The job notification requirement is not having the desired effect with its current implementation. This is shown by the SECO monitoring report published today. The SBC sees potential to develop the job notification requirement into an effective instrument. To this end, however, optimizations such as the modern digital data collection that Seco has been calling for for years must be tackled and implemented quickly so that occupations with a shortage of skilled workers no longer fall under the job notification requirement. This demand is politically supported by the motion “Mandatory job notification: improved quality of basic data collection”, which Council of States member Hans Wicki submitted in the current summer session. The political initiative is based on a motion submitted in 2019 by National Councilor Christian Wasserfallen, which, in view of the present report results, has so far been completely incomprehensible and has not been dealt with.
For years, the Swiss Association of Master Builders has criticized the fact that the job notification requirement in its current form is not practical for construction site occupations due to insufficient quality in the survey and delays in the digitalization of workforce surveys. The monitoring report “Impact evaluation of the job notification requirement” published today by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO shows that the authors of the study cannot provide evidence of effectiveness for the economy as a whole. Neither is there any statistically corroborated evidence that the job notification requirement has had an impact on unemployment in the occupations subject to notification, nor is there any evidence of an impact on immigration. For the SBC, this is confirmation that the digital optimization of the job notification requirement is overdue. It is therefore all the more shocking that the motion Wasserfallen submitted in 2019, “Mandatory job notification: improved quality in the collection of basic data”, has still not been dealt with in parliament. Therefore, the SBC welcomes the fact that in the current summer session, Council of States and Bauenschweiz President Hans Wicki is underlining the demand with his own motion in the Council of States. Politicians and the administration must now finally address this important issue.Data based on self-declarations by job seekers
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) now determine whether an occupation has more or less than 5 percent unemployment using lists that are based primarily on self-declarations by job seekers. If a person describes himself or herself as qualified in the BfS basic surveys or when registering as unemployed, this is not checked in the current recording process. Moreover, there are hardly any aids for the precise recording of occupational titles, such as a selection of occupational titles in different languages, which would give the persons concerned an orientation for their self-classification. Similarly, the self-declarations are not systematically checked by the Confederation, the cantons or the regional employment centers (RAV).Deal with motions quickly
The poor quality of data and the digitalization backlog in the recording of job seekers’ details sometimes mean that numerous qualified construction site occupations such as road builders EFZ or construction machine operators trained in specific equipment categories also fall under the job notification requirement, even though there is actually a shortage of skilled workers for these occupations. The Swiss Association of Master Builders therefore calls for swift handling of the two motions for a better basic survey so that quality deficiencies and outdated survey methods do not lead to bureaucratic burdens.
Source: baumeister.swiss
