The latest episode of PESPod – the podcast of the European Network of Public Employment Services (PES Network) - explores the impact and transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) on PES.

In this episode, host David Poyser is joined by two guests to discuss how PES can utilise AI to enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiency, and discuss key learnings and best practices that PES can adopt when designing and implementing AI.

Joining him is Dr Willem Pieterson, author of the recently published PES Network Report ‘Opportunities of AI within PES processes and services’ exploring how these technologies can enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiency, and ultimately better serve jobseekers and employers. Willem provides an overview of the current state of AI adoption within PES before discussing trends such as agentic AI (systems capable of autonomous decision-making and actions).

The second guest is Andreas Henningsson, Senior Strategist and Product Area Manager for AI and Data at Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish PES). Andreas shares how Sweden is innovatively using AI to match jobseekers with an expanded range of vacancies they might not have previously considered, by identifying transferable skills with hard and soft competencies. For example, this method could allow a data scientist to be matched to other roles in sales, education and other sectors.