Based on a series of 20 country studies, this synthesis report of Skills beyond School looks at how OECD countries are responding to this growing demand for skills, and the further steps they need to succeed. The report underlines many challenges: while some countries have thriving post-secondary vocational sectors, others have found it difficult to find a place for shorter (one-or two-year) programmes in competition with better known academic qualifications. The engagement of the social partners – employers and trade unions – is as vital as it is sometimes elusive. Vocational training qualifications are sometimes outdated or lack currency in the labour market. This study identifies good practices and puts the spotlight on those countries that are making progress. Still, it argues that countries now need to step up their efforts to deliver higher quality post-secondary vocational programmes. This means programmes that integrate an element of work-based learning and foundation skills of literacy and numeracy, teachers who are well-versed in the techniques of modern industry (as well as in teaching ability), and well-prepared school and college leaders. It also implies strong qualifications (prepared with the involvement of employers), guaranteeing possession of a relevant skillset upon completion, effective career guidance for students based on good data about the labour market outcomes, and clear pathways from the vocational programmes to higher and academic education.

This first OECD Skills Outlook presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The PIAAC 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.

It is now widely recognised that it is essential to decouple economic growth from unsustainable environmental pressures, such as those leading to global climate change, and that a successful transition towards a low-carbon economy will necessarily reshape the labour market. Labour market and skill policies can make an important contribution to a successful transition by facilitating the structural change required to put green production practices in place, for example by minimising skill bottlenecks in expanding green sectors. The "greening" of the labour market will create new opportunities for workers, but also new risks that could undermine political support for green growth policies. Accordingly, labour market and skills policy should also seek to maximise the benefits of green growth for workers while assuring that unavoidable adjustment costs are shared fairly. Therefore, the aim of this report is to provide guidance for how best labour market and skill development policy can contribute to a fast, efficient and fair transition to a low carbon and resource efficient economy, particularly in developed countries.

Across OECD countries, governments are having to work with shrinking public budgets while designing policies to make education more effective and responsive to growing demand. The 2011 edition of Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries' performance. It provides a broad array of comparable indicators on education systems and represents the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally. The indicators show who participates in education, how much is spent on it, and how education systems operate. They also illustrate a wide range of educational outcomes, comparing, for example, student performance in key subjects and the impact of education on earnings and on adults' chances of employment. New material in this edition includes: an analysis of tuition-fee reforms implemented since 1995; indicators on the relationship between social background and learning outcomes; indicators on school accountability in public and private schools; an indicator on the fields of education chosen by students; an indicator on labour market outcomes of students from vocational and academic programmes; indicators on the scope of adult education and training; indicators on student engagement in reading.

This 30th edition of the OECD Employment Outlook examines the labour market performance of OECD countries as well as the prospects in the short term. Chapter 1 offers an overview of recent developments, focusing on how marginalised groups (youth, the low skilled, women, the chronically unemployed) have fared during the crisis. Chapter 2 looks at what structural factors may contribute to labour markets being able to weather economic downturns with limited social costs. Chapter 3 examines the relationship of labour compensation to domestic output. Chapter 4 looks at the policy challenges posed by green growth and jobs. The chapters are complemented by a comprehensive statistical annex.

Vocational education and training are deeply embedded and widely respected in German society. The system offers qualifications in a broad spectrum of professions and flexibly adapts to the changing needs of the labour market.

An OECD study of vocational education and training designed to help countries make their systems more responsive to labour market needs. It expands the evidence base, identifies a set of policy options and develops tools to appraise VET policy initiatives.

This 2009 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook provides an annual assessment of labour market developments and prospects in member countries. This issue focuses on the jobs crisis in particular and looks at steps taken by governments to help workers and the unemployed. It recommends ways of preventing current high levels of unemployment becoming entrenched. The first chapter looks at the jobs crisis itself, analysing the implications for employment and social policy. The second chapter looks at how industry, firm, and worker characteristics shape job and worker flows. The third chapter examines the problem of the working poor, now exacerbated by the crisis. And the fourth examines pathways on to and off of disability benefits, a growing problem in most OECD countries. As in previous editions, a comprehensive statistical annex provides the latest data.

Today’s societies place challenging demands on individuals, who are confronted with complexity in many parts of their lives. What do these demands imply for key competencies that individuals need to acquire? Defining such competencies can improve assessments of how well-prepared young people and adults are for life’s challenges, as well as identify overarching goals for education systems and lifelong learning. A competency is more than just knowledge and skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilising psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context. For example, the ability to communicate effectively is a competency that may draw on an individual’s knowledge of language, practical IT skills and attitudes towards those with whom he or she is communicating. Individuals need a wide range of competencies in order to face the complex challenges of today’s world, but it would be of limited practical value to produce very long lists of everything that they may need to be able to do in various contexts at some point in their lives. Through the DeSeCo Project, the OECD has collaborated with a wide range of scholars, experts and institutions to identify a small set of key competencies, rooted in a theoretical understanding of how such competencies are defined