With the purpose of opening an informal platform to the exchange of good practices in the field of employment services, WAPES was founded the 18 of October 1988 by the public employment services of Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the USA, together with the International Labour Organisation, ILO. ILO remains an observer to the organisation.
While the Executive Secretariat of WAPES was linked to the ILO headquarters at the beginning, it soon became an office with its own resources. The Executive Secretariat has been situated in Vienna and Paris and is since 2003 based in Brussels in the premises of VDAB, the Flemish Public Employment Service. The resources and the staff of the Secretariat come from generous contributions from different Public Employment Services.
The number of members has been constantly growing and today WAPES is an influential organisation in the different world regions, representing the expertise of over 1 million staff and working with powerful international organisations.
WAPES Presidencies
1989-1998 Canada Mr Lionel Lindsey-Dixon
1998-1999 Tunisia Mr Hédi Mamou
1999-2002 Norway Mr Ted Hanisch, Mr Blaalid, Mr Lars Wilhelmsen, Ms Inger Johanne Stokke and Mr Per Engebretsen
2003-2006 Sweden Mr Anders L Johansson and Mr Bo Bylund
2006-2012 France Mr Christian Charpy and Mr Jean Bassère
2012-2015 Sweden Ms Angeles Bermudez-Svankvist and Ms Elisabet Arp
2015-2018 Turkey Mr Nusret Yazici, Mr Mehmet Ali Ozkan, Mr Ismet Köksal, Mr Cafer UZUNKAYA
2018-2021 Morocco Mr Nourredine BENKHALIL, M. Abdelmonnime EL MADANI
WAPES Executive Secretaries
1989-1995 ILO Mr Lukas Wagt
1995-1997 Austria Mr Franz Gundacker
1998-1999 France Mr François Ducloux
2000-2003 France Mr Jean Duronsoy
2004-2011 Belgium Mr Patrick Venier
2011-2017 Belgium Ms Lenka Kint
2017-2018 Belgium Ms Françoise Kuyl
2018-present Belgium Ms Eve-Marie MOSSERAY
World Congresses and General Assemblies
1992 Niort, France, Public Employment Services and the Private Sector
1995 Stratford-Upon-Avon, Great Britain, Pressures for Change
1997 Nuremberg, Germany, Globalization, Migration & Labour Market
1999 Merida, Mexico, Vision, strategy and management of Public Employment Services by the new millennium
2001 Bergen, Norway, PES at the crossroad: public active strategies for PES to meet new market demands
2003 Marrakech, Morocco, Promote Employment – fight unemployment through building new relations between the PES and social partners
2006 Quebec, Canada, Performance of PES in the 21st century
2009 Dubrovnik, Croatia, The crisis response of PES: Operational initiatives towards sustainable recovery
2012 Seoul, Republic of Korea, Public Employment Services and change management
2015 Istanbul, Turkey, PES and the New World of Work
2018 Marrakesh, Morocco, Public Employment Services in the Context of Sustainable Development and the Digital Age