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Australia has been one of the first OECD countries to introduce market-type mechanisms into job-broking and related employment services. In 1998, the Job Network was introduced in Australia to provide job matching and other employment assistance services for the unemployed. Under the new system, these services were subcontracted to hundreds of private and community organisations. The remaining government agency offers services on the same terms and conditions as the private providers and has kept a relatively small share in the market. The government has also decided to maintain only the most cost-effective active labour market programs and has increased emphasis on the principle of 'mutual obligation' in the benefit system where some unemployed people are required to undertake some form of work in return for their benefits. These innovative reforms are part of those introduced in Australia across a wide range of labour market programs along with extensive reforms to the industrial relations system to promote enterprise bargaining. This publication provides a detailed analysis of industrial relations and labour market policies in Australia with a particular focus on recent insights gathered from three years of experience in the operation of a contestable employment services market. It begins with a summary and conclusions section and then provides an overview of the Australian labour market and the institutions involved in labour market policy and employment services. Issues related to the Job Network, placement, unemployment and related benefits, labour market programs, workplace relations, and wage determination are then examined. Annexes contain information on payment mechanisms for competitive employment service provision and three major areas of labour market programs (training and youth programs, indigenous programs, and disability programs). Show less

There is broad and strong political support within Norway for lifelong learning as a next logical step for a highly developed country with a highly educated population to address challenges including economic restructuring, an ageing workforce, the contradictions of labour shortages and increased leisure time, and an increasingly diverse society. However, the institutional arrangements and policies in Norway do not yet constitute a systemic approach to lifelong learning. Major difficulties relate to the governance and financing of adult learning and leadership based on concerted action by several ministries as well as the social partners. Conflict between the objectives of choice, equity and quality also need to be resolved. This study is divided into two parts: the background report (which was prepared by the Norwegian authorities) and the OECD Examiners' Report. The background report presents the Norwegian definition of lifelong learning and describes the national context in which lifelong learning is currently being implemented. It also provides an overview of the different arenas within which lifelong learning occurs and the challenges to be met. The OECD Examiners' Report examines the following areas: the social, economic, political and institutional context within which Norway’s vision of lifelong learning has been articulated; the goals and objectives of lifelong learning in Norway, who it is intended for and who is involved; unfinished aspects of the lifelong learning agenda in Norway with a focus on integration of learning and working life; the issue of implementation of lifelong learning across many public policy areas and in cooperation with the social partners; and overriding principles to guide formulation and implementation of further policies of lifelong learning. A list of recommendations is included in Annex II.A. Show less

This paper analyses changes in the quality of the working environment in fifteen European Union countries between 1995 and 2015, using self-reported data from the European Working and Living Conditions Survey. It finds that, although in 1995, the self-employed reported inferior working conditions compared with employees, twenty years later this difference had almost disappeared. This 'catch-up' on the part of the self-employed is not limited to narrow groups; instead it is found among self-employed workers with highly diverse educational and sectoral work experience.

Two major policy implications are drawn. First, policy makers should no longer expect there to be a working environment penalty from self-employment policies. Second, policy makers should distinguish between different groups within the self-employed population, with better targeted policies, rather than treating the self-employed as a single category. The paper sets out a number of avenues for further work when data for 2021 become available.

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Economies and societies are undergoing digital transformations that bring both opportunities and challenges and countries' preparedness to seize the benefits of a digital world is largely dependent on the skills of their population. This edition of the OECD Skills Outlook 2019 aims to understand how policies, and in particular those that affect skills development and use, can shape the outcomes of digital transformation and translate into more equally shared benefits among and within countries' populations. Ensuring people can benefit from new technologies and are not left behind requires a comprehensive and co-ordinated policy effort. This package of co-ordinated policies needs to simultaneously promote digitalisation where the latter increases productivity and well-being, and otherwise cushion its negative impacts.

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A successful transition towards a low-carbon and resource efficient economy will profoundly reshape the labour market in ways creating both new risks and new opportunities for workers. The challenge for labour market and skills policy is to maximise the benefits for workers and help assure a fair sharing of unavoidable adjustment costs, while also supporting broader green growth policies (e.g. by minimising skill bottlenecks). The aim of the report is to provide guidance for how best this can be done. Part one of the report provides an assessment of the main impacts of climate change mitigation and other policy measures to promote green growth on labour markets. This topic has been much studied in recent years but many questions remain unanswered and the intention here is to summarise what has already been learned and provide new insights. Part two of the report analyses how labour market and education and training policy can best contribute to an efficient and fair transition towards a low-carbon economy. A key focus in this part of the report is how measures specifically targeted on 'greening' the labour market should be integrated into both the broader framework of labour market and skills policies, and a whole-of-government strategy for promoting green growth. This document represents the final OECD report for the European Commission project on 'The jobs potential of a shift towards a low-carbon economy'.

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On 14-15 January 2016 the OECD hosted a Ministerial meeting on labour and employment. Ministers from more than 40 OECD and partner countries convened at the OECD headquarters in Paris for an exchange of ideas and experiences on how to build more resilient and inclusive labour markets in light of the lessons learned from the recent global economic crisis and in view of the ongoing changes in the world of work as a result of demographic shifts, technological change and globalisation. The meeting also identified priority topics for future OECD work in the employment and labour policy field. This paper describes the issues and proposes some questions for discussion.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website with additions. Show less

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. The assessment, which focuses on reading, mathematics, science and problem-solving, does not just ascertain whether students can reproduce what they have learned; it also examines how well they can extrapolate from what they have learned and apply that knowledge in unfamiliar settings, both in and outside of school. This approach reflects the fact that modern societies reward individuals not for what they know, but for what they can do with what they know.

Around 510,000 students (representative of about 28 million students overall) from all 34 OECD member countries and 31 partner countries and economies participated in PISA 2012, representing more than 80 per cent of the world economy. For the first time, PISA 2012 also included an assessment of the financial literacy of young people. The findings presented in this report will allow policy makers to gauge the knowledge and skills of students in their own countries in comparison with those in other countries, set policy targets against measurable goals achieved by other education systems, and learn from policies and practices applied elsewhere.

This is one of six volumes that present the results of the 2012 PISA survey, the fifth round of the triennial assessment. The chapters are as follows: Defining and measuring equity in education; Equity in outcomes; The challenge of diversity; Equity in opportunities to learn and in resources; Policy implications of equity in education. Show less

This brief paper presents evidence on the relationship between education and social outcomes including health, civic engagement and subjective well-being across many OECD countries. The findings suggest that education can bring significant benefits to society, not only through higher employment opportunities and income but also via enhanced skills, improved social status and access to networks. Show less

Leaders and academics can improve the quality of higher education teaching, and thereby the quality of their graduates, by reflecting on institution-wide practices. This book explores the interplay between actors within institutions, organisational structure, commitment of senior leadership, involvement of faculty and students, and evaluation instruments. Based on an OECD review of 46 quality teaching initiatives in 20 countries, the report highlights the significant impact of the institutions’ environment, trends in the quality of academia, teaching methods and learning conditions. The sample represents 29 higher education institutions, from technological and vocational institutions to business and economic schools, from small undergraduate institutions to multidisciplinary postgraduate universities. The book illustrates the following factors with examples from around the world: the aims of institutions when fostering quality teaching, their options and the guiding philosophy behind a quality approach; concrete ways to apply quality teaching initiatives, challenges to implementing them, and key actors in their dissemination; evaluation systems and the impacts of institutional support on teaching, research and quality culture; and how institution-wide approaches can be combined to enhance quality teaching in a sustainable way. The book also analyses the effects of quality teaching on institutional leaders, faculty members, quality units and students. The contents are as follows: Foreword and acknowledgements; Executive summary; Institutions and quality teaching initiatives under focus; The origins of engagement in quality teaching; Implementing quality teaching support; Monitoring and measuring quality teaching; Conclusions and implications for institutions; Bibliography; Annex A: Methodology.

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Over the past five years, the OECD has carried out a feasibility study to see whether it is practically and scientifically feasible to assess what students in higher education know and can do upon graduation across diverse countries, languages, cultures and institution types. This has involved 249 [higher education institutions] HEIs across 17 countries and regions joining forces to survey some 4,900 faculties and test some 23,000 students. This second volume of the feasibility study report presents the data analysis and national experiences. It follows a first volume on design and implementation which was published in December 2012. A third volume will be published presenting the discussions and insights from the AHELO Feasibility Study Conference (taking place in March 2013). The contents are: Validity and reliability: insights on scientific feasibility from the AHELO feasibility study data; National experiences; Role of the Technical Advisory Group.

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