Critical Issues of Decentralized Job Placement Services: Case-study of Vicenza Province

The delivery of labour market policies has been subjected to a reform processes in all the European Union. Since centralized top-down policies may be ineffective for implementing social policy programs and for fitting the needs of the local labour markets, many countries have started to delegate powers and responsibilities to sub-national entities and private actors. Labour markets are now populated by a vast range of intermediaries. The involvement of a flexible network of different players that operate locally is deemed to implement actions that better fit the local labour markets. In principle, a networked model can combine public control over resources and efficiency of targeted actions by a mix of private and public labour services. However, there is the need to investigate its effectiveness and feasibility in detail by means of empirical investigations. The paper contributes to this analysis by examining the initiatives in a specific decentralized setting that represents a significant example of network model: the organization of public employment services in the province of Vicenza, Italy. In particular, this is a case of “networked decentralization” where the local government has a coordination role but, at the same time, specific functions are assigned or delegated to the various private or public players scattered in the territory. The case study is based on direct interviews with the main actors, on the analysis of support systems and services (e.g. databases, job placement portals, etc.), and of available documents. It allows to provide useful insights to researchers and policy-makers into the pros and cons of local networked models in employment services.