterprises and
educational institutions for the provision of a public service or the promotion of research and development.
Such partnerships may include trade unions and business representatives, NGOs, environmental and community
organizations and leaders. (Adapted from ILO Thesaurus)
qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed to gather an in-depth understanding of processes and
relationships and to answer the why and how of these. Typically, smaller but focused samples are sufficient,
since the results do not claim statistical significance.
quantitative research is a type of research that is `explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are
analyzed using mathematically based methods (in particular statistics).' (Creswell, J.W., Research Design:
Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches, London: SAGE Publications, 1994.) This type of research usually aim
to answer question who/what, how many, when and where.
recruitment difficulties is an umbrella term incorporating all forms of employer recruitment problems, not
specifying the reason. Such problems can be caused by skill shortage but also by poor recruitment practices,
poor perceived image of the industry, low remuneration, or poor terms and conditions of employment, and can
occur even where there are sufficient skilled individuals available and accessible for work. Terminologically we
should distinguish ‘difficult-to-fill vacancies and ‘difficult-to-fill occupations’, where the latter manifest a
higher concentration of recruitment difficulties in certain occupations either nationwide or geographicallybound and may be seen as symptoms of skill shortages.(Strietska-Ilina, O. Skills Shortages. In: ‘Modernising
vocational education and training in Europe: background report. Fourth report on vocational training research’
Cedefop, Vol.1 2008)
restructuring: The deliberate modification of formal relationships among organizational components. It
involves redesigning work processes, delayering, and eliminating structural elements through outsourcing,
spinning off, selling off and divesting units, activities or jobs. Socially responsible restructuring takes into
account interests of all actors involved in the process – managers/owners/shareholders of the enterprise, workers
and the community. Efficient enterprise restructuring helps to avoid lay-offs and to introduce changes that
enable the enterprise to continue to operate its business and employ its workforce. (ILO and EBBF: Socially
responsible enterprise restructuring: Introduction to the subject, Joint working paper, Geneva, 2006)
skill mismatch: Skill mismatch is an encompassing term referring to different types of skill gaps and
imbalances such as over-education, under-education, over-qualification, under-qualification, over-skilling, skill
shortages and surpluses, skills obsolescence and so forth. Hence, skill mismatch can be both qualitative and
quantitative thus referring to both situations where a person does not meet the job requirements and when there
is a shortage or surplus of persons with a specific skill. Skill mismatch can be identified at various levels from
the individual, the employer, the sector or the economy. Several types of skill mismatch can coincide.
(DTI/ÖSB/IER, 2010)
skill needs anticipation – there is not uniform definition. It usually stands for any forward looking diagnostics
of skill needs expected on future labour markets performed by means of any type of method, be it quantitative
or qualitative, including interaction, exchange and signalling between labour market actors.
skill needs forecasting – there is no uniform definition. It is often used in a common sense of ‘predicting’ skill
needs. In technocratic circles, however, the term usually stands for mid-to/long-term employment projections
based on econometric models which quantify employment outlook by industry and occupation.
skill obsolescence: Skill obsolescence refers to the situation in which skills are no longer demanded or useful in
the labour market (economic skill obsolescence) or decay of skills resulting from atrophy (technical skill
obsolescence) (DTI/ÖSB/IER, 2010)
skill shortage is an overarching term which stands for both skill gaps and labour shortage. ‘Skill shortage’ is a
genuine lack of adequately skilled individuals available in the accessible labour market with the type of skill
being sought and which leads to a difficulty in recruitment (NSTF, 1998). A skill shortage characterises the
situation where employers are unable to recruit staff with the skills they are looking for at the going rate of pay
(EEO, 2001b). This could result from basic lack of people (when unemployment levels are very low),
significant geographical imbalances in supply (sufficient skilled people in the labour market but not easily
accessible to available jobs), or a genuine shortfall in the number of appropriately skilled individuals – either at
new entrant level, or for higher level skilled occupations (NSTF, 1998).
skill surplus: Skill surplus occurs when the supply of a particular type of skill exceeds the demand of people
with that skill. (DTI/ÖSB/IER, 2010)
skill: Ability to carry out a manual or mental activity, acquired through learning and practice. The term “skills”
is used as an overarching term for the knowledge, competence and experience needed to perform a specific task
or job. (Adapted from ILO: Glossary of key terms on learning and training for work, 2006)
skills development: Understood in broad terms to mean basic education, initial training and lifelong learning.
(ILO: Conclusions concerning human resources training and development, adopted by the ILC, 88th Session,
2000)
skills foresight studies: Foresight studies are typically multi-disciplinary qualitative and quantitative analyses
which assume that alternative futures are possible. Foresight studies may include alternative scenari-os.
Foresight activities may also consider the actions that should be taken to shape the future. (DTI/ÖSB/IER,
2010)
skills gaps is used to describe the qualitative mismatch between the supply or availability of human resources
and the requirements of the labour market. ‘Skills gaps’ exist where employers feel that their existing workforce
have inadequate skill types/levels to meet their business objectives; or where new entrants to the labour market
are apparently trained and qualified for occupations but still lack a variety of the skills required (NSTF, 1998).
(Strietska-Ilina, O. Skills Shortages. In: ‘Modernising vocational education and training in Europe: background
report. Fourth report on vocational training research’ Cedefop, Vol.1 2008)
skills mismatch refers to surplus or shortage of skills on the labour market in relation to jobs.
taxonomy: The practice and science of classification. The word is also used as a count noun: a taxonomy, or
taxonomic scheme, is a particular classification (“the taxonomy of . . . ”), arranged in a hierarchical structure.
Typically this is organized by supertype–subtype relationships, also called generalization–specialization
relationships or, less formally, parent–child relationships. In such an inheritance relationship, the subtype by
definition has the same properties, behaviours and constraints as the supertype plus one or more additional
properties, behaviours or constraints. For instance, the International Standard Classification of Occupations is
an example of a hierarchical scheme or taxonomy of occupations (Wikipedia)
technical and vocational education and training (TVET): Initial and continuing education and training
provided by schools, training providers or enterprises that imparts the skills, knowledge and attitudes required
for employment in a particular occupation, or group of related occupations, in any field of economic activity.
(Adapted from ILO Thesaurus)
tracer studies: Tracer studies are systematic approaches to monitor labour market outcomes of an education
institute or curricula, tracing the career steps and labour market status of graduates over a longer time period
(ETF).
training needs assessment (TNA) and skill needs assessment (SNA): A training need exists when there is a
gap between the skill required to perform job tasks and the skill possessed. An assessment is a process of
collecting and analysing information and data. TNA and skill needs assessment (SNA) are not the same. TNA
serves purely training needs and is usually performed at the level of company, training institution or industry.
SNA is a lot broader and serves broader policy objectives, including that of initial and continuing education and
training policy, all forms of HRD, financing of training, migration policy etc
undereducation: A situation in which an individual has less education than the current job requires. (Cedefop
2010)
underqualification: A situation in which an individual has a lower qualification than the current job requires.
(Cedefop 2010)
underskilling: A situation in which an individual lacks the skills and abilities necessary to perform on the
current job to acceptable standards. (Cedefop 2010)
vertical mismatch: A situation in which the level of education or skills is less or more than the required level
of education or skills. (Cedefop 2010)
vulnerable employment: Self-employed workers and contributing family workers have a lower likelihood of
having formal work arrangements, and are therefore more likely to lack benefits associated with decent
employment, such as adequate social security and a voice at work. The two statuses are therefore put together to
create a classification of “vulnerable employment”. (Adapted from ILO: Key Indicators of the Labour Market.)