Mexico, april 2006

1. FIRST MEETING OF THE WORKING GROUPS XIV INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF LABOUR (IACML) WORKING GROUP 2. EL SALVADOR Modernization of Public Employment Services (PES) to Position Them as a Basic Instrument in the Design and Start Up of National Employment Policies Mexico, april 2006

2. OBJECTIVE • To provide a general frame of reference for the improvement and modernisation of the operation of public employment services in order to face the challenges of obtaining full and productive employment and decent work. • To encourage the Ministries of Labour to improve the conceptualization and application of the national employment strategies in the face of the challenges of globalisation. • To contribute to the debate on key activities that the PES must develop to set priorities and adapt to each individual country (employment-labour market, macroeconomics).

3. INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT • The need to balance flexibility with labour security. • The deficit of decent work continues to constitute a challenge at the beginning of the millennium. • 1/3 of the world’s work force is unemployed or under-employed. • 50 % of the world’s work force lives on less than 2 dollars per day. • The labour competencies of the workers required by companies intensify daily (new processes of production. FTAs).

4. INCREASED DEMAND FOR PES • The growth of the informal economy, part-time work and new forms of employment. • Cross-border movement of workers. • The generation of new poles of economic development. • The processes of economic integration and trade liberalization. • The increasing growth of young people coming out of the educational system. • Employment and the labour markets as the key link between economic growth, poverty reduction and equilibrium of the labour market.

5. INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT • Decent work has become a global objective. • World Summit 2005: We firmly support a just globalisation and resolve that the objectives of full and productive employment and decent work for all, especially for women and young people, will be a basic goal of our national and international policies. Everything is a part of the effort to achieve the millennium development objectives. • Mar del Plata Summit. • Tripartite Declaration of Honduras. • Subject of ECOSO-2006: Creation of a national and international environment that supports the generation of full and productive employment and decent work for all and its consequences for sustainable development.

6. DECLARATION OF HONDURAS • Subjects of the accords: • Macroeconomic policy, investment and employment; • Strengthening of employment services and programs of professional training; • Free basic education; • Universality, solidarity and sustainability of social security; • Health and security in the workplace; • Fulfilment of labour rights; • Attention to special groups; • Gender equity; • Strengthening of employers’ and workers’ organizations and social dialogue.

7. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES - ACHIEVING DECENT WORK • Positioning as leading entity in the design and start up of national employment policies. • Promote inter-institutional coordination mechanisms for the integration of macroeconomic, financial, commercial investment, and sectoral policies. • Promote employment-related objectives as central elements in social and economic policy frameworks.

8. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES - ACHIEVING DECENT WORK • Integrate the PES with professional training institutions in order to: • Improve the training services through the FTAs • Improve the opportunities for young people, women, workers in the informal economy, handicapped persons, older adults and other vulnerable groups • Integrate the system of formal education with professional training (technological institutes and adult education)

9. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES - ACHIEVING DECENT WORK • Integrated management and employment promotion services : • Occupational orientation. • Intermediation for employment. • Services of orientation and technical assistance for SMEs • Employment fairs for young people, older adults, handicapped, shut-ins. • Attention by private employment agencies.

10. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES - ACHIEVING DECENT WORK • Labour market observatory for advocacy in : • Policies of local economic development • Professional training programmess • Construction of infrastructure that requires intensive use of labour • Investment policies

11. PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES - ACHIEVING DECENT WORK • De-concentration of the public employment service (FTAs and intermediation services) • Promotion of local, municipal and regional alliances for the installation of management and employment offices and for the design and start up of joint action strategies in the area of employment. • Social dialogue as a basic instrument of the PES.

12. CONCLUSION • How to effectively promote, put into practise and prioritise the various components or action areas that the PES must impel? • A decided action is needed by the central governments to strengthen the technical and operational capacity of the Ministries of Labour • The elaboration of an inventory of the new tools of the PES is needed • Update the organizational and functional model of the public employment services. An instrument for thinking strategically about the basic competencies of the PES. • An active and rapid intervention of the international cooperation agencies is needed to promote this holistic policy approach on what we have discussed, positioning the PES as a fundamental element in the design and start up of national employment policies.

13. THANK YOU !!!