New partnerships in delivering employment services in the labour market

A new survey report has just been released by the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network) exploring partnerships and approaches between PES, private employment services (PrES) and the third sector.

The survey report ‘PES partnership with private employment services – State of play and trends’ is based on results from two surveys launched within the PES Network in 2024.

It shows that PES are increasingly collaborating with partners, PrES and third-sector providers (private, non-profit organisations), to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of employment services and provide more holistic services on the labour market. 

The main reasons for collaboration include accessing additional expertise, providing specialised responses to specific labour market needs, offering complementary services, and reducing overall costs while fostering innovation in service delivery. PES also typically collaborate with PrES and third-sector providers to harness enhanced capacity, capability, and the ability to better reach target groups that PES might not have easy access to. 

The survey report maps existing cooperation models, modalities for data and vacancy sharing, and support to different customer groups. The report also reviews challenges faced in PES and PrES cooperation as well as new trends in these collaborations.

The report also details the experiences of some PES in contracting out services, through dynamic purchasing or competitive procurement. This is often combined with a freedom of choice rationale that allows jobseekers to choose from a wider selection of contracted providers.

Key findings and conclusions:

The survey report conclusions and findings highlight that:

• Current partnerships and cooperation with PrES mainly supports vulnerable groups, with an increasing focus on the skills potential of some groups and a more independent role for PrES in recruiting EU and European Economic Area nationals. These partnerships allow PES to tackle the challenges of labour market transitions, improve services to vulnerable groups and open the potential of working in ecosystems.
• Partnerships practices and models vary between PES. Forms and frameworks can range from vacancy sharing, matching and labour market research to managed ecosystems with procurement of providers and collaboration with multiple stakeholders (including commercial and third sectors). Some PES contract out services previously delivered in-house with payment on outcomes, whilst others pay fees for services.
• Challenges identified in PES and PrES cooperation include exchange of data, perceived lack of trust, and issues with the quality of vacancies leading to data systems with out-of-date information. Other challenges include meeting requirements for data handling and processing of jobseekers data. 

Read the paper:

Read the full survey report here to find out more about the status of partnerships and cooperation between PES and PrES. 

The PES Network Knowledge Centre and PES Practice database also have a wide range of information and inspiring practices on the organization and services of Public Employment Services across Europe.  

Get the latest updates from the PES Network 

Get the PES Network’s latest news, events and publications on its priority topics for 2025-2026. Sign up to receive the PES Network newsletter!  

You can also follow the latest developments from PES Network members in the PES Network LinkedIn group. Click here to join.

Don’t miss the PESPod podcast, featuring guests from across the Network exploring the latest issues, topics and perspective being talked about by Public Employment Services across Europe. Listen to the latest episode here. 

Share this article: