OECD Centre for Skills 2022 Impact Summary

THE OECD CENTRE FOR SKILLS 2022 IMPACT SUMMARY

WHAT IS THE OECD CENTRE FOR SKILLS?

The OECD Centre for Skills conducts analysis and provides policy advice on the development and use of skills to strengthen individuals’ capacity to adapt to rapidly changing economies and societies, as well as to support countries’ sustainable and equitable growth and social progress.

Given that skills policies need to be well aligned with policies from other sectors (e.g. employment, taxation, and migration) in order to have the desired impact, the Centre adopts a whole-of-Government approach and works horizontally with many other directorates within the OECD.

THE CONTEXT

Labour markets and societies are being shaped by megatrends such as increases in life expectancy, globalisation, migration, environmental changes and digitalisation, as well as sudden shocks like the COVID19 pandemic. In a fast-changing and uncertain context, providing individuals with the right skills can help them increase their employability, adapt, and become resilient to external factors.

Developing effective skills policies requires strong intersectoral dialogue to ensure alignment of objectives and strategies. Many countries struggle to establish effective communication because of division of responsibility and accountability mechanisms across ministries, levels of governments and stakeholders. To the extent that skills policies fall primarily within the responsibility of specific ministries, be it Labour, Education, Innovation, or Economic development, it becomes hard to mobilise a strong buy-in from any other Ministry.

OUR WORK

Cross-country analysis of how skills support sustainable development and more inclusive societies. These analyses include topics such as the relationship between skills and global value chains, digitalisation, health, climate change, and lifelong learning.

Thematic work on skills policies that support the development and use of skills across the life course, such as modernising Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems, quality assurance, financing, mechanisms for engaging stakeholders in skills policy, and skills system governance.

Collaborative projects with countries, sub-national governments, and regions in assessing their performance in developing and using relevant skills – through formal general and VET education, non-formal education and training, and informal learning.

Peer-learning opportunities to support the sharing of experiences and good practices in developing and implementing skills policy among OECD Member countries and beyond.

IN 2022, THE OECD CENTRE FOR SKILLS WORKED WITH 12 COUNTRIES

Bulgaria

Brazil

Colombia

England (UK)

Finland

Indonesia

Ireland

Norway

12.Türkiye

OECD SKILLS STRATEGIES

Helping people to develop and use skills effectively is crucial for people and countries to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Fully recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic will also require countries to reskill workers who have lost their jobs and to adopt new strategies for making effective use of people’s skills in and out of the workplace.

In helping to achieve this, the OECD assesses skills challenges and opportunities, and looks to help countries to build more effective skills systems through tailor-made policy responses, while using the OECD Skills Strategy (OSS) framework as its foundation. OSS consider three key dimensions: developing relevant skills, using skills effectively, and strenghtening the governance of skills systems.

OECD SKILLS STRATEGIES: NATIONAL LEVEL IMPACT

LATVIA

The OSS Latvia from 2019 was translated into the Latvian Education Development Guidelines 2021-2027, a process supported by an OSS Implementation Guidance project.

BELGIUM (FLANDERS)

The OSS project for Flanders contributed to reaching an agreement on a learning and careers account “leer en loopbaanrekening” which is currently being implemented.

NORWAY

The OSS for Norway from 2014 was an input to the Norwegian Strategy for Skills Policy 2017-2021. This strategy commits the partners to “ensure that individuals and businesses have the skills that give Norway a competitive business sector, an efficient and sound public sector, and an inclusive labour market”

POLAND

The OSS Poland from 2019 was a major input to the Integrated Skills Strategy 2030. This strategy has been implemented in Poland since 2020.

OECD SKILLS STRATEGIES: NATIONAL LEVEL IMPACT

NORTHERN IRELAND

The OSS Northern Ireland (UK) from 2020 led to the publication “Skills for a 10x Economy – Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland” published in early 2022, which is already reshaping skills policy – e.g. a Skills Council recommended in the OSS report has been established.

PORTUGAL

In Portugal, the OECD Centre for Skills has developed several OSS projects. These have helped systematise the reflections around the adjustments to the National Qualifications System. In addition to this, adjustments are being made to redesign some policy measures, for instance on the scope of the quality assurance.

REPUBLIC

Recommendations from the project with the Slovak Republic were further elaborated in various national strategies, such as the Lifelong Learning and Vocational Education 2030 strategy, and some are being implemented under the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

SLOVAK

INFORMING MONITORS AND STRATEGIES

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The "Education and Training Monitor" from the European Commission will consider indicators arising from two papers from the OECD Centre for Skills: "The environmental sustainability competence toolbox", and "Young peoples environmental sustainability competence: Emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal dimensions in EU and OECD countries".

The Thai government has set ambitious targets for increasing the share of students in Vocational Education and Training (TVET), in recognition that TVET can develop the skills that the economy needs. Hence, the analysis and recommendations presented by the OECD Centre for Skills in the “Vocational Education and Training in Thailand” report will be used to inform Thailand’s new strategy for TVET.

SKILLS ADVISORY GROUP

30th MEETING

The 30th Meeting of the OECD Skills Advisory Group took place on 20 May 2022 and focused on skills for greener economies. During this meeting, seven projects across the OECD, one by the UK, and one by the European Commission were presented. These projects ranged from "Skills Assessment and Anticipation for the Green Transition" to "Energy Crisis, the Green Transition, and Skills Demands through the Lenses of Big Data".

31st MEETING

HORIZONTAL WORK

Given that skills policy is a composite policy domain, implicating many other policy domains, the Centre also collaborates horizontally with the other directorates in the OECD working on skills topics. This approach facilitates the sharing of information across the organisation and with Members, as well to federating and synthesizing their insights and analysis to generate holistic perspective and advice for Members.

The 31st Meeting of the OECD Skills Advisory Group was held on 24 November 2022. This meeting focused on skills shortages, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia´s aggression of Ukraine. Five projects across the OECD ranging from "Skills Shortages in a Macroeconomic Perspective" to "Are Labour Markets Signaling well to Young People" provided insights into the relevance of skills in the current socio-economic context.

FOLLOW OUR W

www.oecd.org/skills/centre-for-skills/

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