piaac programme for the international assessment of adult competencies a european survey on skills...

PIAACProgramme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

A European Survey on Skills at Work (ESSW)

Workshop on “Exploring possibilities for the development of European data infrastructures for research in the social sciences”, The Royal Society, London, 23 June 2010

Mark Keese([email protected])

Outline

Why do we need a ESSW?

What would it look like?

What would it tell us?

What would need to be developed?

What do we need an ESSW?

Increasing interest in digging deeper into: Which skills are being used at work? How are these skills acquired? How are they rewarded? How is the demand for these skills changing? How important is skills mismatch?

Previously, much analysis has used proxy measures of skills such as qualifications and occupation

However, task-based measures of skills can provide more direct measures of skills used at work (particularly of broad and generic skills)

There are a few national surveys using this task-based approach but as yet no internationally comparable survey

The OECD’s PIAAC survey will fill this gap but only partly

Therefore, need for an ESSW either as a standalone survey or as a supplement to an existing European survey such as the European Labour Force Survey

What would an ESSW look like? The OECD’s Programme for the International

Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)

Measures of literacy, numeracy & problem-solving skillso Direct assessment

Measures of skill formation & outcomes o Background

questions on adult learning, labour-market status, earnings, health …

Measures of generic skills used at workoJob Requirements Approach (JRA)

PIAAC is a household-based survey of adult skills, taking place in 2011/12. 28 countries participating and a minimum of 5000 respondents per country

Comprised of 3 modules:

Generic workplace skills covered by PIAAC

Key workplace skills

Cognitive skills

Physical skills

Learning skills

Interaction/social skills

Reading, Writing, Maths,

IT, Problem Solving

Stamina, Strength, Dexterity

Influence, Self-direction, Horizontal interaction,

Client interaction

Required to learn things,

Keep up to date, Help others

learnFormal education

requirements

What will the ESSW tell us?Some illustrative results from PIAAC’s JRA pilot survey

Provides rich picture of skill use that goes well beyond educational qualifications

Substantial proportion of workers only require a low level of literacy and numeracy skills in their jobs

Smaller proportion require a high level of writing and numeracy skills

Distribution of workers by level of cognitive-skill use% of workers at each level of skill use

Source: OECD JRA Pilot Study (general sample).

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Reading

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Writing

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Numeracy


IT revolution not ubiquitous and there is a digital divide among workers

A significant proportion of workers do not use computers at all Only a minority of workers who use computers do so for performing

complex or advanced tasks

Computer use at work


A. Time spent working with a computer% of workers by time spent

B. Level of computer usage% of workers using a computer by level

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Advanced Complex Moderate Straightforward

Computer skills are acquired through both formal and informal channels

Self-study, including learning by doing, was the most commonly cited source of these skills in each country

Informal assistance was also important while employer-led training was least cited

How computer skills are learned% of workers reporting each type of learning method

% of workers reporting each type of learning method


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Education/ training

Employer-led Self-study Informal assistance



Skills mismatch

Provides measures of both education and skills mismatch

Proportion of workers over-qualified highest in Korea but relatively fewer over-skilled workers

In Australia and Korea, over-qualifications (under-qualifications) are associated with a large earnings penalty (premium)

Education and skill match


A. Education match B. Skill match% of workers by match category % of workers by match category

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Over-qualified Matched Under-qualified

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Over-skilled Matched Under-skilled

Some illustrative results from the pilot

Range of other skills also covered in the pilot, e.g. caring, communication, self-direction, physical stamina and dexterity

There does not appear to be any simple relationship in terms of GDP per head and skill demands in these domains

While skill needs in some domains (e.g. self-direction) appear to correlate well with required qualifications there is little correlation in other domains

o Thus, for some skill domains, the work place and work experience may play a more important role than formal education/training in fostering these skills

The results also point to a number of interesting linkages between skill demands, technology and work organisation

For example, quality-improvement circles appear to require higher reading and numeracy skills and greater communication skills.

Similarly, client monitoring of workers implies greater use of customer communication skills, and teamworking is associated with greater internal communication skills

What would need to be developed?

Further work is needed on developing the skill domains covered by task-based questions and on the wording of these questions

Development of contextual questions on work conditions, field of study and work organisation

Development of a module which could be used as a supplement for a large European-wide survey such as the European Labour Force Survey

Conclusions

An ESSW would open a new window on skills at work

It would help identify which skills are essential, who has them and where there are skill gaps

It would also help identify the linkages with work organisation and broader economic, labour market and social settings

For further details on PIAAC, see:

www.oecd.org/piaac

piaac programme for the international assessment of adult competencies a european survey on skills...

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