The Survey of Adult Skills measured the skills of New Zealand adults in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It is part of the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). The findings in this report relate to Pacific people aged 16 to 65 in 2014. It covers how the literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills (measured in English) of Pacific adults relate to their education and work. It also looks at how these skills compare to those of non-Pacific people and how they have changed over time., Key findings include: (1) The first language learned at home for about half of New Zealand's Pacific 16 to 65 year olds was a Pacific language; (2) For over a third the first language was English and for about one in ten Pacific people it was both a Pacific language and English; (3) In 2014, half of the 16 to 65 year old Pacific population was born in New Zealand; (4) From 1996 to 2014, the proportion of Pacific people with low literacy skills has decreased; (5) Since 2006, the average numeracy score for Pacific people has shown a slight increase from 218 to 224 scale score points; (6) Twenty-two percent of Pacific and 46 per cent of non-Pacific had at least moderate problem solving skills; (7) Pacific people were much less likely to be able and willing to use a computer to do the assessment. One in five Pacific 16 to 65 year olds either had no computer experience, did not pass a simple computer use assessment, or declined to use a computer. This compares with one in ten non-Pacific 16 to 65 year olds; (8) Pacific people born in New Zealand have much stronger skills on average, as measured in English, compared with those born overseas - this applies to all three skill domains (literacy, numeracy and problem solving); (9) On average, higher qualifications are associated with stronger skills for both Pacific and non-Pacific people - with the proviso that post-school qualifications below degree level are associated with a similar literacy skill to upper secondary qualifications; (10) Pacific people have lower average literacy scores at every qualification level; and (11) For both Pacific and non-Pacific people, being employed is associated with stronger literacy skills compared to being unemployed.

Across Europe, new forms of employment are emerging that differ significantly from traditional employment. Some of these forms of employment transform the relationship between employer and employee while others change work organisation and work patterns. They often involve locations other than the usual employer's premises, and or extensive use of information and communications technology. This report identifies nine forms of employment that are either new or have become increasingly important in Europe since the year 2000. All of the nine forms discussed are aimed at increasing flexibility for employers and/or employees. Some may benefit employers and employees equally, but in a few cases there are concerns regarding their impact on working conditions and the labour market. The report highlights the need for awareness of potential problems and of safety nets for workers.

The further education (FE) sector is well known for its complexity. It is commonly labelled as the 'everything else' of the education sector due to the sheer breadth of provision it offers (Panchamia, 2012). FE comprises all postcompulsory education and training for 16 to 18-year-olds and adults. It does not fit neatly in the standard stages of primary, secondary, tertiary or post-tertiary education (including adult education). This complex nature has made it very difficult for the sector to define itself and focus on a clear direction. Alongside a longstanding lack of funding, this has created a variety of challenges among the teaching workforce and student population. However, advances in the FE sector are being made and, in this report, we explore many examples of excellent practice, especially within professional and vocational education. Key points include: (1) A continuous decline in funding both 16-18 and post-18 has caused significant challenges for the FE sector: Colleges are facing a staff recruitment and retention crisis reinforced by the increased marketisation of the sector; (2) There are no prescribed levels of education qualification or professional status required to teach in further education in England creating uncertainty about appropriate and sufficient staff requirements; (3) The breadth of provision offered alongside a stretched workforce often means FE providers take on more than they have the capacity to handle; (4) Class sizes have increased and learning hours per student decreased to compensate for cuts in funding; (5) Mergers have attempted to respond to funding and governance challenges across the sector, but the emerging evidence to date suggests this had limited success; and (6) Colleges should focus on collaboration, forming collaborative groupings across geographical regions, specialisms and leading local education groups while bringing together other providers including schools and higher education institutions.

This research aims to provide an up-to-date picture of the state of the UK's skills base and how well workers' skills are being used and developed at work. It examines the extent of skills and qualifications mismatches, the availability of and access to in-work training and development, as well as career progression and the role of workplace culture and line managers within this context. The results are based on a representative survey of 3,700 employees along with three online focus groups. Accompanying the report is a focused guide for employers and managers to counter skills mismatches through good people management practice., Key findings include: (1) roles and qualifications needed - a large proportion of roles (44 per cent) required no or only school-level qualifications for entry; almost a third (30 per cent) that needed a higher-level degree to get their jobs say lower qualifications are actually needed to perform their roles; (2) extent and impact of skills mismatch - nearly half of workers report being mismatched in their roles, with 37 per cent over-skilled and 12 per cent under-skilled; over-skilled workers are less satisfied and nearly twice as likely to want to quit than those in well-matched roles; over-skilled workers are also more likely to say their job offers poor prospects for career advancement, training and skills development; well-matched workers are much more likely to agree there is trust between management and employees; and (3) progression, training and development - over a quarter (26 per cent) report 'lack of opportunities' as the biggest barrier to progression, followed by 'lack of confidence' (14 per cent); low-paid workers have less labour market mobility - only 12 per cent of those earning {textless£20,000 p.a. have been promoted in their current organisation, compared with 45 per cent of those on £40,000 or more; almost a quarter (24 per cent) of workers had undertaken no training in the past year, with older, low-wage or part-time workers and also self-employed the worst affected; and line managers were seen as gatekeepers to opportunities but were viewed to have neither the time nor experience to fulfil their roles effectively.

Existing policy responses to workforce age discrimination tend to focus on the role of employers in providing opportunities for jobseekers aged over 45. By contrast the 'Enhancing employment services for mature age jobseekers' study builds on previous research about mature age workforce participation to focus on employment services and how their staff might work more effectively with mature-age jobseekers. The latest iteration of Australia's outsourced public employment services is jobactive. However, jobactive is not working particularly well for mature age jobseekers, employment services staff or employers. Our research highlights several contradictions that undermine the effectiveness of assistance offered to mature age, and other, jobseekers. Older jobseekers may be seen as difficult to place and therefore be liable to 'parking' by employment services. As the frontline staff now tend to be younger and have fewer qualifications, our previous research suggested that their age mismatch with older jobseekers may give rise to unconscious bias., This report focuses on the perspectives of employment services staff. It draws on 32 semi-structured interviews conducted with jobactive staff in four employment regions in Melbourne with high mature age unemployment. Two complementary reports focus on the perspectives of mature age jobseekers and employers. From our interviews with employment services staff, we identified the following issues: prompt and flexible services are vital; assessment of needs could be improved; jobseeker skills assessment should be complemented by training linked to employment; understanding and collaborating in local labour markets is essential; recognising and fostering diversity and inclusive employment; and employer engagement presents challenges. To overcome these obstacles, employment services staff need more time to understand employers' needs and match suitable jobseekers with vacancies. They may also need training in strategies to promote mature age jobseekers, and related incentives such as Restart, to employers.

Quality in higher education matters. Quality is achieved when graduates of Ontario's colleges and universities master a rounded set of skills essential to success in their lives and careers. Quality is achieved when graduates enter the labour market with skills that support the needs of a modern, knowledge-based, fast-evolving economy. Given that graduates often end up working in jobs unrelated to their field of study, transferable skills are as much the responsibility of higher education as is traditional discipline-specific content. The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) and 20 institutional partners conducted two pilots - the Essential Adult Skills Initiative and the Postsecondary and Workplace Skills project - to assess literacy, numeracy, problem solving and critical thinking using field-proven tests that were administered on a voluntary basis to first-year and final-year students. These pilot studies confirmed that the implementation of this kind of skills evaluation is entirely feasible on a large scale. The authors also witnessed a thirst among institutions to know more, and a willingness among students to participate.

The OECD Skills Strategy provides a strategic and comprehensive approach for ensuring that people and countries have the skills to thrive in a complex, interconnected and rapidly changing world. The updated 2019 OECD Skills Strategy takes account of the lessons learned from applying the original skills strategy in 11 countries since 2012, while also incorporating new OECD evidence about the skills implications of megatrends, such as globalisation, digitalisation, population ageing, and migration. The Strategy also incorporates new learning from across the OECD about skills policies that work in these three broad components: developing relevant skills over the life course, using skills effectively in work and society, and strengthening the governance of skills systems.

Economies and societies are undergoing digital transformations that bring both opportunities and challenges and countries’ preparedness to seize the benefits of a digital world is largely dependent on the skills of their population. This edition of the OECD Skills Outlook aims to understand how policies, and in particular those that affect skills development and use, can shape the outcomes of digital transformation and translate into more equally shared benefits among and within countries’ populations. Ensuring people can benefit from new technologies and are not left behind requires a comprehensive and co-ordinated policy effort. This package of co-ordinated policies needs to simultaneously promote digitalisation where the latter increases productivity and well-being, and otherwise cushion its negative impacts.

The 2018 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook reviews labour market trends and prospects in OECD countries. Chapter one presents recent labour market developments. Wage growth remains sluggish due to low inflation expectations, weak productivity growth and adverse trends in low-pay jobs. Chapter two looks at the decline of the labour share and shows that this is partially related to the emergence of 'superstar' firms, which invest massively in capital-intensive technologies. Chapter three investigates the role of collective bargaining institutions for labour market performance. Systems that co-ordinate wages across sectors are associated with better employment outcomes, but firm-level adjustments of sector-level agreements are sometimes required to avoid adverse effects on productivity. Chapter four examines the role of policy to facilitate the transition towards new jobs of workers who were dismissed for economic reasons, underlying the need of early interventions in the unemployment spell. Chapter five analyses jobseekers' access to unemployment benefits and shows that most jobseekers do not receive unemployment benefits and coverage has often been falling since the Great Recession. Chapter six investigates the reason why the gender gap in labour income increases over the working life, stressing the role of the lower professional mobility of women around childbirth.