General Publications
Department of Labour Annual Report 2006
Vote Employment
Output class: Labour market information
Description
This output class involves:
- providing labour market information and analysis and validation of regional labour market information
- participating in regional and sector labour market focussed groups and forging connections back to and across government.
The Department will identify the opportunities and constraints within New Zealand’s labour market and work with key stakeholders to identify, broker and facilitate local and sector ownership of the best response to these opportunities and constraints.
This output class contributed to achieving the following medium-term goals:
- Labour market participants use their knowledge and understanding of labour market dynamics and drivers.
- Sectors and regions engage in identifying labour market constraints and opportunities.
Activities
Collecting, translating and disseminating labour market knowledge is critical to making information accessible and appropriate for stakeholders at local, regional, industry, sector or national level. Key activities were:
- collecting, integrating and analysing qualitative and quantitative data and information to provide a profile of New Zealand’s labour market at the national, regional and sectoral level
- reporting on employment (including occupations) and labour market trends at the national, regional and sector level, as well as responding to requests for tailored labour market information
- translating information to a local, regional and/or sector level to ensure local knowledge informs policy and appropriate interventions are designed
- progressively building an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of New Zealand’s labour market dynamics, including forecasting of future trends, opportunities and risk areas at a local, regional and sector level.
Engagement at the sector and regional level will be one of the key ways the Department gathers and disseminates local labour market information. Key activities were:
- establishing relationships with sector bodies such as industry training organisations, employee associations, employer associations, economic development agencies and local government
- developing an understanding of sector/region needs and opportunities, and providing contextual and comparative information on their labour market, including providing knowledge about similar labour markets
- enabling local development and ownership of the best response to labour market constraints and opportunities to ensure a well-functioning labour market in the future.
Performance information
Results measures
Performance standard
Performance to 30 June 2006
Customers are satisfied with the Department’s information on labour market issues at sector, regional and local levels. New measure.
Positive feedback was received on information provided throughout the year.
The Department has a mechanism in place for communicating the labour market story at a sector, regional and local level (e.g. regular website dissemination, regular provision of appropriate material, ability to provide tailor-made information on particular issues or areas).
New measure.
Processes have been developed for the dissemination of labour market information to a variety of audiences. This has included monthly Job Vacancy Monitor press releases, regular monitoring and professional occupation reports, which are available on the Department’s website. The Department co-hosted a number of regional workshops with the Economic Development Association of New Zealand on regional labour market development, as part of the Economic Development Association’s professional development programme.
A set of regional labour market reports was produced in January 2006. An enhanced programme of regular quarterly and annual regional labour market reports has been developed, with an annual regional benchmarking report scheduled for completion in August 2006.
The Department has a framework for coordinating and managing engagement with sectors. Regular reports will be provided on the progress of these engagements. New measure.
The Department’s framework shapes advice on the major sector engagements the Department should undertake going forward. The design of this framework is focussed on identifying major sector engagements where the Department can gain leverage in order to maximise the benefits for the performance of the labour market.
The Minister for Social Development and Employment received regular updates and reports on all the active sector engagements.
The Department works through groupings of key labour market players to provide information, advice and links to appropriate responses to specific issues as follows:
At least one experimental project based on a labour market application of an integrated asset and activity mapping exercise at a local level.
Three experimental projects have been undertaken during 2005/06, as follows:
• Regional productivity study for the Wellington region
• Research into Enhancing Parents’ and Other Caregivers’ Choices with the Auckland District Health Board
• Collaborative research between the Innovation Working Group and the Skills Working Group of the Food and Beverage Taskforce on factors that enhance or inhibit the adoption of science and technology by medium-sized enterprises in the vegetable and savoury foods sub-sector.
At least one intensive regional engagement within the first six months of the financial year to progress the Manukau Skills Action Plan.
The Department of Labour actively participated in the working group that oversaw the development and publication of the Manukau Skills Action Plan. The Department’s involvement focussed primarily on advice relating to the strategic direction of the project and the provision of regional labour market information that was incorporated in the development of the Action Plan. The Department has maintained its involvement in the project and recently participated in the process to review the terms of reference for the proposed establishment of a skills council.
Progress will be made on joint work proposals with the Economic Development Association of New Zealand.
The Economic Development Association – Department of Labour partnership regional workshops have provided feedback for finalising the draft best practice guidelines for regional labour market strategy development. An updated Steps for Developing a Labour Market Strategy has been agreed with the Economic Development Association and has been aligned with the Ministry of Economic Development’s Regional Economic Development guidelines, which are currently in final draft format.
The Labour Market Development Activities website was launched in October 2005 (www.lmda.org.nz) and provides easy access to in-depth information on the initiatives and strategies carried out by economic development agencies in different regions. It also provides useful background on how the initiatives were started, and outlines the opportunities, barriers and constraints encountered by different agencies along the way.
General Publications
Department of Labour Annual Report 2006
The increase in appropriation of $3.296 million in the Supplementary Estimates was due to:
- draw down of the balance of the knowledge role contingency within Vote Employment
- a fiscally neutral transfer from the Policy, Research and Evaluation output expense
- a fiscally neutral transfer of the allocation of corporate costs.
The $0.431 million actual surplus in Revenue over Expenditure is due to project delays.