Skills Bundle of knowledge, attributes and capacities that enable individuals to successfully and consistently perform an activity or task Human Capital Sum of all skills available within the country at a given point in time

1. The OECD Skills Strategy:
Austria in perspective
Joanne Caddy
OECD Directorate for Education and Skills
forum bmvit - Vienna, 11 June 2013

2. Major shifts in the demand for skills
Economy-wide measures of routine and non-routine task input (US)
40
45
50
55
60
65
1960 1970 1980 1990 2002
Routine manual
Nonroutine manual
Routine cognitive
Nonroutine analytic
Nonroutine interactiv
(Levy and Murnane, 2010)
Meantaskinputaspercentilesofthe1960taskdistribution
Dilemma facing schools:
The skills that are easiest to teach and
test are also the ones that are easiest to
digitise, automate and outsource
18

3. Skills are the new global currency
Supply of college graduates
-
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
China EU US
2006
2010
2015
2020
10
By 2020, there will be more
new graduates in China
than youth in Europe
19

4. 4
OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)
New focus on skills, not qualifications

5. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
What do we mean by skills (or competencies)?
Skills
Bundle of knowledge, attributes and
capacities that enable individuals to
successfully and consistently perform
an activity or task
Human Capital
Sum of all skills available within the
country at a given point in time
OECD Skills Strategy (2012)

6. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
6
Why do skills matter to countries?

7. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
7
Why do skills matter to people?

8. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
8
How can we improve skills and their use?

9. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives 9
What is the OECD Skills Strategy?

10. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
Developing relevant skills in Austria
10

11. Educational attainment has improved in Austria…
Population that has attained at least upper secondary education (2010)

12. 12
…but 1 in 4 students lack basic skills
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Austria
France
Belgium
Germany
Sweden
Denmark
Poland
Norway
Korea
Finland
below
level 2
2
3
4
5
6
Low performers High performers
Source: PISA 2009

13. 13
Austria has one of the largest PISA gaps for migrants

14. 14
Low supply of university graduates…

15. 15
…particularly with regard to STEM
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Proportion of graduates by fields of study, 2010
Health and welfare Agriculture
Education (ISC 14) Humanities and Arts
Social sciences, business and law Services
Engineering, manufacturing and construction Science
Source: Education at a Glance 2012

16. 16
Mind the gap? Future career plans of girls and boys

17. 17
Employer training favours the high-skilled

18. 18
Activating skills supply

19. Youth unemployment and inactivity are low in Austria

20. Female employment rates are high, but
motherhood makes part-time employment likely…

21. Older workers’ employment rates are below OECD
average
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Labour force participation rate for people aged 55 to 64
2011 2007

22. 22
International migration accounts for 1/3 of new
entries into the working-age population…
Permanent-type migration as an
estimated % of new entries into
the working-age population, 2010

23. 23
Differences in employment rates are largest for
highly-educated immigrants
-20
-10
0
10
20
Low-educated Highly-educated
Difference in employment rate of foreign- and native-born populations by educational level,
2009-10, 15-64 (excluding persons still in education)
Immigrants
have higher
employment
rates
Immigrants
have lower
employment
rates
Differences are largest for those with foreign qualifications from non-OECD countries

24. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
Putting skills to effective use
24

25. 25
Employers face difficulties recruiting skilled workers
Source: Manpower, 2007 and 2012 Talent Shortage Surveys.
Employers facing difficulties recruiting skilled workers, 2007 and 2012
As a percentage of all employers

26. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Breakdown not available Professionals Technicians and associate professionals
HRST in 2008
Growth potential in science & technology professions
OECD calculations, based on EU Labour Force Survey; US Current Population Survey;
Australian, Canadian, Japanese and New Zealander labour force surveys, Korean Economically Active Population
Survey, China Labour Statistical Yearbook
Human resources in science and technology (HRST), 2010
As a percentage of total employment

27. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1995 2009
%
Share of ICT specialists now reaches EU average…
OECD Information Technology Outlook 2010
Share of ICT-specialists in the total economy, 1995 and 2009
As a percentage of total employment

28. …but share of women in ICT is below EU average
OECD Information Technology Outlook 2010
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Women in ICT sector Women in ICT specialists
%

29. skills.oecd
Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Lives
Where to find OECD resources on skills