Developing and using people’s skills effectively is crucial for Lithuania’s economic prosperity, innovation and social cohesion.

This OECD Skills Strategy (OSS) project provides Lithuania with tailored findings and recommendations on its skills performance from an international perspective, and supports Lithuania’s ongoing strategic planning activities. The OSS project was launched via a virtual Skills Strategy Seminar in March 2020, with senior representatives from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport; Ministry of Social Security and Labour; Ministry of Economy and Innovation; Ministry of Finance, the Tripartite Council (representing employers, trade unions and the government); the Office of the Government of Lithuanian Republic; and the Government Strategic Analysis Centre. The European Commission was also present.

This chapter summarises the context, key insights and policy recommendations of the OECD Skills Strategy project in Lithuania. It applies the OECD Skills Strategy Framework to provide a high-level assessment of the performance of Lithuania’s skills system, and gives an overview of the four priority areas of focus selected for this project: 1) young people’s skills; 2) adult learning; 3) skills use; and 4) skills governance. The chapter provides an overview of the policy context for each of the four priority areas and summarises the related key findings and recommendations. Subsequent chapters provide more details on the opportunities for improvement, good practices and policy recommendations for Lithuania in each priority area.

Equipping young people in Lithuania with skills for work and life is central to Lithuania’s vision for a learning society that is modern, dynamic and ready for future challenges. The skills that young people develop from early childhood into early adulthood are foundational to their personal well-being and their contribution to the economy, society and the environment. This chapter explores three opportunities for Lithuania to better equip young people with skills for work and life: 1) successfully implementing and complementing modern curricula; 2) strengthening Lithuania’s teaching workforce; and 3) making vocational education and training and higher education more responsive to labour market needs.

Across all countries, participation in adult learning has significant benefits for individuals, employers and society as a whole. There is a growing need to upgrade and reskill regularly in adulthood in the context of technological change, more frequent transitions between jobs and the lengthening of working lives. In Lithuania, increasing participation in adult learning can also help employers and individuals recover from the COVID‑19 crisis in the short term, and move towards higher-value added industries and occupations in the long term. This chapter explains the importance of raising participation in adult learning in Lithuania and provides an overview of current practices and performance. It then explores three opportunities to raise participation in adult learning in Lithuania by: 1) raising awareness about adult learning benefits and opportunities; 2) removing barriers to participation in adult learning; and 3) strengthening the recognition and quality of non‑formal adult education and training.

The effective use of skills in workplaces is essential to make the most of the skills that individuals possess. Better using skills can help to raise productivity and innovation for businesses, and help to increase wages and job satisfaction for employees. Public policy makers can work with employers to help create the conditions or provide direct support for strengthening skills use in workplaces. This chapter explains the importance of using people’s skills more effectively, how this could support Lithuania in achieving its strategic objectives, and provides an overview of relevant policies and practices. It then explores three opportunities for Lithuania to use skills more effectively: 1) enhancing the use of skills by supporting businesses to adopt high-performance workplace practices (HPWP); 2) strengthening management and leadership skills to drive the transformation of workplaces; and 3) empowering and engaging the workforce to make better use of their skills.

Effective governance arrangements are enabling conditions for improving Lithuania’s performance in developing and using people’s skills. They facilitate co‑ordination across the whole-of-government, support the effective engagement of stakeholders, and enable the development of integrated information systems and co‑ordinated skills financing arrangements. This chapter reviews current practices and the performance of Lithuania’s skills governance. It then explores three opportunities to strengthen the governance of Lithuania’s skills policies: 1) increasing the capacity and co‑ordination of governmental and non‑governmental actors across the skills system; 2) enhancing skills information and career guidance systems and practices; and 3) ensuring well-targeted, sustainable and shared funding of Lithuania’s skills policies.

The National Skills Strategy project involved ongoing oversight and input from an inter-ministerial team (the National Project Team). The National Project Team was co-ordinated by the Government Strategic Analysis Center of Lithuania (STRATA) and composed of representatives from various ministries, agencies and social partner organisations, as outlined in below.