Skills Matter
Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills
In the wake of the technological revolution that began in the last decades of the
20th century, labour-market demand for information-processing and other high-level
cognitive and interpersonal skills have been growing substantially. Based on the results
from the 33 countries and regions that participated in the 1st and 2nd round of the
Survey of Adult Skills in 2011-12 and in 2014-15, this report describes adults’ proficiency
in three information-processing skills, and examines how proficiency is related to
labour-market and social outcomes. It also places special emphasis on the results
from the 3rd and final round of the first cycle of PIAAC in 2017-18, which included
6 countries (Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru and the United States). The
Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment
of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), was designed to provide insights into the availability
of some of these key skills in society and how they are used at work and at home.
The first survey of its kind, it directly measures proficiency in three information-processing
skills: literacy, numeracy and problem-solving in technology-rich environments.
Published on November 15, 2019Also available in: French
In series:OECD Skills Studiesview more titles