The OECD Skills Strategy

Better skills, better jobs, better lives

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Why do skills matter to countries?

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Why do skills matter to people?

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How can we improve skills and their use?

The OECD Skills Strategy

OECD Skills StrategyPillar 1: develop relevant skills

Skills beyond schoolCross-sectional skill-age profiles for youth by education and work status

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25220

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Age

Mean skill score

Youth in education

Youth in education and work

Youth in work

Not in education, not in work

Unused skills may be more likely to atrophySkills by age

15 25 35 45 55 65225

235

245

255

265

275

285

295

305

No adjustment

Adjusted for immigrant status and education

Age

Skill score

• Encouraging people to learn– Good foundation skills for all– Demand-sensitive and relevant learning involving

employers and engaging trade unions– Lifelong skills-oriented learning instead of

qualifications-focused education upfront in life course

• Encouraging skilled people to enter the country– More flexible labour-migration policies facilitating entry

for skilled migrants, encouraging international students to stay, assisting skilled migrants to return

– Cross-border skills policies

Improve the quantity and quality of skills developed

Creating a better match between people’s skills and their jobs

Increasing the demand for high-level skills

OECD Skills StrategyPillar 2: activate skills supply

Labour force participation variesPercentage of 25-64-year-olds active in the labour market, 2010

Swed

en

Nor

way

New

Zea

land

Germ

any

Canad

a

Finla

nd

Great

Brit

ain

Austria

Czech

Rep

ublic

Slova

k Rep

ublic

Franc

e

Irelan

d

Belgi

um

Greec

e

Korea

Mex

ico

Italy

0

10

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• Activating people– Identifying inactive individuals, retrain them,

create financial incentives to work, remove other barriers to participation in the labour force

• Retaining skilled people– Prevent early retirement, improve

employability in later life– Create incentives for skilled people to stay

Optimise the supply of skills

OECD Skills StrategyPillar 3: use skills effectively

Changes in skills demand and useProblem solving

Teamwork

Oral communication

Influence others

Plan own time

Plan others time

Fine motor skills

Gross motor skillsRead prose type texts

Read document type texts

Write

Advanced numeracy

Basic numeracy

Internet use

Computer use

-1.00

0.00

1.00

Total Service (low-skill) Goods

Information (low-skill) Information (high-skill) Managers

Knowledge (expert)

Skills mismatches HIGH-SKILL MATCH

MISMATCH-SKILL SURPLUS

LOW-SKILL MATCH

MISMATCH-SKILL DEFICIT 0%10%20%30%40%50%60%

Goods Service (low-skill) Information (low-skill) Information (high-skill)Managers Knowledge (expert)

• Matching skills supply and demand– Help employers to make better use of skills– Improve information and transparency in skills and

qualifications systems– A strong start in the labour market– Facilitate mobility

• Increasing demand for high-level skills– Create more high-skill and high value-added jobs– Help companies and local economies to move to higher

value-added markets– Foster entrepreneurship

Ensure the effective use of skills

• Developing effective national & local skills strategies– New proposal to help countries build effective skills

strategies based on the OECD Skills Strategy framework

• The OECD Skills Outlook – The 1st edition of a regular flagship publication will be

released in October 2013 featuring data from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)

• skills.oecd– The portal featuring the OECD’s work on skills will be

continuously developed and updated

Next steps

• How can HEIs adapt their programmes to support skills development?

• What challenges will your students face when applying their skills in the world of work?

• What do you see as the main skills mismatches?

• How could HEIs contribute to shaping and delivering a national skills strategy?

Questions for discussion