Paving the way for Employment Service 2.0

My colleague Mikael von Otter debated today on .SE's seminary. The session was about the benefits for working life of increased digital participation. Mikael talked about benefits for both the individual and the employer. The benefits for the individual are that they actually become employable and available to the labor market. For the company, the main benefit is that it shortens the vacancy period and thus makes it easier to adapt to demand and the current economic situation. Positive as it gets!

But, like so many other things, getting people digitally involved actually costs money. Volunteering is commendable and necessary, but it is not enough to fully address the problem. The question is, who will pick up the tab? But if the profits can largely be recouped in society, in the form of a more efficient public sector, etc. Isn't it then society itself, along with the state, municipalities and county councils, that should bear the greatest cost? Because can we really afford to provide two social structures, two different public sectors? One digital and one analog. One for the digitally involved, one for those who are excluded. Does not seem very efficient or visionary.

The Swedish Public Employment Service is an example of this inefficiency. According to Gunnar Wass at the Swedish Public Employment Service, a caseworker mediates an average of 1.5 jobs per month? Talk about potential for simplification, streamlining and improvement! Today, recruitment and advertising are increasingly done via social networks. Those who are digitally involved find their way there themselves and are thus one step ahead of those who are not. Arbetsförmedlingen's working methods must be upgraded. Launch Arbetsförmedlingen 2.0 (might as well skip 1.0, it's already passé anyway) that helps and interacts with those who today, for various reasons, have not found their way into cyberspace and get synergy effects in the form of more digitally involved Swedes. Win - win!