1. The OECD Skills Strategy
Better skills, better jobs, better lives

2. Why do skills matter to countries?
2

3. Why do skills matter to people?
3

4. How can we improve skills and their use?
4

5. The OECD Skills Strategy

6. OECD Skills Strategy
Pillar 1: develop relevant skills

7. Skills beyond school
Cross-sectional skill-age profiles for youth by education and work status
Mean skill score
320
310
Youth in education
300
Youth in and work
290
education
280
270
260 Youth in work
250
240
230
Not in education,
220 not in work
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Age
Linear (In education only) Linear (In education and work)
Linear (Work only) Linear (NEET)

8. Unused skills may be more likely to atrophy
Skills by age
Skill score
305
295
285
275
265
255
245
235
225
15 25 35 45 55 65
No adjustment Age
Adjusted for immigrant status and education
Adjusted for immigrant status, education and reading engagement

9. Improve the quantity and quality of
skills developed
• 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

10. OECD Skills Strategy
Pillar 2: activate skills supply
 Creating a
better
match
between
people’s
skills and
their jobs
 Increasing
the demand
for high-
level skills

11. 50
70
60
80
90
10
30
40
0
100
20
Sweden
Switzerland
Norway
Estonie
New Zealand
Denmark
Germany
Portugal
Canada
Netherlands
Finland
Japan
Great Britain
Spain
Austria
Australia
Czech Republic
United States
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
France
Luxemburg
Ireland
OECD average
Belgium
Labour force participation varies
Israel
Greece
Chile
Percentage of 25-64-year-olds active in the labour market, 2010
Korea
Poland
Mexico
Hungary
Italy
Turkey

12. Optimise the supply of skills
• 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

13. OECD Skills Strategy
Pillar 3: use skills effectively

14. Changes in skills demand and use
Problem solving
Computer use 1.00 Teamwork
0.80
0.60
Internet use 0.40 Oral communication
0.20
0.00
-0.20
Basic numeracy -0.40 Influence others
-0.60
-0.80
-1.00
Advanced numeracy Plan own time
Write Plan others time
Read document type
Fine motor skills
texts
Read prose type texts Gross motor skills
Total Service (low-skill) Goods
Information (low-skill) Information (high-skill) Managers
Knowledge (expert)

15. Skills mismatches
HIGH-SKILL
MATCH
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
MISMATCH-SKILL MISMATCH-SKILL
0%
DEFICIT SURPLUS
LOW-SKILL
MATCH
Goods Service (low-skill) Information (low-skill)
Information (high-skill) Managers Knowledge (expert)

16. Ensure the effective use of skills
• 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

17. Next steps
• 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

18. Questions for discussion
• 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?