WAPES Report – OECD LEED 86th Directing Committee Meeting
Paris, 20–21 March 2025
WAPES was represented at the 86th Session of the OECD LEED Directing Committee in Paris by Consultant Nicole Clobes. The two-day meeting brought together international delegates to discuss challenges and innovations in employment, skills, and local economic development. WAPES contributed actively to the discussion through two formal interventions under agenda Items 3 and 7, ensuring that the perspectives and experiences of its global member public employment services were represented.
During Item 3, which focused on the renewal of the LEED mandate and the future substructure of the committee, WAPES emphasized the importance of maintaining strong collaboration with Public Employment Services in addressing evolving labour market demands. In its intervention, WAPES highlighted the valuable role that PES play as implementation arms of labour market policy and stressed the need for their systematic involvement in LEED’s future workstreams, particularly as the committee reflects on its future direction and governance. The intervention underlined how PES contribute not only to employment matching but also to strategic priorities such as digital transformation, inclusion of vulnerable groups, and skills development aligned with changing labour market needs.
Under Item 7, dedicated to the theme of structural change and support for displaced workers, WAPES shared insights from its global network, with a particular focus on the example of the Philippines. The intervention illustrated how PES in the Philippines are proactively engaging in supporting displaced workers through tailored employment services, including skills training, job counselling, and coordination with employers. This example served to show the critical role of PES in times of economic transformation and labour market shocks. WAPES also reiterated the importance of sharing international best practices and peer learning across countries to improve the responsiveness and resilience of PES in managing worker displacement.
Through its participation, WAPES contributed to broader discussions on labour shortages, transitions to green jobs, and economic inactivity. The organisation reinforced its commitment to supporting members in adapting to structural labour market changes and offered to continue contributing its expertise to OECD projects that align with these themes.
The meeting also offered a valuable opportunity for WAPES to connect with policy-makers and international institutions, laying the groundwork for deeper cooperation in areas such as digitalisation, demographic change, and inclusive employment strategies.
WAPES looks forward to continuing its engagement with the LEED Programme and to contributing to the 2025 OECD Local Development Forum in Barranquilla, Colombia, as well as upcoming publications and thematic initiatives led by the OECD.