OECD SKILLS STRATEGY FLANDERS LAUNCH OF DIAGNOSTIC REPORT Ludger Schuknecht Deputy Secretary-General
OECD Centre for Skills Brussels, 21 January 2019
1. WHY DO SKILLS MATTER?
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What do we mean by skills?
COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE SKILLS
TECHNICAL, PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS
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Skills matter for people’s well-being 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 Percentage-point change
30 25 20 15
10 5 0
High levels of trust
High levels of Participation in Good to political efficacy volunteer excellent health activities
High levels of trust
Flanders
High levels of Participation in Good to political efficacy volunteer excellent health activities OECD average
Source: OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skill. 4
And how these skills are used matters for the economic success of people and countries Labour productivity and the use of reading skills at work, PIAAC 2012/2015 Adjusted for literacy and numeracy proficiency 4,6 Flanders (Belgium)
Labour productivity (log)
4,4
Norway
United States 4,2
Ireland
France Italy Netherlands
4,0
3,8
Turkey
3,6 Lithuania 3,4
Poland
Denmark Germany
Spain
Austria
Sweden United Kingdom Australia Canada Finland Slovenia Israel Greece
Japan Slovak Republic
Adjusted: Slope: 0.774 (0.231) R-squared: 0.261
Chile New Zealand
Korea Czech Republic Estonia
3,2 2,1
2,2
2,3
2,4
Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).
2,5
2,6
2,7
2,8
2,9
3
Mean use of reading skills at work
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Mega trends are changing and increasing the skills needed for success in work and life
TECHNOLOGICAL DEMOGRAPHIC GLOBALISATION CHANGE CHANGE More integrated world economy than ever
Rapid development of new technologies
Emergence of global value chains, offshoring and outsourcing
Emergence of new forms of work
Increased vulnerability of some workers
Expansion of sources of learning, especially online
Large expected decline in workingage population Important reallocations towards care services Need to ensure youth have the right skills
2. WHAT IS THE OECD SKILLS STRATEGY IN FLANDERS?
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OECD Skills Strategy
Contributes to economic prosperity
Contributes to social cohesion
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A collaboration between the OECD and Flanders Flemish Government Finance and Budget (FB)
Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI)
OECD Directorate for Education and Skills Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
Work and Social Economy (WSE)
Education and Training (OV)
VDAB, SERV, VLOR, SYNTRA and more
Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions, and Cities 9
Engaging all relevant stakeholders Diagnostic Workshop (15 May) Approx. 75 participants
Good Practices Workshop (18 Sept) Approx. 75 participants
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5 Priority areas were identified for Flanders 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
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PRIORITY 1:
DEVELOPING A LEARNING CULTURE
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Learning is Life long
Early childhood education and care
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And learning is life-wide
Workplace
Schools
Homes
Community 15
Strengthen the skills of adults to thrive in the digital age Share of adult with well-rounded skills (PIAAC), 2012 or 2015 Level 3-5 in literacy & numeracy, Level 2/3 in problem solving
% 45 40 35 30 25
20 15 10 5 0
Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).
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Willingness to participate in adult learning is low Adults not willing to participate, % of 25-64 year-olds, 2012/2015 Participated, but does not want to participate (more) %
Did not participate, and does not want to participate
100 90
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).
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and barriers to participation are high Main obstacles to participation, % of total, 2012/2015 Flanders
OECD average
Too busy at work Childcare, family responsibilities Inconvenient time or place
Other Lack of employer’s support Too expensive Something unexpected came up Did not have the prerequisites 0
10
20
30
40 %
Source: OECD calculations based on OECD (2017) Survey of Adults Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).
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Recommendations: Learning culture Embed adult learning within a lifelong development approach Make adult education more accessible and relevant Enlarge the accessible course offerings for adult learners in higher education 19
Recommendations: Learning culture Raise awareness of the importance of adult learning Transform adult learning providers into learning organisations Establish a co-operation network to identify and disseminate best practices in stimulating a learning culture in the workplace
Expand work-based learning in university colleges, universities and adult education
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PRIORITY 2: REDUCING SKILLS IMBALANCES
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Flanders has a tightening labour market
VRT, 14/02/2018
VRT, 28/06/2017
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A large share of vacant jobs and low unemployment contribute to skills shortages Job vacancy rate and unemployment rate, OECD-EU countries, 2017 Job vacancy rate, 2017 4
Czech Republic Flanders (Belgium) Belgium
3,5 3
Brussels
Germany
Wallonia United Kingdom Austria Sweden Netherlands Hungary Slovenia Finland Norway Estonia Latvia European Union
2,5 2 1,5
Luxembourg
Switzerland
1
Ireland
Poland
Slovak Republic Portugal
Spain
Greece
0,5 0 0
5
10
15
20
25
Unemployment rate, 15-64 year-olds, 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.
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Skills shortages are largely concentrated in STEM and ICT occupations Job vacancy rate for selected economic activities and total, Flanders, 2013 and 2017
Job vacancy rate
2013
2017
10% 9% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0%
Professional, scientific and technical activities
Information and communication
Construction
All other economic activities
Total
Economic activities
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.
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Recommendations: Skills Imbalances Make the education system more responsive to changing skills demand
Mobilise sectoral training funds to address skills shortages Create bridges between learning and career development support Support assessments of skills needs and skills forecast exercises
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Recommendations: Skills Imbalances Prioritize training in skills in high demand for jobseekers, particularly those at risk of longterm unemployment Raise awareness about skills validation (Erkennen van Competenties, EVC) among employers and potential users Provide individuals with a balanced portfolio of skills 26
PRIORITY 3: STRENGTHENING SKILLS USE IN THE WORKPLACE
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Skills are not used to their full potential in the workplace, especially numeracy skills Use of numeracy skills and numeracy proficiency Numeracy proficiency (score) 300
290
Japan
Flanders (Belgium)
Sweden
280
Netherlands 270
Australia
Norway
Denmark
Austria OECD
260
Poland France
Ireland
250
Germany Estonia
Slovak Republic
Czech Republic New Zealand
England (UK) Korea Slovenia
Canada
Northern Ireland (UK)
United States
Greece Spain
240 230
2,2
2,3
2,4
2,5
2,6
2,7
2,8
2,9
3
Use of numeracy skills at work Note: Skills use indicators are between 1 "Never" and 5 "Every day". Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, ‘15).
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Higher intensity of High-performance work practices (HPWP) help drive skills use Skills use at work and High Performance Workplace Practices, PIAAC 2012,2015 Reading at work index
Management and organization practices such as:
3,2 3,1
Australia
3
England (UK)
New Zealand
R² = 0,5463
United States N. Ireland (UK)
2,9 2,8
Germany
Ireland
Korea
OECD
Slovak Republic
2,5
Slovenia
France
Chile
Japan
Spain
Netherlands
Austria Flanders (Belgium)
Estonia
• Autonomy
Denmark
• use of incentive pay,
Czech Republic
• training practices, and
Poland
2,4 2,3
• Teamwork
Sweden
2,7 2,6
Finland
Norway
• flexibility in working hours
Italy
2,2 2,5
2,55
2,6
2,65
2,7
2,75
2,8
2,85
2,9
2,95
3
Mean HPWP index 29
Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012, 2015).
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 Flanders
OECD average
Most frequent use = 4 2,3
Least frequent use = 0
Numeracy at work
Note: Skills use indicators are between 1 "Never" and 5 "Every day". Source: OECD Survey of Adult Skills database (PIAAC) (2012, ‘15).
1000+ employees
251-1000 employees
51-250 employees
11-50 employees
1-10 employees
1000+ employees
251-1000 employees
51-250 employees
1,7
11-50 employees
1,9
1-10 employees
Index of use
2,1
ICT at work 30
Recommendations Skills Use Raise awareness of the importance of skills use in the workplace Provide direct funding to employers to re-shape the workplace and encourage more management training, especially among small and medium enterprises Promote flexible career mobility opportunities within sectors and firms Examine company working conditions and human resource practices to help fill job vacancies and address potential skills shortages 31
PRIORITY 4:
STRENGTHENING THE GOVERNANCE OF ADULT LEARNING
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Responsibilities for adult learning are shared widely across governments
Culture, youth and media
• • • • •
Flemish government Provision of adult education Budget Sectoral training funds Paid educational leave …
Agriculture and fisheries Education and Training (OV)
Work and Social Economy (WSE)
Federal government Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI)
• Collective labour agreements • Time credit • Degree standards • Taxation
Finance and Budget (FB)
Provinces: Antwerp, East-Flanders, Flemish Brabant, Limburg, West-Flanders
308 municipalities
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And there is a large number of providers of adult learning in Flanders Centres for Adult Education 101
Centres for Basic Education 13
University colleges 16
Universities 6
Academies for visual arts
Academies music, dance and drama
Syntra
Employers
Adult education institutes
National training institutes
Public employment service VDAB
NGO providers (sector funds)
Associations and movements
Libraries
Others 34
Coordinating, aligning, sequencing reforms is key to optimise the output of policies Instead of piecemeal reforms, introduce a multidimensional approach with reforms in all policy dimensions related to skills
Coordinate policies
Align policies
Sequence policies
Optimal effectiveness and possible complementary effect 34
Recommendations: Governance Establish a comprehensive and concrete vision for adult learning Promote coherence and complementarity between levels of government in adult learning
Establish a common knowledge and evidence base Support local community organisations to foster, host and co-ordinate local networks of stakeholders that work to improve adult learning
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PRIORITY 5: IMPROVING FINANCING OF ADULT LEARNING
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Despite many financial incentives, the motivation to participate in adult learning remains low Paid educational leave 8 out of 10 adults do not want to participate in adult learning
Training credit
Sectoral training funds
Training vouchers
Registration fee exemptions
SME wallet
Strategic transition support
Career guidance vouchers
Tax deduction
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And financial measures do not seem to reach the groups most in need % of employees receiving employer financial support for education or training, by skills level, 25-64 year-olds % 90
low skilled
high skilled
80 70 60 50
40 30 20 10 0
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.
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Recommendations: Financing Group all existing training incentives into a single learning account Expand programmes to reach out to marginalised groups with information, advice and guidance about training
Explore options for financially supporting transitions from job to job or from one employment status to another Ensure that training incentives support flexible modes of training delivery
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Engaging everyone in a clear, comprehensive, mobilizing vision 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
Government Education institutions
Companies
Learner Public employment service
Social partners 41
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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