rached-innov: OECD Skills Strategy

dimanche 3 juillet 2011

OECD Skills Strategy

Skills are essential for economic growth and social inclusion

Millions of workers lost their jobs in the recent economic crisis. And with the global economy still subdued, the OECD expects unemployment to remain high. One lesson from the crisis has been the importance of skills in today’s workplace: job losses among skilled workers were much lower than among the unskilled. In a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy, having a skilled workforce is necessary to ensure productivity and sustainable growth.

Challenges for skills policies are manifold

Many countries have developed strategies to improve the skills level of their citizens, but their success in implementing them varies widely. And many continue to struggle with low levels of adult basic skills, problems of skills mismatch, skills shortages and unemployment.

How can the OECD Skills Strategy help?

The OECD is preparing a Skills Strategy with the aim of fostering a cross-government, peer-learning approach towards improving the supply of, anticipating the demand for, and optimising the use of skills in the workforce to promote economic growth and social inclusion.

The OECD Skills Strategy action plan

Gathering and analysing data
Over the next two years, the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) will compile and analyse data that measures skills. Using this and other evidence, the OECD will investigate such issues as the value of occupation-specific versus basic and generic skills, the extent and impact of a mismatch between available skills and those needed in the labour market, and the need to improve skills among the unemployed.

Developing good-practice guidelines
The OECD, in co-operation with member and partner countries and the social partners, will also identify and develop a set of good practices for financing skills-development programmes and formulating sound, inclusive and effective skills policies. All of this will feed into a comprehensive Skills Strategy to guide countries in developing better skills policies for better lives.

Towards an OECD Skills Strategy
Towards an OECD Skills Strategy outlines the issues and the way forward. The OECD Skills Strategy is scheduled to be launched in early 2013.