The Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Research Center, as part of new approaches to increasing employment and household incomes in Syrdarya Region, studied the current and prospective demand for human resources in the labor market.

Interviews with entrepreneurs revealed that although enterprises have demand for specific occupations and skills, there is a shortage of qualified personnel who meet these requirements. This highlights the need to identify existing and potential jobs, as well as to assess in advance the occupations and skills that will be in high demand in the labor market.

In international practice, the OECD and International Labour Organization’s Skills Anticipation approach is used to address such imbalances. This approach assesses the current and prospective workforce needs of economic sectors and enterprises, as well as gaps between labor market demand and supply, allowing workforce training systems to be aligned with these needs.

In particular, in Moldova, thousands of enterprises are surveyed annually to assess employers’ future workforce needs. As a result, a labor market forecast and an “Occupations Barometer” are developed to identify occupations experiencing labor shortages or an oversupply of workers, and vocational training and retraining programs are designed accordingly.

This approach contributes to identifying new jobs, aligning workforce training with employers’ needs, and reducing imbalances in the labor market.