BUILDING SKILLS FOR ALL: A REVIEW OF ENGLAND

1 OECD SKILLS STUDIESBUILDING SKILLS FOR ALL: A REVIEW OF ENGLANDPOLICY INSIGHTS FROM THE SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLSMa gorzata KuczeraSimon FieldHendrickje Catriona Windisch OECD SKILLS Studies BUILDING SKILLS for All: A REVIEW of ENGLAND POLICY INSIGHTS FROM THE SURVEY OF ADULT SKILLS Ma gorzata Kuczera, Simon Field and Hendrickje Catriona Windisch This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

2 The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. OECD 2016 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given.

3 All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at or the Centre fran ais d exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 BUILDING SKILLS FOR ALL: A REVIEW OF ENGLAND OECD 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was drafted by Ma gorzata Kuczera, Simon Field and Hendrickje Windisch. Tanja Bastianic undertook much of the statistical analysis and Elisa Larrakoetxea provided valuable administrative support.

4 We are very grateful to colleagues in ENGLAND in the Departments of Business Innovation and SKILLS and Education and many other people we met during our visits for their many very constructive contributions to the REVIEW , in particular Frank Bowley, Anthony Clarke, James Davison, Peter Drummond, Emily Knowles, Catherine Paulson-Ellis and Peter Sellen. Within the OECD we are also very grateful for helpful comments and advice from Ji Eun Chung, Marco Paccagnella, Glenda Quintini, Deborah Roseveare, William Thorn and Thomas Weko. * Please note figure 3 on page 15 and figure on page 53 have been updated since the 1st of February 2016.

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 BUILDING SKILLS FOR ALL: A REVIEW OF ENGLAND OECD 2016 Table of contents Summary and recommendations .. 9 Giving priority to early intervention .. 9 Tackling low SKILLS among those aged 16-19 .. 12 Tackling low SKILLS in postsecondary education .. 14 Enhancing SKILLS through working life .. 16 Using evidence to advance adult learning .. 17 Chapter 1 Introduction: Giving priority to early intervention .. 20 The basic SKILLS challenge .. 22 Understanding the main results .. 24 Who are the low-skilled? .. 28 What are the effects of low- SKILLS ? .. 30 The policy response in ENGLAND .. 31 Setting priorities .. 32 Recommendation 1: Give priority to early intervention.

6 35 References .. 36 Chapter 2 Tackling low SKILLS among those aged 16-19 .. 37 Challenge: Low SKILLS and sometimes inadequate standards .. 38 Basic SKILLS standards in upper secondary education in ENGLAND .. 41 Recommendation 2: Sustain reform efforts and increase basic SKILLS standards for upper secondary education .. 45 Supporting arguments: BUILDING better SKILLS through stronger initial education .. 45 References .. 48 Chapter 3 Tackling low SKILLS in postsecondary education .. 49 Challenges: Low SKILLS among the well-qualified .. 50 Recommendation 3: Divert unprepared university students and enhance basic SKILLS tuition .. 61 Supporting arguments: Rebalancing postsecondary education.

7 61 References .. 69 Chapter 4 Enhancing SKILLS through working life .. 71 Challenges: Low-skilled young adults and transition to the labour market .. 72 Recommendation 4: Improve transitions into work and promote upskilling at work .. 75 Supporting arguments: Smoothing the path to the labour market .. 75 References .. 82 6- TABLE OF CONTENTS BUILDING SKILLS FOR ALL: A REVIEW OF ENGLAND OECD 2016 Chapter 5 Using evidence to advance adult learning .. 83 The challenge: Multiple obstacles to adult learning .. 84 Recommendation 5: Use evidence to support adult learning .. 85 Supporting arguments: Strengthening motivation, teaching quality and the learning context.

8 85 References .. 93 Annex A .. 99 Annex B .. 103 Annex C .. 106 Tables Table 1. Share of young adults with low basic SKILLS .. 10 Table Share of young adults with low basic SKILLS .. 26 Table What are the basic SKILLS demands of upper secondary qualifications in ENGLAND ? .. 42 Table What are the basic SKILLS demands of upper secondary qualifications in other countries? .. 43 Table The earnings of university graduates in ENGLAND depend heavily on basic SKILLS .. 60 Table Relative to other countries, the low-skilled in ENGLAND are more likely to use their basic SKILLS at work .. 79 Table How low SKILLS in the International Survey of Adult SKILLS relates to the NQF levels.

9 99 Table Numeracy proficiency, adjusted for some socio-demographic characteristics .. 104 Table Share of 20-34 year olds who have not completed upper secondary education .. 105 Table Wage premium by educational attainment in the population 16-65 year-olds .. 108 Table Distribution of adults 16-65, by SKILLS level and qualifications .. 108 Figures Figure 1. In most countries, but not in ENGLAND , younger people have stronger basic SKILLS .. 10 Figure 2. Too many teenagers in ENGLAND have low basic SKILLS .. 12 Figure has more university students with weak literacy and numeracy SKILLS than most countries .. 15 Figure 4. In ENGLAND , many young adults are not in either education or 17 Figure How many people have low basic SKILLS ?

10 22 Figure In most countries, but not in ENGLAND , younger people have stronger basic SKILLS .. 25 Figure Basic SKILLS are strongly related to parental education in ENGLAND .. 27 Figure In ENGLAND as in some other countries, second generation migrants do better .. 28 Figure Some of the well-qualified are low-skilled .. 29 Figure Too many teenagers in ENGLAND have low basic SKILLS .. 38 Figure In ENGLAND , more limited literacy and numeracy progress in the later teenage years .. 39 Figure In ENGLAND , unqualified young people have very weak basic SKILLS .. 44 Figure Some young university graduates in ENGLAND have very low literacy and numeracy 52 Figure ENGLAND has more university students with weak literacy and numeracy SKILLS than most countries.