Public Policy Forum, Canada and the OECD: 50 Years of
Converging Interests, Ottawa, 2-3 June 2011
Better skills for more inclusive
and sustainable growth
Mark Keese
Head of Employment Analysis and Policy Division
Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
Introduction
 Much to learn from Canada’s good
performance in human resource development
 But Canada faces several challenges
requiring better skill utilisation and
investments in new skills
 Recent OECD work that may help Canada
address these challenges
2
Canada has a highly educated population
Population that has attained at least tertiary education (2009)
Percentage, by age group
70
25-34 year-olds
55-64 year-olds
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Countries are ranked in descending order of the percentage of the 25-34 year-olds who have attained tertiary education.
Source: OECD .
3
And ranks highly in student achievement
PISA scores for reading, 2009
Canada ranked 5th in
Maths and Science
500
450
400
350
300
Source: OECD.
4
But lags behind in terms of training
Participation in formal and/or non-formal education, 2007 (%)
All levels of education
Tertiary education
Upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education
Below upper secondary education
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
-
1. Year of reference 2005.
2. Year of reference 2006.
3. Year of reference 2008.
Source: OECD.
5
Is over-qualification a problem?
Share of tertiary graduates in non-graduate jobs* (%)
70
60
50
Unweighted average
40
30
20
10
0
* Non-graduate jobs refer to jobs not requiring a tertiary qualification. The modal qualification
in each occupational group at the two-digit level is used to measure required qualifications.
Source: ISSP.
Key challenges for Canada’s skills and
employment policies
 In context of population ageing, Canada must fully
utilise its existing skills

Encourage longer working-lives

Strengthen opportunities for women to combine family and work
responsibilities

Better integrate disadvantaged youth and other vulnerable
groups into the labour market
 But productivity growth must also be raised
 And together with the green revolution
 This requires more and better investments in skills
and innovation
7
What can the OECD bring to the table?
 An employment framework to promote better
labour utilisation – The OECD Jobs Strategy
 The OECD Green Growth and Innovation
Strategies which give policy guidance for promoting
skill development for the future
 Youth, education and training reviews
 PISA – a new window on student performance
 But will focus on:
 PIAAC
 Local skills strategies
 OECD Skills Strategy
8
The OECD Programme for the International
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)
 Household-based survey of population 16-65 (minimum of 5000
respondents per country) to be held in 2011-212
 25 countries participating
Measures of
generic skills used
at work
o Based on job tasks
Literacy, numeracy &
problem-solving
skills
Skill formation &
outcomes
o Direct assessment
o Background
questions on adult
learning, labourmarket status,
earnings, health …
9
Local Skills Strategies
“ecosystems”
The OECD Skills Strategy
Using
skills
better
Steering
and
funding
Investing in
the right
skills
Conclusions
 Canada will need to run hard to stay ahead of
other countries in terms of competiveness and to
promote sustainable growth
 It starts from a solid basis with a highly-skilled
population and other OECD countries can learn
from Canada’s experience
 But must respond to population ageing,
globalisation, the green revolution and on-going
technical change
 Much of the OECD’s work on skills and
employment policies should help Canada to stay
at the head of the race
14
For further information:
15
Thank you