Thomas Weko, Senior Analyst, Policy Advice and Implementation Division

Directorate for Education and Skills

Why skills matter FURTHER RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

1

Lithuania, 28-June-2016

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

Why skills matter?What individuals know -- and what they can do with what they know -- has a major impact on their well-being. Higher skill levels – and more extensive use in work -- is associated with higher productivity and growth.

2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

High levels oftrust

High levels ofpoliticalefficacy

Participation involunteeractivities

High levels ofhealth

High wages

OECD AveragePercentage-point difference between Level 4 or 5 and Level 1 or below

literacy skills

Positive outcomes for individuals increase with higher literacy skills

Higher literacy proficiency associated withhigher GDP per capita

4

Turkey

Chile

LithuaniaPoland

Estonia

Czech Republic Slovak Republic

Greece

Slovenia

Cyprus¹Korea

Israel

Spain Italy

New Zealand UK

France

Japan

Australia

Singapore

Canada

Finland

Germany

Austria

Netherlands

Sweden

United States

Denmark

Ireland

Norway

R² = 0,2406

200

210

220

230

240

250

260

270

280

290

300

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000

PIAAC literacy score

GDP per capita $ PPP (2005 constant)

Higher labour productivity associated with higher use of reading skills at work

AustraliaAustria

Canada

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Flanders (Belgium)

FranceGermany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Korea

Lithuania

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Poland

Russian Federation

Slovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

UK

United States

Slope = 0.666R² = 0.321

3

3,2

3,4

3,6

3,8

4

4,2

4,4

4,6

4,8

1,7 1,9 2,1 2,3 2,5 2,7 2,9 3,1 3,3

Lab

ou

r p

rod

uct

ivit

y (l

og)

Mean use of reading skills at work

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

The level and distribution of skills differs across countriesMuch of the variation in skills proficiency is observed within countries, so most countries have significant shares of struggling adults

6

150

170

190

210

230

250

270

290

Literacy score

Literacy proficiency of adults

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90Interquartile range

Variation in literacy proficiency

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Level 1 and below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5

Literacy

Proportion of the population OECD average

Lithuania

Proficiency in literacy : Lithuania

Literacy proficiency by level

100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80

Jakarta (Indonesia)Turkey

ChileItaly

GreeceSpain

SloveniaIsrael

Cyprus¹ ²Lithuania

FranceSingapore

Northern Ireland (UK)IrelandPolandAustria

United StatesOECD average

GermanyEngland (UK)

KoreaDenmark

Czech RepublicCanada

Flanders (Belgium)Slovak Republic

Russian Federation³EstoniaNorway

New ZealandAustraliaSweden

NetherlandsFinland

Japan

Level 2 Level 1 or below Level 3 Level 4/5

%

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Level 1 and below Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5

Numeracy

Proportion of the population OECD average

Lithuania

Proficiency in numeracy: Lithuania

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Below Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Paper basedassesment

PSTRE

Proportion of the population OECD average

Lithuania

Proficiency in problem solving: Lithuania

100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100

SingaporeKorea

FinlandSweden

NetherlandsFlanders (Belgium)

NorwayCzech Republic

GermanyNew Zealand

CanadaAustria

AustraliaEstonia

DenmarkSlovenia

OECD averageJapan

Northern Ireland (UK)England (UK)

Slovak RepublicIreland

Russian Federation³Poland

United StatesIsrael

LithuaniaChile

GreeceTurkey

Level 2 Level 3

Proficiency in PSTRE by age: Proportion at levels 2 or 3

Young adults (16-24 year-olds) Older adults (55-65 year-olds)

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

Some countries have made significant progress in improving skills proficiency

14

180 200 220 240 260 280 300Score

Literacy skills in younger (16-24) and older generation (55-65)

Average 55-65 year-olds

Average 16-24 year-olds

Chile

Singapore

Lithuania

France

Germany

New Zealand

US

UK

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

Formal basic education plays a key role in the development of adult literacy, numeracy, and problem–solving skills.

16

17

AustraliaAustria

Belgium

Canada

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Korea

Netherlands

New Zealand

NorwayPoland

Slovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

United Kingdom

Indonesia

Lithuania

Russian Federation

R² = 0,6351

200

220

240

260

280

300

320

350 400 450 500 550 600

PIAAC literacy score

PISA 2006 literacy score

Strong school results yield strong adult skillsMean literary proficiency PIAAC and PISA 2006

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

… but more education does not automatically translate into better skills

18

Percentage of adults in level 4/5 literacy proficiency by level of education

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Ja

pa

n

Fin

lan

d

Ne

the

rla

nd

s

Sw

ed

en

Au

str

alia

No

rwa

y

New

Zeala

nd

En

gla

nd

(U

K)

Un

ite

d S

tate

s

Ca

na

da

OE

CD

Av

era

ge

Ge

rma

ny

Fra

nc

e

Sin

ga

po

re

Ko

rea

Slo

ve

nia

Isra

el

Gre

ec

e

Sp

ain

Lit

hu

an

ia

Ita

ly

Ch

ile

Tu

rkey

Jakarta…

Below upper secondary education Upper secondary Tertiary education%

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS 20

In some countries, social background has a major impact on skillsIn Germany and the United States, for example, social background has a major impact on literacy skills. The children of parents with low levels of education have significantly lower proficiency than those whose parents have higher levels of education, even after taking other factors into account.

Literacy and socio-demographiccharacteristics: a summary

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

25-34 year-olds - 55-65 year-olds

Tertiary - Less than upper secondary(adults aged 25-65)

At least one parent attained tertiary -Neither parent attained upper secondary

Native born / native language -Foreign born / foreign language

Men - Women

Differences in literacy score between groups OECD average

Age

EducationalAttainment

Parents’ education

Immigrant background

Gender

150

170

190

210

230

250

270

290

310

330

350

Neither parent has attained upper secondary

At least one parent has attained tertiary

Literacy proficiencyby parental education

-10

0

10

20

30Numeracy (Men - Women) Literacy (Men - Women)

Advantage to men

Advantage to women

Literacy and numeracyscore differences between men and women

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS

Successful integration is not simply a matter of time. In some countries, the time elapsed since immigrants arrived appears to make little difference to their proficiency in literacy and numeracy, suggesting either that the incentives to learn the language of the receiving country are not strong or that policies that encourage learning the language of the receiving country are of limited effectiveness

24

Access to education and training, both general and job-related is positively related to literacy proficiency

• Adults with higher levels of literacy tend to have higher participation rates

• Norway and New Zealand stand out as countries in which access by adults with low levels of literacy is highest

Access to adult training

Participation in all education and training, by literacy level (Adults aged 25-65 years)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Levels 4/5 Level 1 or below%

Participation in job-related education and training, by literacy level (Adults aged 25-65 years)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Levels 4/5 Level 1 and below%

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS 27

• The frequency of information-processing skills use varies among countries

• Skills use is related to individual and firm characteristics such as proficiency in literacy and numeracy, firm size and the nature of work organisation

• Countries rank differently on the two dimensions of skills proficiency and skills use.

The use of information-processing skills

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

Reading Writing Numeracy ICT Problem solving

Ind

ex o

f u

se

Lithuania OECD average

Lower than average use of information-processing skill use at work in Lithuania

Most frequent use = 5

Less frequent use = 1

150

200

250

300

350

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

Pro

fici

en

cy in

lite

racy

sco

re

Re

adin

g u

se a

t w

ork

Reading at work (left hand axis) Literacy proficiency (rigth hand axis)

Skills use at work and skills proficiency of working population

SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS 30

Skills proficiency and labour market and social outcomes

Better skilled workers are:• more likely to be employed (in some countries), • earn higher wages (in most countries)• have better social outcomes (in all countries).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

High levels of trust High levels ofpolitical efficacy

Participation involunteer activities

High levels of health

OECD Average Lithuania

Percentage point difference between Level 4/5 and Level 1 or below

Literacy proficiency and positivesocial outcomes: Lithuania

How Do Countries Use Adult Skills Data?

Taking stock of adult skill profile, identifying gaps and low skill populations, and setting policy targets for raising the level of skill

o United States: Time to Reskill / Making Skills Everyone’s Business http://www.timetoreskill.org/materials.cfm

o Australia: A Foundation Skills Strategy (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey) http://www.industry.gov.au/AboutUs/Documents/COAG-Industry-and-Skills-Council/Former-SCOTESE/National-Foundation-Skills-Strategy-for-Adults.pdf

o Canada: Essential Skills Profile (IALS) http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/sites/default/files/IALS_ES_CdnLtcyPlcy_Prctce.pdf

Diagnosing problems in performance of education and training institutions

o England: http://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/building-skills-for-all-review-of-england.pdf

The Way Forward for Lithuania in use of PIAAC?

o Cross-Country Collaboration

Estonia: https://www.hm.ee/en/activities/statistics-and-analysis/piaac

Key contact: Aune Valk

o Regional Learning and Collaboration: The Nordic PIAAC Network

Nordic PIAAC Network – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Supported by Nordic Council of Ministers. Has produced a Nordic database combining PIAAC survey data and social, educational, and labour market register data from the five countries, and comparative Nordic report. http://norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:811323/FULLTEXT02.pdf

Torben Fridberg, Anders Rosdahl (Denmark)

Vivika Halapuu, Aune Valk (Estonia)

Antero Malin, Raija Hämäläinen (Finland)

Anders Fremming Anderssen, Birgit Bjørkeng,

Hanne Størset, Jonas Sønnesyn (Norway)

Ann-Charlott Larsson, Patrik Lind, Erik Mellander (Sweden)

Find Out More About PIAAC at:

www.oecd.org/site/piaac

All national and international publications

The complete micro-level database

Emailthomas.weko@oecd.org (presentation)

william.thorn@oecd.org (PIAAC program head)

Thank you

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