This first OECD Skills Outlook presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIACC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The survey was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills and how they are used at work and at home through the direct assessment of key information processing skills: literacy, numeracy and problem-solving in technology-rich environments. The book examines the social and economic context, the supply of key information processing skills, who has these skills at what level, the supply of and demand for these skills in the labour market, the acquisition and maintenance of skills over a lifetime, and how proficiency in these skills translates into better economic and social outcomes.

1. Skilled for Life?
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
0

2. Survey of Adult Skills
Participating countries
2013
(**see notes A and B in the Reader’s Guide).
1

3. Survey of Adult Skills
Participating countries
2016
(**see notes A and B in the Reader’s Guide).
2

4. Survey of Adult Skills
in brief
166 thousand adults…
Representing 724 million 16-65 yearolds in 24 countries/economies
Took an internationally
agreed assessment…
in literacy, numeracy and problem
solving in technology-rich
environments.
Also surveyed were generic skills such as
collaborating with others and organising
one’s time, and how adults use their skills
(**see notes A and B in the Reader’s Guide).
3

5. Skills Transform Lives
and Drive Economies
What people know and what they can do with what
they know has a major impact on their life chances
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
4

6. Likelihood of positive social and economic
outcomes among highly literate adults
(scoring at Level 4/5 compared with those scoring at Level 1 or below)
Average
Odds ratio
England (UK)
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
Good to
excellent
health
Being
Employed
High levels of Participation High levels of
trust
in volunteer
political
activities
efficacy
High wages

7. Inequality in skills
relates to how wealth is
shared in nations
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
6

8. Inequality in the distribution of
income and literacy skills
0.2
0.22
Average
Income inequality (Gini coefficient)
High income inequality
Low skills inequality
Low income inequality
Low skills inequality
Denmark
0.24
Norway
Sweden
0.26
Austria
Flanders (Belgium)
0.28
Slovak Republic
Czech Republic
Finland
Ireland
Germany
0.3
Netherlands
Korea
Estonia
Average
Poland
0.32
Spain
Canada
Japan
Australia
Italy
0.34
England/N. Ireland (UK)
0.36
United States
0.38
0.4
Low income inequality
High skills inequality
High income inequality
High skills inequality
1.7
1.65
1.6
1.55
1.5
1.45
1.4
Literacy skills inequality (9th/1st decile)
7

9. The level and distribution of skills
differs markedly across countries
Much of the variation in skills proficiency is observed
within countries, so most countries have significant
shares of struggling adults
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
8

10. Skills of adults
Numeracy
5th
25th
Mean and .95
confidence
interval for
mean
75th
95th
Japan
Finland
Flanders (Belgium)
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
Denmark
Slovak Republic
Czech Republic
Austria
Estonia
Germany
Russian Federation³
Average
Australia
Canada
Korea
England (UK)
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Poland
Northern Ireland (UK)
Ireland
France
United States
Italy
Spain
240
7 points are roughly equal to one
year of education
250
260
270
Score
280
290
300

11. Skills of adults
Literacy
5th
25th
Mean and .95
confidence
interval for
mean
75th
95th
Japan
Finland
Netherlands
Australia
Sweden
Norway
Estonia
Flanders (Belgium)
Russian Federation³
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Canada
Average
England (UK)
Korea
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Denmark
Germany
United States
Austria
Northern Ireland (UK)
Poland
Ireland
France
Spain
Italy
240
7 points are roughly equal to one
year of education
250
260
270
Score
280
290
300

12. Skills of adults
Literacy
5th
25th
Mean and .95
confidence
interval for
mean
75th
95th
Japan
Finland
Netherlands
Australia
Sweden
Norway
Estonia
Flanders (Belgium)
Russian Federation³
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Canada
Average
England (UK)
Korea
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Denmark
Germany
United States
Austria
Northern Ireland (UK)
Poland
Ireland
France
Spain
Italy
100
150
200
250
Score
300
350
400

13. Skills of adults
Literacy
5th
25th
Mean and .95
confidence
interval for
mean
75th
95th
Japan
Finland
Netherlands
Australia
Sweden
Norway
Estonia
Flanders (Belgium)
Russian Federation³
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Canada
Average
England (UK)
Korea
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Denmark
Germany
United States
Austria
Northern Ireland (UK)
Poland
Ireland
France
Spain
Italy
100
150
200
250
Score
300
350
400

14. Evolution of employment in occupational groups
defined by level of skills proficiency
Percent
15
Occupations with
scores in or near
upper half of
Level 3
10
5
0
Occupations with
scores in or near
lower half of
Level 3
Occupations with
scores in or near
upper half of
Level 2
-5
-10
Occupations with
scores in or near
lower half of
Level 2
14

15. Proficiency in problem solving in
technology-rich environments
Adults at Level 3 can
Young adults (16-24 year-olds)
• Complete tasks involving multiple
Sweden
applications, a large number of
Finland
Netherlands
steps, impasses,at Leveldiscovery
Adults and the 2 can
Norway
and use complete commands in a
of ad hoc problems that
Denmark
have explicit
novel environment. criteria for
Australia
success, a small number of
• Establish a plan to arrive at a
Canada
Germany
solutionapplications,its several
and monitor and
steps and operators. They
England/N. Ireland (UK)
implementation as they deal with
Japan
can monitor progress
unexpected outcomes and impasses.
Flanders (Belgium)
towards a solution and
All adults (16-65 year-olds)
Average
handle unexpected
Czech Republic
outcomes or impasses.
Austria
United States
Korea
Estonia
Slovak Republic
Ireland
Poland
% 100
80
60
40
20
0
20
Level 2
Level 3
40
60
80
100
15

16. New technologies
Percentage of workers who reported the introduction of new process or technologies in their
current workplace during the previous three years that affected their work
Percent
60
Low-skilled clerical
High-skilled clerical
Low-skilled manual
High-skilled manual
Total
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
Sweden
Finland
Denmark
Norway
United Kingdom
Netherlands
Malta
Korea
Estonia
Ireland
Latvia
France
Luxembourg
Average
Croatia
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Belgium
Germany
Austria
Portugal
Slovenia
Greece
Italy
Lithuania
Montenegro
Hungary
Turkey
Spain
Bulgaria
Macedonia
Romania
Albania
Poland
20
Source: European Working Conditions Survey, 2010. See Tables A1.7a and A1.7b.
16

17. 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
Foreign-language immigrants
with low levels of education
tend to have low skills
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
18

18. Literacy proficiency
by immigration background
320
300
280
260
240
220
200
Native-born

19. Literacy proficiency
by immigration background
320
300
280
260
240
220
172
200
Native-born
Foreign-born - < 5 years

20. Literacy proficiency
by immigration background
320
300
280
260
240
220
172
200
Native-born
Foreign-born - < 5 years
Foreign-born - 5 years and more

21. Some countries have made
significant progress in
improving skills proficiency
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
22

22. Literacy skills in younger
and older generations
Average 16-24 year-olds
Average 55-65 year-olds
UK
US
Norway
Germany
France
Finland
Spain
240
245
250
255
260
KOREA
265 270
275
280
285
290
295 300
Score

23. Adults at Level 4/5 in literacy
Those entering the job market
Those nearing retirement
Denmark, 0.5%
Estonia, 0.2%
Flanders
(Belgium)
, 1%
million
16-24 yearolds scoring
at Level 4/5
7.9 million
55-65 yearolds scoring
at Level 4/5
Korea, 1%
12.6
Ireland, 0.2%

24. Formal education plays a
key role in developing
foundation skills…
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
25

25. Problem solving proficiency
by educational attainment
Tertiary
Below upper secondary
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
Czech Republic
Finland
Flanders (Belgium)
Australia
Denmark
England (UK)
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Germany
Average
United States
Austria
Japan
Northern Ireland (UK)
Slovak Republic
Canada
Ireland
Korea
Poland
Estonia
70
Percent
50
30
10
Level 2
10
Level 3
30
50
Percent
70

26. …but more education
does not automatically
translate into better skills
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
27

27. Mean literacy proficiency and distribution
of literacy scores, by educational
attainment
25th
percentile
Mean
75th
percentile
100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 Score
Tertiary
Upper secondary
Qualifications don’t always
equal skills
Japan
Lower than upper
secondary
Level 1 and below
Level 2
Tertiary
Upper secondary
Italy
Lower than upper
secondary
100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 Score
28

28. Success is increasingly
about building skills
beyond formal education
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
29

29. Literacy skills and age
Score
310
Literacy
unadjusted
300
Numeracy
unadjusted
290
280
270
Literacy
adjusted
Numeracy
adjusted
Level 2
260
250
240
15
20
25
30
35
40
Age
45
50
55
60
65
30

30. Likelihood of participating in adult education and
training, by level of literacy proficiency
Odds Ratio
8
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4/5
7
6
5
Reference group:
Below Level 1
4
3
2
1
31

31. High quality initial
education and
lifelong learning
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Investing in high quality
early childhood education
and initial
schooling, particularly for
children from
disadvantaged
backgrounds
• Financial support
targeted at disadvantage
• Opportunities and
incentives to continued
development of
proficiency, both outside
work and at the
workplace.

32. Make learning
everybody’s
business
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Governments, employers,
workers and parents
need effective and
equitable arrangements
as to who does and pays
for what, when and how
• Recognise that
individuals with poor
skills are unlikely to
engage in education on
their own and tend to
receive less employersponsored training .

33. Effective links
between learning
and work
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Emphasis on workbased
learning allows people to
develop hard skills on
modern equipment and
soft skills through realworld experience
• Employer engagement in
education and training
with assistance to SMEs
• Strengthen relevance of
learning, both for
workplace and workers
broader employability .

34. Allow workers to
adapt learning to
their lives
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Flexibility in content
and delivery (parttime, flexible
hours, convenient
location)
• Distance learning and
open education
resources .

35. Identify those who
can benefit from
learning most
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Disadvantaged adults
need to be offered and
encouraged to improve
their learning
• Foreign-language
migrants
• Older adults
• Show how adults can
benefit from improved
skills, both
economically and
socially .

36. Improve
transparency
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Easy-to-find
information about
adult education
activities
• Combination of easily
searchable, up-to-date
online information and
personal guidance and
counselling services
• Less educated workers
tend to be less aware
of the opportunities
• Recognise and certify
skills proficiency .

37. Putting skills to effective use
Skills will only translate into better
economic and social outcomes if they
are used effectively
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
38

38. Use of skills at work
Most frequent use = 4
2.4
Index of use
2.2
Average
2
United States
Italy
1.8
Japan
United Kingdom
1.6
1.4
Reading at
work
Least frequent use = 0
Writing at Numeracy at ICT at work
work
work
Problem
solving at
work

39. The use of information-processing
skills at work, by establishment size
Most frequent use = 4
2.4
2.2
Index of use
1-10 employees
2.0
11-50 employees
51-250 employees
1.8
251-1000 employees
1000+ employees
1.6
1.4
Reading at
work
Least frequent use = 0
Writing at
work
Numeracy at ICT at work
work
Problem
solving

40. Percentage of workers who are over/under
qualified over/under-skilled in literacy
Sweden
Finland
Canada
Netherlands
Northern…
England
Estonia
Poland
Denmark
Flanders…
UK
Norway
United States
Australia
Japan
Average
Korea
Italy
Slovak…
Germany
Ireland
Czech…
Spain
Austria
Underqualification
Overqualification
%40
%
30
20
10
0
0
Under-skilled
Over-skilled
10
20
30
40 %

41. Labour productivity
and the use of reading skills at work
4.6
(log) Labour productivity
4.4
4.2
Slope = 1.118 (0.407)
R2 = 0.296
Norway
Ireland
Adjusted prediction
Slope = 1.643 (0.504)
R2 = 0.371
4
Spain
Italy
Netherlands
Denmark
Germany
United States
Austria
Sweden
Australia
3.8
Finland
Japan
3.6
3.4
Slovak Republic
3.2
Poland
Korea
Czech Republic
Canada
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Estonia
3
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
Use of reading skills at work
42

42. Equal skills don’t always
imply equal opportunities
Gender differences in the use of literacy and numeracy
skills are partly due to the fact that men appear to be
slightly more proficient but also that they are more
commonly employed in full-time jobs, where skills are used
more intensively.
SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS
43

43. Gender gap in wages and in the use of problemsolving skills at work
Percentage difference between men’s and
women’s wages (men minus women)
35
Estonia
30
Japan
Slope 0.840
(0.199)
R2 = 0.472
25
Korea
Czech Republic
United States
20
England/N. Ireland (UK)
Austria
Finland
Slovak Republic
Canada
15
Norway
Australia
Denmark
10
Netherlands
Sweden
Flanders (Belgium)
5
Poland
Spain
Adjusted prediction
Slope 0.068 (0.123)
R2 = 0.015
Germany
Italy
Ireland
0
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Percentage difference in the use of problem-solving skills at work
(men minus women)
44

44. Guidance
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Timely data about
demand for and supply
of skills
• Competent personnel
who have the latest
labour-market
information at their
fingertips to steer
learners
• Qualifications that are
coherent and easy to
interpret .

45. Flexible labourmarkets
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Labour-market
arrangements that
facilitate effective skill
use and address skill
mismatches
• Encourage mobility to
optimise skill match .

46. Help employers
make better use of
workers skills
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Flexible work
arrangements that
accommodate workers
with care obligations
and disabilities
• Encourage older
workers to remain in
the labour market
• Encourage employers
to hire those who
temporarily withdrew
from the labour
market .

47. Help economies
move up the value
chain
Lessons
from strong
performers
• Governments can
influence both employer
competitiveness
strategies and productmarket strategies, which
determine in what
markets the company
competes
• Strengthen 21st century
skills
• Foster entrepreneurship.

48. Find Out More at:
http://skills.oecd.org/skillsoutlook.htm
All national and international publications
The complete micro-level database
Email
Andreas.Schleicher@OECD.org
…and remember:
Without data, you are just another person with an opinion
49