Readiness for the learning economy: insights from OECD's Survey of Adult Skills on workforce readiness and preparation

The Survey of Adult Skills, a new data collection effort led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), provides useful insights for understanding the characteristics of the learning economy and the readiness of adults to prosper in this learning economy. [The survey] enhances understanding of workplace readiness by offering assessments of proficiency (from low to high) on measures of literacy, numeracy, and problem solving with information-technology (IT) tools - critical cognitive and workplace skills - for individuals in 24 participating countries and sub-national regions. As such, the findings have important implications for policy and practice.

In this report, [the authors] first discuss the importance of education and skills in the twenty-first century, then describe the methodology for the survey and present key findings, focusing on skills of adults in the United States. [They] conclude by identifying implications of the survey and its findings for policy and practice.

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