By TIOL News Service

PARIS, APR 18, 2014: WITH economic recovery underway in most OECD countries, efforts to create jobs and stimulate growth have moved to the local level, where workers are seeking to acquire the skills needed in the 21st Century economy.

Locally-run employment and training organisations have an important role to play, particularly by aligning services with local conditions as well as with broader local economic development strategies.

Discussion of countries’experience boosting local development and job creation will top the agenda during the the 10th Annual Meeting of the OECD LEED Forum on Partnerships and Local Development, which takes place 24-25 April in Stockholm, Sweden. The Forum will bring more than 300 specialists on employment, education, economic development and inclusion from over 40 countries to Stockholm to identify how to speed up recovery and create more and better jobs.

Sweden’s Minister for Employment Elisabeth Svantesson will open the event on 24 April with a keynote address at 9:00 a.m. Ms. Svantesson’s speech, and the entire opening session, is open to the media.

Stockholm Mayor Sten Nordin and OECD Deputy Secretary General Yves Leterme will present local and international perspectives on stimulating job creation. Representatives of large global employers, including Microsoft, Volvo and Choice Hotels, will present their approaches to facilitating the transition from school to work and helping young people climb up career ladders.

The OECD will release its latest findings on best practices for building quality jobs at the local level during the Forum. The Local Job Creation project has reviewed how labour market policy and training can help stimulate quality employment and enhance productivity in 12 countries over the past two years.

The Forum is organized by the OECD LEED Programme in cooperation with the Swedish Ministry of Employment, the Swedish Public Employment Service, the Swedish Association of