Key indicators on education, skills and employment 2018

The Key Indicators on Education, Skills and Employment (KIESE) are a collection of statistics that are part of a broader set of indicators proposed by the European Training Foundation (ETF) to enable an assessment of developments in the field of human capital in the partner countries. They include data on vocational education and training (VET), skills, employment and labour market outcomes. Based on data compiled in 2018, this report provides an overview of trends and developments in ETF partner countries and aims to raise awareness on the use of indicators to drive the policy cycle. The report is divided into four parts: (1) the indicators and their definitions; (2) key findings for 2018; (3) data availability and quality; and (4) indicators., Key findings include: (1) the percentage of students following vocational programmes at the upper secondary level of education varies widely across the ETF partner countries and regions; (2) VET programmes can be successful in preventing early leaving from education and training; (3) one of the main challenges in the ETF partner countries is tackling underachievement in key competences; (4) the composition of the workforce is constantly changing in all countries; in most countries, the general trend is towards increasing the educational attainment levels of the workforce; (5) school-to-work transition remains problematic in most ETF partner countries, with persistently high numbers of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs); (6) upskilling through training remains rather limited and adults are often unlikely to participate in further training, with negative consequences for their careers; young adults and those who are better educated enjoy more training opportunities; (7) the labour market situation in the ETF partner countries is characterised by persistently high youth unemployment rates; (8) unemployment is linked to educational attainment levels, but this relationship is mixed in the partner countries; (9) in nearly all ETF partner countries, employment prospects improve for those who have gone beyond compulsory education; and (10) VET programmes can be effective in developing skills and ensuring a smooth and successful transition to the labour market.