White Paper

This study is the first volume of Cedefop research on empowering adults through upskilling and reskilling pathways. It estimates the magnitude of the low-skilled adult population according to a broader conceptualisation which goes beyond educational attainment levels, and considers digital skills, literacy and numeracy, as well as skill loss and skill obsolescence. The study also identifies different subgroups of adults most at risk of being low-skilled, by skill dimension. Better understanding the magnitude of the low-skilled adult population and recognising different and specific target groups within the heterogeneous group of adults with potential for upskilling and reskilling, is crucial to better design and implementation of effective upskilling pathways for those most in need.

This whitepaper, the third of the D2L whitepaper series on the future of work and learning, will focus on the critical questions about lifelong learning to inform and spark debate around one of the central issues of the future of work and learning. The first half of the paper will define and map the current landscape for lifelong learning and briefly recap the growing body of evidence and thought leadership around why it is necessary. The second half will offer an ambitious vision for a future system of lifelong learning as a point of departure, with practical conclusions and recommendations for policymakers, industry leaders, educators, and other stakeholders.

This paper reviews recent studies on human capital and skill formation in the era of rapid aging and technological progress to offer policy suggestions in the field of education and lifelong learning.

Driving the skills agenda: Preparing students for the future is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, sponsored by Google. It investigates the extent to which the skills taught in education systems around the world are changing, and whether they meet the needs of employers and society more widely. To shed light on these issues, The EIU convened an advisory board meeting of education experts and conducted four global surveys of senior business executives, teachers and two groups of students, aged 11 to 17 and 18 to 25. Countries represented in the sample include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK and the US. Respondents to the business survey hail from 19 sectors, with professional services, manufacturing, IT, financial services and technology especially prominent in the sample.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating demand for millions of new jobs, with vast new opportunities for fulfilling people’s potential and aspirations. However, in order to turn these opportunities into reality, new sources of data and innovative approaches to understand emerging jobs and skills, as well as to empower effective and coordinated large-scale action are urgently needed across the globe. This report, Jobs of Tomorrow: Mapping Opportunity in the New Economy, takes an in-depth look into the ‘black box’ of new job creation, reviewing the shifting focus of employment to emerging professions of the future, the reasons behind it and what skills will be required by these professions. The analysis presented in this report is based on innovative metrics authored in partnership between the World Economic Forum’s New Metrics CoLab in its Platform for the New Economy and Society, and data scientists at three partner companies: Burning Glass Technologies, Coursera and LinkedIn. Through these collaborations, the report provides insights into emerging opportunities for employment across the global economy as well as unique detail regarding the skill sets needed to leverage those opportunities.

Attracting and retaining the right talent is crucial to an organisation’s success, wherever in the world it operates. For the seventh year running, this report––created in partnership with Hays, the global recruitment consultant––presents an exhaustive analysis of the labour market landscape in 33 countries, for the benefit of workers, firms, and policymakers. Combining the local expertise of Hays with the analytical knowledge of Oxford Economics, the Hays Global Skills Index describes the latest shifts and trends in each labour market, and uses its unique Index to assess how easy or difficult it is for organisations to locate the skilled professionals they require. The report also investigates the issue of slow wage growth, and related global trends such as the slowdown in productivity growth since the financial crisis. What does this mean for workforces of the future? How will they be impacted by the twin forces of globalisation and technology? Who will be the real winners and losers from the increasing adoption of automation and machine learning? We explore the wider implications of these trends for workers, and ask what this means for policymakers around the world

Wales faces significant disruptions over the coming years. With fundamental change comes the risk of new inequalities but also the opportunities for far-reaching reform. While global and UK-wide trends such as Brexit and climate change may not be fully within the control of government in Wales, their effects, and who wins and who loses as a consequence, is not predetermined - they will be shaped by public policy decisions and choices here in Wales and at the UK level. At the centre of many of these policy choices will be the skills system and how it can be shaped to meet these 21st century challenges. This report marks the second and final report of our project considering what a 21st century skills system needs to look like to meet the challenges and opportunities that Wales faces. Through desk-based research, literature and data reviews, and face-to-face research with a range of stakeholders within and around the skills system in Wales, we have developed an outline of the attributes we believe a 21st century skills system in Wales needs to display, and a series of recommendations for how Wales can get there.

Amid reports of robotic factories and algorithmic assistants replacing humans on the job, what will work or jobs look like in the future? Coupled with the changing landscape where working, learning, and living are merging, what skills will we need to be successful and productive contributors to society? In 2011, IFTF started exploring the key work skills that people would need over a ten-year horizon in our highly-popular Future Work Skills 2020 report. Five years later, we partnered with the ACT Foundation and Joyce Foundation to further refine and validate those skills and competencies; this time, to include within the National Network of Business and Industry Association’s Common Employability Skills framework. This Future Skills report is a comprehensive literature review that highlights eleven future skills. Each skill includes a definition and attributes, ways for acquisition and development, and means for assessment and evaluation.

Using PIAAC survey and assessment data, the Adult Transitions to Learning in the USA paper identifies adults who pursue purposeful learning in contrast with those who do not – and how either group fares when disaggregated by education background. Another purpose of the paper is to describe learning types that adults pursue, such as gaining basic skills, postsecondary work, online/distance education, or on-the-job training. The paper also investigates the barriers to learning that adults face, their motivators for learning, and factors that predict whether they transition to purposeful learning as adults. Implications for postsecondary education, workforce training, and policy are discussed.