OECD SKILLS STRATEGY FLANDERS LAUNCH OF DIAGNOSTIC REPORT

Ludger SchuknechtDeputy Secretary-General

OECD Centre for Skills

Brussels, 21 January 2019

1. WHY DO SKILLS MATTER?

2

What do we mean by skills?

COGNITIVE AND

META-

COGNITIVE

SKILLS

TECHNICAL,

PROFESSIONAL

SKILLS

SOCIAL AND

EMOTIONAL

SKILLS

3

4

Skills matter for people’s well-being

Source: OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skill.

Differences between the % of adults with high and low literacy proficiency reporting high levels of trust

and political efficacy, good to excellent health, or participating in volunteer activities

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

High levels of

trust

High levels of

political efficacy

Participation in

volunteer

activities

Good to

excellent health

High levels of

trust

High levels of

political efficacy

Participation in

volunteer

activities

Good to

excellent health

Flanders OECD average

Pe

rce

nta

ge

-po

int

ch

an

ge

Australia

Austria

Canada

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

Flanders (Belgium)

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

JapanKorea

Lithuania

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

PolandSlovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

3,2

3,4

3,6

3,8

4,0

4,2

4,4

4,6

2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9 3

Lab

ou

rp

rod

uc

tiv

ity

(lo

g)

Mean use of reading skills at work

Adjusted:

Slope: 0.774 (0.231)

R-squared: 0.261

And how these skills are used matters for the economic success of people and countries

Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).

Labour productivity and the use of reading skills at work, PIAAC 2012/2015Adjusted for literacy and numeracy proficiency

5

Mega trends are changing and increasing the skills needed for success in work and life

GLOBALISATIONTECHNOLOGICAL

CHANGEDEMOGRAPHIC

CHANGE

Rapid development of

new technologies

Emergence of new

forms of work

Expansion of sources

of learning, especially

online

More integrated world

economy than ever

Emergence of global

value chains, offshoring

and outsourcing

Increased vulnerability

of some workers

Large expected

decline in working-

age population

Important

reallocations towards

care services

Need to ensure youth

have the right skills

2. WHAT IS THE OECD SKILLS STRATEGY IN FLANDERS?

7

8

OECD Skills Strategy

Contributes to

economic prosperity

Contributes to

social cohesion

Flemish Government

9

A collaboration between the OECD and Flanders

Finance and

Budget (FB)

OECD

VDAB, SERV,

VLOR, SYNTRA and more

Economy,

Science and Innovation (EWI)

Directorate for

Education and Skills

Directorate for

Employment, Labour and

Social Affairs

Centre for

Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions,

and Cities

Education and

Training (OV)

Work and Social

Economy (WSE)

10

Engaging all relevant stakeholders

Diagnostic Workshop (15 May)

Approx. 75 participantsGood Practices Workshop (18 Sept)

Approx. 75 participants

11

5 Priority areas were identified for Flanders

12

5 priorities:

I. Developing a learning

culture

II. Reducing skills imbalances

III. Strengthening skills use in the

workplaces

IV. Strengthening the governance of adult learning

V. Improving the financing of

adult learning

13

PRIORITY 1: DEVELOPING A

LEARNING CULTURE

Learning is Life long

14

Early childhood

education and

care

And learning is life-wide

15

Homes

Schools Workplace

Community

15

Strengthen the skills of adults to thrive in the digital age

Share of adult with well-rounded skills (PIAAC), 2012 or 2015Level 3-5 in literacy & numeracy, Level 2/3 in problem solving

Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

%

Participated, but does not want to participate (more)

Did not participate, and does not want to participate

Willingness to participate in adult learning is low

Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).

Adults not willing to participate, % of 25-64 year-olds, 2012/2015

17

and barriers to participation are high

Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).

Main obstacles to participation, % of total, 2012/2015

0 10 20 30 40

Did not have the prerequisites

Something unexpected came up

Too expensive

Lack of employer’s support

Other

Inconvenient time or place

Childcare, family responsibilities

Too busy at work

%

Flanders OECD average

18

Recommendations: Learning culture

Make adult education more accessible

and relevant

Enlarge the accessible course offerings for adult

learners in higher education19

Embed adult learning within a lifelong

development approach

Recommendations: Learning culture

Transform adult learning providers into learning

organisations

Expand work-based learning in university colleges,

universities and adult education

Establish a co-operation network to identify and

disseminate best practices in stimulating a learning

culture in the workplace

20

Raise awareness of the importance of

adult learning

PRIORITY 2:

REDUCING SKILLS

IMBALANCES

21

VRT, 14/02/2018

Flanders has a tightening labour market

22

VRT, 28/06/2017

A large share of vacant jobs and low unemployment contribute to skills shortages

Job vacancy rate and unemployment rate, OECD-EU countries, 2017

Note: the job vacancy rate is defined as the number of job vacancies expressed as a percentage of the sum of the number of

occupied posts and the number of job vacancies.Source: Eurostat (2018), Job vacancy rate by NACE Rev. 2 activity - annual data (from 2001 onwards) [jvs_a_rate_r2]; Statbel

(2018), Job vacancy rate,; OECD (2018), Regional Labour statistics.

Austria

BelgiumBrussels

Czech Republic

EstoniaEuropean Union

Finland

Flanders (Belgium)

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Latvia

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Norway

Poland PortugalSlovak Republic

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom Wallonia

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

4

0 5 10 15 20 25

Job vacancy rate,

2017

Unemployment rate, 15-64 year-olds, 2017

23

Skills shortages are largely concentrated in STEM

and ICT occupations

Job vacancy rate for selected economic activities and total, Flanders, 2013 and 2017

Note: The job vacancy rate is the number of job vacancies divided by total labour demand (i.e. job vacancies plus occupied

positions). Classification of economic activities based on NACE Rev. 2. Source: Statbel (2018), Job vacancy rate, https://statbel.fgov.be/en/themes/work-training/labour-market/job-vacancy#news.

24

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

9%

10%

Professional, scientific and

technical activities

Information and

communication

Construction All other economic activities Total

2013 2017

Jo

b v

ac

an

cy

ra

te

Economic activities

Create bridges between learning and career

development support

Make the education system more responsive to

changing skills demand

Recommendations: Skills Imbalances

Support assessments of skills needs and skills forecast

exercises 25

Mobilise sectoral training funds to

address skills shortages

Recommendations: Skills Imbalances

Prioritize training in skills in high demand for

jobseekers, particularly those at risk of long-

term unemployment

Raise awareness about skills validation (Erkennen

van Competenties, EVC) among employers and

potential users

26

Provide individuals with a balanced portfolio

of skills

PRIORITY 3:

STRENGTHENING

SKILLS USE IN THE

WORKPLACE

27

Skills are not used to their full potential in the

workplace, especially numeracy skills

Use of numeracy skills and numeracy proficiency

Note: Skills use indicators are between 1 "Never" and 5 "Every day".

Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, ‘15).

Czech Republic

Australia

New Zealand

United States

Canada

Slovak RepublicEstonia

Slovenia

Korea

Germany

England (UK)OECD

Northern Ireland (UK)

Japan

Greece

Ireland

Poland

DenmarkNorway

Austria

Sweden

Spain

France

Flanders (Belgium)

Netherlands

230

240

250

260

270

280

290

300

2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9 3

Numeracy

proficiency (score)

Use of numeracy skills at work

28

Higher intensity of High-performance work

practices (HPWP) help drive skills use

29

Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).

Skills use at work and High Performance Workplace Practices, PIAAC 2012,2015

Australia

Austria

Chile

Czech Republic

Denmark

England (UK)

Estonia

Finland

Flanders (Belgium)

France

Germany

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Korea

N. Ireland (UK)

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

OECD

Poland

Slovak RepublicSlovenia

Spain

Sweden

United StatesR² = 0,5463

2,2

2,3

2,4

2,5

2,6

2,7

2,8

2,9

3

3,1

3,2

2,5 2,55 2,6 2,65 2,7 2,75 2,8 2,85 2,9 2,95 3

Reading at work

index

Mean HPWP index

Management and

organization practices

such as:

• Teamwork

• Autonomy

• use of incentive

pay,

• training practices,

and

• flexibility in

working hours

Especially small firms tend to use the skills of their

workers less

Use of information-processing skills at work, by firm size, 2012 or 2015

Note: Skills use indicators are between 1 "Never" and 5 "Every day".

Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, ‘15).

30

1,7

1,9

2,1

2,3

1-1

0 e

mp

loye

es

11

-50

em

plo

ye

es

51

-25

0 e

mp

loye

es

25

1-1

00

0 e

mp

loye

es

10

00

+ e

mp

loye

es

1-1

0 e

mp

loye

es

11

-50

em

plo

ye

es

51

-25

0 e

mp

loye

es

25

1-1

00

0 e

mp

loye

es

10

00

+ e

mp

loye

es

Numeracy at work ICT at work

Ind

ex o

f u

se

Most frequent use = 4

Least frequent use = 0

Flanders OECD average

Provide direct funding to employers to re-shape the workplace

and encourage more management training, especially among

small and medium enterprises

Examine company working conditions and human resource practices

to help fill job vacancies and address potential skills shortages

Raise awareness of the importance of skills use in the

workplace

Recommendations Skills Use

Promote flexible career mobility opportunities within sectors and

firms

31

PRIORITY 4: STRENGTHENING

THE GOVERNANCE

OF ADULT LEARNING

32

Culture, youth and

media

32

Responsibilities for adult learning

are shared widely across governments

Work and Social

Economy (WSE)

Agriculture and

fisheries

Education and Training

(OV)

Federal government

• Collective labour

agreements

• Time credit

• Degree standards

• Taxation

Flemish government

• Provision of adult education

• Budget

• Sectoral training funds

• Paid educational leave

• …

Provinces: Antwerp, East-Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg, West-Flanders

308 municipalities

Finance and Budget

(FB)

Economy, Science

and Innovation

(EWI)

And there is a large number of providers of

adult learning in Flanders

34

Centres for Adult Education

101

Centres for Basic Education

13

University colleges16

Universities6

Academies for visual arts

Academies music, dance and

dramaSyntra Employers

Public employment service VDAB

NGO providers (sector funds)

Adult education institutes

National training institutes

Associations and movements

Libraries Others

Coordinating, aligning, sequencing reforms is key

to optimise the output of policies

Coordinate

policies

Sequence

policies

Align

policies

Optimal effectiveness and possible complementary effect

Instead of piecemeal reforms, introduce a multidimensional

approach with reforms in all policy dimensions related to skills

34

Support local community organisations to foster, host and

co-ordinate local networks of stakeholders that work to

improve adult learning

Establish a common knowledge and evidence base

Establish a comprehensive and concrete vision for

adult learning

Recommendations: Governance

Promote coherence and complementarity between levels of

government in adult learning

36

PRIORITY 5:

IMPROVING FINANCING

OF ADULT LEARNING

37

37

Despite many financial incentives, the motivation to

participate in adult learning remains low

Paid

educational

leave

Career

guidance

vouchers

Registration

fee

exemptions

Training

vouchers

Training

credit

SME wallet

Strategic

transition

support

Sectoral

training

funds

Tax

deduction

8 out of 10 adults

do not want to

participate in

adult learning

And financial measures do not seem to reach the

groups most in need

Note: High-skilled adults score at level 5 or above in literacy and/or numeracy, while low-skilled adults score below level 2 in literacy and/or numeracy.Source: OECD (2018), OECD calculations based on Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015), www.oecd.org/skills/piaac.

% of employees receiving employer financial support for education or training, by skills level, 25-64 year-olds

39

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90%

low skilled high skilled

Ensure that training incentives support flexible

modes of training delivery

Expand programmes to reach out to marginalised groups

with information, advice and guidance about training

Group all existing training incentives into a single

learning account

Recommendations: Financing

Explore options for financially supporting transitions from job to

job or from one employment status to another

40

5 priorities:

I. Developing a learning

culture

II. Reducing skills imbalances

III. Strengthening skills use in the

workplaces

IV. Strengthening the

governance of adult learning

V. Improving the financing of

adult learning

Engaging everyone in a clear, comprehensive,

mobilizing vision

41

Education

institutionsCompanies

Social

partners

Learner

Public

employment

service

Government

For more information

To discuss OECD’s work with countries on National Skills Strategy projects

contact:

montserrat.gomendio@oecd.org

andrew.bell@oecd.org

To learn more about the OECD’s work on skills visit: www.oecd.org/skills/

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