Providing jobseekers furthest from the labour market with better opportunities to access employment is a key policy objective across OECD countries. Supporting these individuals generates benefits that go far beyond the individual: it improves well-being and fosters empowerment, while also supporting economic growth, promoting social cohesion and reducing public expenditure in the long run. Yet many of those furthest from the labour market face complex and multiple barriers to employment that can only be overcome through co‑ordinated, intensive and personalised support. In many countries, providing this level of support remains challenging, particularly where resources are limited.
Active labour market policies (ALMPs) and public employment services (PES) play a key role in helping countries address skills and labour shortages while promoting inclusive labour markets and supporting jobseekers furthest from the labour market access good jobs. At the same time, megatrends such as digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), population ageing, globalisation, and the green transition are fundamentally reshaping the role of ALMPs and PES. To address these challenges, countries across the OECD are implementing or considering reforms of their systems of ALMPs and PES, including by expanding the number and variety of digital tools and AI applications used. These innovations can help target and allocate resources more efficiently, tailor support, and achieve better outcomes with fewer resources. However, if these tools are to improve opportunities for all, OECD countries must ensure that people furthest from the labour market can also reap the benefits of digitalisation.
The OECD is carrying out a set of reviews of labour market and social protection policies to encourage greater labour market participation and promote better employment opportunities, with a special focus on the most disadvantaged who face the greatest barriers to finding quality jobs. This includes a series of country studies, Connecting People with Jobs, which provide an assessment of how well each country’s ALMPs and PES help all groups to move into productive and rewarding jobs, and policy recommendations for improving their effectiveness. This report on Belgium and Greece is the twenty‑third in that series.
Belgium and Greece are aiming to improve job matching and career progression of disadvantaged groups, as labour market disparities persist despite improved labour market indicators and significant policy efforts. This report assesses the current situation in the two countries, focussing on the employment outcomes and career pathways of Minimum Income Scheme (MIS) beneficiaries. Building on the analysis of linked administrative data and good practices from other EU and OECD PES, the report proposes concepts for digital tools enhanced by AI to support job matching and career progression of MIS beneficiaries. It also provides recommendations on data that can be used to amplify the advantages of such tools.
The report is prepared as part of the technical support project “Strengthening social protection capacity and enhancing the labour market integration of minimum income scheme (MIS) beneficiaries through the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for improved job matching”. The project was funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the OECD, in co‑operation with the European Commission.