Analytical paper European reference competence profile for PES and EURES counsellors (2014) (6)

The role and function of the public employment services (PES) in EU Member States is in continuous development particularly in the context of the EU Employment Guidelines and of the role of the PES in achieving the goals of the EU 2020 strategy. Public employment service counsellors are expected to:

• Implement active employment measures with the unemployed, facilitating their transitions to sustainable employment outcomes
• Empower the career development of job seekers
• Provide targeted counselling services in the context of an ageing and shrinking workforce.
• Focus more on the demand side of the labour market in view to help employers deal with growing recruitment difficulties.
• Work in close cooperation with European Public Employment Services, and with other supporting institutions at the country level.
• The aim of this paper is to describe and concretise core competences of employment counsellors in an operational way to serve as both a manual and reference tool for the PES in the EU Member States in their recruitment, training and organisational development activities for employment counsellors. This increasing professionalisation will contribute to improving the quality of services delivered for sustainable activation outcomes for job seekers and higher customer satisfaction for employers.

The European reference competence profile for PES and EURES counsellors  has been divided into three corresponding competence areas:
I. Foundational competences (general practitioners values and skills)
II. Client interaction competences (working with jobseekers and employers)
III. Supporting competences (systems and technical)