The SEEMP Approach to Semantic Interoperability for E-Employment

Problem Statement

In order to fulfil SEEMP’s ambitious goals several problems must be solved at an organizational and technical level.

At an organizational level, the business model of SEEMP has to be catchy for all ESs. The main reason for an ES to buy in is by creating added value for its local users (both job seekers and employers) by offering interconnections with other ESs. Today it is normal for users to insert their CV or Job Offers into many ESs and collect, laboriously, the results by hand. With SEEMP in place, each ES will be able to collaborate with other ESs. From the perspective of the end user, the add-value is the outreach to other niches of the job market without ’being stretched out’. End users will be able insert their CV or Job Offer into one ES and collect pan-European results. From the ESs perspective it will result in an increase in both the number of users and their faithfulness to each ES, thus an increase in transaction volume.

At a technical level, the need for a flexible collaboration between ESs, gives rise to the issue of interoperability in both data exchange and share of services. The technical approach of SEEMP relies on the concepts of Web services and semantics. Web services, exploited in a Software Engineering manner, enable an easier maintenance of the integration. Semantics, encoded in the systems by the means of ontologies and mediators, allow for the reconciliation of hundreds of local professional profiles and taxonomies.