Human resources and skills are becoming increasingly important to economic development. In the context of the economic downturn, challenges such as high youth unemployment call for a collaborative approach between local employment officials, educational institutions and wider social and economic partners. But do local labour market offices have sufficient flexibility in the implementation of their policies and programmes to contribute effectively to local strategies? If local labour market offices are to be given more flexibility, how can this be reconciled with the need for accountability and the achievement of national policy goals?

Building Flexibility and Accountability into Local Employment Services examines how four different countries have responded to the challenge of rewarding local employment offices more flexibility while retaining accountability: Belgium, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands. It provides policy recommendations for policy makers at all levels, which were discussed at a high level international OECD conference in Aarhus, Denmark in April 2011. See also the following working papers and country reports from the project (2011/11, 2011/12, 2011/13).