Sustainable employment: Youth, economic vitality and why government needs a new approachTo succeed, policy makers need a deep understanding of the problems and their underlying causes. They need to embrace big data and analytics to drive innovative welfare models. By integrating across agencies and organizations, governments can reduce barriers and empower people to take charge of their careers and, ultimately, their lives. The economic prosperity of cities, regions and countries is at stake. In the end, a forecast that includes the loss of a large portion of the world's workforce as happy, health citizens and reliable taxpayers does not paint a rosy economic picture, not to mention the implications for a harmonious and stable society. Governments must act quickly to change developing dynamics and maximize every citizen's opportunity to be a productive member of an economy. In particular, they need to focus on youth unemployment to avoid a downward spiral of lost wages and, potentially, a lost generation. IBM Global Business ServicesIBMGBS_be55b332-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf90Young PeopleNicole GardnerCo-Author -- Nicole Gardner lives in the United States and is Vice President and Global Industry Leader for Social Services, Government Healthcare and Tax for IBM Global Business Services. She leads a worldwide team of subject matter experts who help government organizations develop modernization strategies, innovative models for service delivery and best practices for improved efficiency and effectiveness across a broad range of program areas. Nicole works with senior government leadership on some of the world’s most challenging social issues including modernization for social assistance programs, unemployment, disability, homelessness and child welfare and has published numerous books and articles on human capital management, e-business and organizational change management.Paul PatemanCo-Author -- Paul Pateman lives in the United Kingdom and is the IBM Global Social Services team leader for Global Business Services. Paul leads a worldwide team that helps social services organizations develop modernization strategies and implement best practices and new business processes. His 30 years of experience include expertise in large-scale eligibility systems, financial management of benefits budgets and programs, and the use of analytics to fight fraud. Paul advises clients on challenges including how to move from a transactional to an outcomesfocused model, how to use predictive analytics to design early interventions that prevent adverse incidents, and how to break down information silos to promote a collaborative approach to care and service plans. For the past three years, Paul has been heavily engaged with supporting European clients to deliver the European Union’s Social Policy objectives as part of IBM’s team working alongside the Commission.Andreas GollnerCo-Author -- Since 2010, Andreas Gollner has been part of the IBM Global Government Center of Competence, where he currently acts as the Public Employment Service Lead. With more than 20 years' experience as a strategy consultant and IT expert, Andreas advises senior leaders in social services organizations on strategic matters connected with and leading to organizational and technological transformations. Based in Vienna, Austria, he has a strong focus on working with Central European Public Employment Services. Andreas has worked specifically with European Public Employment Services to leverage Internet technology and social media to enhance the level of service for citizens and increase cost efficiency and effectiveness for the agencies involved.... full-time, long-term and sustainable employment that nourishes a healthy and growing economy. _be55b512-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf90To structurally attack and reduce the problem of youth unemployment. _be55b5c6-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf90EmployabilityTransformationThe road to transformation -- Digging deeply into data to take an integrated view and working across organizational boundaries to focus on long-term outcomes versus short-term transactions represents a new way of thinking. This challenges labor organizations to master new conceptual and operational models to successfully tackle unemployment in general -- and youth unemployment in particular. To prepare, labor organization leaders should focus on the following:Data1. Big data and analytics: Harvest insights from historical patterns and underlying triggers to develop a better diagnosis of the full picture of contributing conditions and develop strategies to address conditions at the macro and individual levels.AnalysisInnovation2. Innovation: Shift from reactive to proactive and from transaction to outcome focused and constantly reduce barriers to enable people to independently manage their lives and careers.Integration3. Integration: Facilitate the seamless coordination and collaboration of a wide range of contributors inside your own organization, across other government entities and across other types of institutions, who can help achieve better outcomes for the long termAnalytics, Causes & InterventionsLeverage advanced analytics to design and deliver citizen-specific early intervention services based on documented analysis of root causes._be55b65c-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf901GovernmentsYoung PeopleGovernment should leverage advanced analytics to design and deliver citizen-specific early intervention services based on documented analysis of root causes. Rather than adopt a one-size-fits-all approach or a narrow training strategy, government should aim to understand the challenges for each individual. There might be family dynamic issues, addiction or abuse issues, or cognitive or language challenges, as well as geographic or transportation issues. Understanding individual deficiencies and opportunities can lead to early interventions, as well as to more efficiency and effectiveness in changing outcomes. For young people specifically, an individualized approach could help identify the right training courses and qualification measures to ease the transition from general education to the workplace. Knowing exactly why certain training makes sense and what job opportunities will be available after investing the time and effort into acquiring new skills can enhance confidence and engagement levels. The end result is better use of public money and a more effective, efficient system. Analytics can also play a big role in early prevention of developing intractable problems. Analytics solutions help uncover underlying patterns of unemployment, which can lead to identification of those at high risk. Those identified could then be targeted with early intervention actions. This approach is particularly promising for problems with various and complex reasons -- such as identifying young people at high risk of becoming NEETs.SituationsAnalyze the individual situation_be55b706-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf901.1PatternsIdentify patterns_be55b7a6-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf901.2RisksPredict and identify high-risk_be55b846-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf901.3Innovation & TransformationTransform labor organizations and harness innovation and technology to drive new citizen-centric solutions._be55b8fa-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf902Labor OrganizationsLabor organizations should transform the front office and harness innovation and technology to drive new citizen-centric solutions. Current technology can be leveraged to raise citizens' levels of engagement with their own careers. Examples include communities to exchange experiences, online assessments to explore and understand skills (including so called soft skills), and serious games to reduce barriers. Because individuals vary in their abilities to manage their own career and development, the "employment fitness" program could be tailored based on an individual’s level of self sufficiency. For example, it might be used by a government case worker as a tool during one-on-one counseling or used by citizens as an enablement service at their discretion.EducationEducate about employability_be55b99a-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf902.1Self-ServiceOffer advanced self-service capabilities_be55ba3a-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf902.2IndependenceReduce barriers and support independence_be55baf8-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf902.3Social EcosystemsManage the social ecosystem to promote full employment and economic development._be55bba2-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf903Labor OrganizationsLabor organizations should act as orchestrators, managing a whole social ecosystem to promote full employment and economic development. Government can play a critical role in designing early intervention plans and managing the myriad of players who might be involved in a citizen's employment life. Such plans could include all organizations that offer services, integrating differing levels of government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and for-profit organizations to address specific weaknesses or needs. Citizens ultimately own their own success, but ownership of the plan could be managed in a single place, potentially by a public entity or an NGO. Specifically, when targeting young unemployed or potentially unemployed people, there is huge opportunity to join forces with organizations that provide family services or specialize in coaching and supporting young people. A natural ally for inclusion is the educational system – and not just schools, colleges and universities. In many countries, there is a huge sector offering specific vocational training or general skills. "Nudging" this sector into providing offerings targeted at individual needs, integrated into individualized plans, could help reduce an over- or under-skilled workforce. In this environment, the PES can exploit its central role by moving to be a service provider for all the relevant parties, hosting and delivering the technology capability required to support the multi-disciplinary teams on a shared service basisIntervention PlansDesign early intervention plans._be55bc4c-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf903.1Action PlansDefine individual action plans_be55bd0a-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf903.1.1IndividualsManagement & SupportManage the plan and support the individual _be55bdbe-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf903.1.2Employer ManagementManage the myriad of players who might be involved in a citizen's employment life._be55be72-6176-11e6-bb63-44d00e9dbf903.2GovernmentsEmployersIntegrate an ecosystem2014-05-302016-08-13http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?htmlfid=GBW03236USENOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net