A European Survey on Skills at Work (ESSW)

A European Survey on Skills at Work (ESSW) Mark Keese(mark.keese@oecd.org) Workshop on “Exploring possibilities for the development of European data infrastructures for research in the social sciences”, The Royal Society, London, 23 June 2010

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) • 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: • Measures of generic skills used at work • Job Requirements Approach (JRA) Measures of literacy, numeracy & problem-solving skills • Direct assessment Measures of skill formation & outcomes • Background questions on adult learning, labour-market status, earnings, health …

Generic workplace skills covered by PIAAC Interaction/social skills Cognitive skills Influence, Self-direction, Horizontal interaction, Client interaction Reading, Writing, Maths, IT, Problem Solving Key workplace skills Physical skills Learning skills Required to learn things, Keep up to date, Help others learn Stamina, Strength, Dexterity Formal 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

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

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

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

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 • 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

A European Survey on Skills at Work (ESSW)