AS3’s role in society This is AS3’s contribution to meeting the needs of the labour market

At AS3, we believe that the labour market will be led by three main requirements in the years ahead.

 

We need to increase our workforce. Companies must increasingly be able to retain talent, and an increased willingness to make changes is necessary, both on the part of industry and among employees. 

 

Below, you can read more about the issues that face the labour market, and about how we are helping to resolve them.

SOCIETY'S NEED TO INCREASE THE LABOUR FORCE

Problem Due to demographic shifts, the Nordic labour market is facing a shortage of skilled labour in just a few years. If we are going to stay competitive and uphold our level of welfare, we need to work to increase our workforce.  

What AS3 does: AS3 focuses partly on supporting the individual citizen as he or she enters or returns to the labour market, and partly on the retention of those who are already part of the the labour market. This includes counselling of:

  • Social security and unemployment benefit recipients
  • Employees who have been made redundant and who are off sick
  • Employees who suffer from stress
  • Citizens with a different ethnic background
  • People in special need of support
  • Young people who are finding it hard to get into the labour market
  • Seniors who want to postpone their retirement

Common to of all AS3's initiatives is that we work to strengthen each individual’s readiness for the labour market, to benefit themselves, the business community and society.

How this affects society: AS3s results contribute to an increased number of citizens becoming self-supporting, and to the expansion of the work force. This is our contribution to an increased accommodation of corporate workforce requirements. The greater the number of citizens who play an active role in the labour market, the broader the basis for taxation and the fewer benefits will have to be paid out by the State and by municipalities. This strengthens society, the business community and, of course, the individual citizen.

THE COMPANY'S NEED TO RETAIN ITS WORKFORCE

Problem The shortage of qualified labour means that, in the future, companies will have to fight even harder to attract and retain the necessary competences. At the same time, many workplaces are subject to excessive levels of sickness-related absence. Absence due to illness is costly to society, to businesses and, above all, the citizens who are affected by the illness.

What AS3 does: Employees who are happy with their jobs are glad to go to work and thus easier to retain. Therefore, AS3 supports businesses both in the optimisation of employee well-being and in the reduction of sickness absence. This includes areas such as:

  • Coaching of managers and employees
  • Training of managers in the prevention of stress
  • Counselling of managers and employees about stress
  • Counselling of employees who are off sick
  • Careers counselling
  • Counselling of newly hired managers and employees (on-board)

How it affects society: A workforce that is thriving is more productive. A productive workforce strengthens competitiveness. According to the Ministry of Employment, sickness absence costs Danish society approx. 37 billion Danish Crowns a year. AS3 is helping to reduce these costs. 

THE NEED FOR SOCIETY, BUSINESS AND INDIVIDUALS TO INCREASE THEIR WILLINGNESS TO ADAPT TO CHANGES

Problem Changes at work have many names: relocation, outsourcing, acquisitions, cuts, resignations, privatisation, new organisational forms or new technology.

An AS3 survey of Nordic companies reveals that only 27% of companies were successful in their latest change process, partly due to a lack of organisational flexibility and failure to understand of human reactions to change.

What AS3 does: The focal point of AS3's counselling is transition theory, which deals with the mental process of adaptation that people experience when encountering changes in daily life. We train managers and employees in how to deal with change processes. We believe that it is precisely this ability to deal with coming changes in an effective manner that will be a significant competitive parameter for organisations. AS3 offers companies and organisations a range of focused programmes, which include:

  • Training of managers in Transition Management
  • Coaching of managers and employees
  • Training of employees in being prepared for change
  • Training of managers in communication about changes
  • Training of teams in the implementation of changes

How this affects society: AS3 has surveyed Nordic and Danish companies' readiness for change and found that 90% of directors surveyed believe that their company's ability to manage changes will be a crucial competitive parameter in the future. AS3s work towards strengthening the ability of businesses and employees to cope with labour market-related changes is therefore has an important role to play for Danish and Nordic competitiveness.