Skills management in regional economic policy of the OECD and the EU member countries

Abstract

The paper analyzes the theoretical concepts and practice of skills management implemented in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU). The relevance of the study is due to the lack of data about the OECD and the EU experience examined in the Russian literature in terms of theoretical comprehension of gaps and mismatches in employees competencies, jobs requirements and the skills management policy at state and regional levels. This problem not only significantly narrows the Russian research field, but also deprives regional authorities and self-government specialists of access to approved management tools. The methodological background of the study is the competence-based approach that provides necessary tools for both theoretical conceptualization and the development of an appropriate state policy. In the paper, we apply the methods of comparative and system-based analysis of the theory and practice of competency management at regional level. Using them, the author discusses the role, content and toolkit of state and regional policy on skills management, and analyzes how theoretical concepts of new public management, knowledge economy and institutional economy affect the development and implementation of the strategic documents of the OECD and the EU, as well as member countries and regions in a historical perspective. The research findings indicate a general trend towards change in the priorities of the regional skills management policy from competency supply management in 2000–2007 to the balanced development of competency demand and supply in 2007–2015 and focusing on skills in breakthrough technologies that underlie the region’s smart specialization. The research also reveals the special features of regional skills management policy in particular countries. The research results can be used for further theoretical analysis of state policy in regional labor markets, as well as in the development of strategies and policies for managing labor resources at the level of Russia’ regions.