Lithuania’s public employment service is giving more decision-making power to frontline staff under an internal programme designed to let local offices respond more directly to regional labour market needs, according to the latest episode of PESPod from the European Network of Public Employment Services.
Public Employment Services — the national agencies that help people find jobs and support employers with recruitment — are looking for new ways to meet changing customer expectations and local priorities across Europe, the European Commission noted in a release on Thursday.
One example is Lithuania’s ReStart initiative, which gives local teams more freedom to identify problems, develop solutions and share what works across the organisation.
The episode is hosted by David Poyser and features Liudas Dapkus, a public relations adviser at the Lithuanian Employment Service, who discusses why ReStart was launched and the challenges faced during its implementation.
The conversation also covers how the initiative is intended to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing between local offices.
Local pilots highlighted in the episode
Several locally developed practices are featured, including “reverse mediation” in Klaipėda, where employer service specialists take a more active role in supporting recruitment, according to the Commission statement.
The episode also describes joint visits to employers in Kaunas by employment consultants and employer specialists, aimed at strengthening relationships with employers and improving job matching.
A dedicated local call centre model in Vilnius is also discussed, which reduces interruptions for frontline advisers while improving customer service.
The episode also sets out broader themes from the initiative, including the idea that giving local teams more responsibility can help them test new approaches and share successful methods across the wider organisation.
