Pnrr, the OECD compass for SMEs
Speech by Alessandra Servidori, professor of labor policies, member of the Steering Council for programmatic activity in the field of economic policy coordination at the presidency of the Council
Some government representatives are holding some meetings in the territories to illustrate the programs of the NRP to support the concrete development of the projects to which the resources are destined.
Small and medium-sized enterprises, which are always the most complicated to support, can also count on a Report that the OECD has published regarding a study on SMEs that make up a large part of the economy in all OECD countries. To remain competitive and adaptable to the challenges posed by globalization, technological progress, demographic and climate change, SMEs must maintain and broaden their access to skills and talents. But despite this imperative, SMEs often experience severe skills shortages and especially digital talent shortages. They are less successful in attracting and retaining skilled workers; they face higher direct and indirect costs for training the workforce and tend to lack information on the state of the labor market and on the training opportunities and support mechanisms available.
Public intervention is therefore needed to facilitate training in SMEs and greater access to the existing talent pool, beyond the support provided to large companies. The suggestion therefore to Italy is to draw on national examples across Europe, and the report identifies policies and programs that have proven effective in supporting SMEs' investments in skills, highlighting the characteristics of implementation, the governance structure and others. success factors. Financial incentives aim to reduce the costs of training employees and hiring talent. Among the financial incentives that governments can mobilize, subsidies and vouchers are the most used and suitable tool for addressing SMEs. Schemes can only target small employers or provide them with more comprehensive or greater support or simplified procedures. Grants are flexible and can be easily adapted to meet specific needs and target groups, but should be designed in a way that minimizes the administrative burden for employers. Vouchers, in particular, are scalable and transferable.
Reimbursement clauses, which hold employees accountable for some or all of their training costs if they leave their employer within a certain period, are non-financial measures that strengthen firms' incentives to offer training by decreasing the associated risk to poaching. To be effective, they must strike a good balance between the employee's right to move between jobs and the employer's need to recover training costs. They must include clauses in the event of the training participant's insolvency and specify in detail the content of the training and the provisions for out-of-court settlement.
Workplace learning is the most common form of training, but it is mostly not formally recognized. Encouraging its recognition not only helps employers and workers reap the benefits, but also allows policy makers to support it financially.
Job rotation programs, although relatively rare in micro and small enterprises, can also support the informal sharing of peer knowledge of different units or functions, to the benefit of the enterprise as a whole. Skill Assessment and Anticipation (SAA) services are used to assess the company's skills gaps against current and future needs. They can be offered by operators such as public employment services, learning networks or consultants. They can also be developed internally by SMEs with public support. Diagnostic tools for SAA are affordable and can be implemented through simple online employee surveys.
Promoting modern HR systems, high-performance work practices and other forms of workplace innovation usually combine co-financing or cost-sharing to implement workplace interventions with other services, including guidance and knowledge and dissemination The attitude of managers and entrepreneurs towards learning in the company is also crucial in the company's investment in skills. Investing in the skills of managers and entrepreneurs and in their understanding of human capital as a productive investment can therefore improve the growth and survival of SMEs.
Coaching, mentoring and peer learning between managers promote the sharing and transfer of knowledge and are based on concrete practices of successful entrepreneurs. Businesses, however, also require operational support when it comes to implementing solutions. Measures that combine peer learning and individual support services, for example through subsidized counseling or coaching services, appear to be best placed to support investment in key competences for digital transformation.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/pnrr-la-bussola-ocse-per-le-pmi/ on Mon, 10 Jan 2022 09:18:45 +0000.