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The labour market is in a flux, affected by the deep and rapid digital transformation, as well as globalisation and demographic changes. Employers are demanding new skills and qualified workers, while many people are looking for a job. Promoting a good match between the rapidly changing demand for skills with workers’ competences is crucial to harness the potential of these changes and ensure that no one is left behind. Governments need a clearer picture, not only of how labour markets are changing, but of how well-equipped their citizens are to participate in, and benefit from, increasingly knowledge-based economies. The Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), provides that picture. It captures information about adults’ proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills, and how much those skills are used on the job and throughout life.
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This companion volume to the international reports presenting results for the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (OECD, 2013, 2016 and 2019) offers an overview of the “what” and “how” of the Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, or PIAAC. Its primary objective is to help readers to understand and interpret the results from the survey. To this end, it explains, in a non-technical way, the methodologies underpinning the design of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and operational aspects of the survey, such as sampling, data collection and response rates, and how results are reported.
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This chapter describes the approach used by the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and some of the key features of the survey. It then discusses the content, cognitive processes and contexts applicable to the three domains assessed: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. Sample items are also provided.
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This chapter describes the questionnaire that is part of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The questionnaire collects information on the basic demographic characteristics of respondents; educational attainment and participation; labour force status and employment; social outcomes; the use of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills at work and in everyday life; and the use of a range of other skills at work.
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This chapter examines the relationship between the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and previous international skills surveys, notably the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). It also discusses the differences and similarities between the Survey of Adult Skills and the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP) of UNESCO and the STEP Measurement Study, conducted by the World Bank.
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This chapter explains how the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are related. Although there are similarities between the two in how skills are defined, there are significant differences between the two assessments, including the target populations and the measures used to assess skills.
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This chapter briefly discusses the concept of “human capital” and examines the extent to which the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) assesses some of its components. It also compares the strengths and weaknesses of using direct measures of skills, such as those afforded by the Survey of Adult Skills, with those of using educational attainment to assess human capital.
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In presenting the results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the descriptors used to describe the characteristics of the tasks at each proficiency level in literacy and numeracy differ from those used when presenting the results of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). This is the result of:
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