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We present empirical evidence suggesting that technological progress in the digital age will be biased not only with respect to skills acquired through education but additionally with respect to non‐cognitive skills (personality). We measure the direction of technological change by estimated future digitalization probabilities of occupations, and non‐cognitive skills by the Big Five personality traits from four German worker surveys. Even though we control for education and work experience, we find that workers who are more open to experience, emotionally more stable and less agreeable will tend to be less susceptible to digitalization. We also find that future technological progress may not continue to hollow out the middle class as much as it did in the recent past. These results suggest that education and labor market policies should put more emphasis on children's and workers' personalities to strengthen their labor market resilience in the digital age.

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This paper examines which incremental increases in numeracy skills, literacy skills and skills and readiness in using information and communication technology (ICT) for problem solving have the biggest impact on employment participation and related labour market outcomes, and how these compare to incremental increases in educational attainment. The source of the data is the 2012 Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Using the 2012 PIAAC data, the authors' analysis confirms that there are significantly higher earnings and employment returns to both increasing levels of formally recognised education, and to increasing levels of numeracy, literacy and ICT skills proficiencies controlling for the level of education.

Unsurprisingly, the labour market returns to changes in formally recognised levels of education in general exceed the labour market returns associated with increasing levels of skills proficiency. In the case of literacy and numeracy proficiencies, improved literacy and numeracy skills narrow the labour market outcomes gap between individuals with different levels of formally recognised education, but do not close it completely. The analysis demonstrates more substantial returns to ICT skills. Furthermore, possession of higher levels of ICT skills and lower levels of formally recognised qualification are often associated with higher returns compared to individuals with higher levels of formally recognised education but lower ICT proficiency levels. In other words, ICT skills proficiencies often entirely compensate for lower formally recognised qualifications in the labour market.

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In the wake of the technological revolution that began in the last decades of the 20th century, labour market demand for information-processing and other high-level cognitive and interpersonal skills is growing substantially. The Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), was designed to provide insights into the availability of some of these key skills in society and how they are used at work and at home. The first survey of its kind, it directly measures proficiency in several information-processing skills - namely literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments.

This publication describes the design and methodology of the survey and its relationship to other international assessments of young students and adults. It is a companion volume to 'Skills matter: further results from the Survey of Adult Skills'. This volume presents the results from the 24 countries and regions that participated in the first round of the survey in 2011-12, first published in 'OECD skills outlook 2013: first results from the Survey of Adult Skills' and from the nine additional countries that participated in the second round in 2014-15 (Chile, Greece, Indonesia [Jakarta], Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia and Turkey).

Edited abstract from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: What the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) measures; The background questionnaire of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC); The methodology of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the quality of data; Reporting the results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC); Relationship of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) to other international skills surveys; Relationship between the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA); The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and 'key competencies'; The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and the measurement of human capital. Show less

This report analyzes the job market demand for coding skills in order to highlight the breadth and magnitude of employer demand for these skills and the range of opportunities that learning to code can open for students. The intent of this research is to showcase for school counselors and K-12 students alike the importance of learning to code and the value these skills will have in the job market. The data contained in this report are drawn from 26 million US online job postings collected in 2015 and have been analyzed to determine the specific jobs and skills that employers are seeking.

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As cyberschooling options expand, it is vital that we understand the nuances of these particular learning opportunities. Because little research exists on leaders of K-12 cyberschools, this exploratory case study had two purposes. [The authors] first examined how 18 cyberschool leaders in the United States obtained their position. Second, [the authors] explored the perceptions of cyberschool leaders regarding the differences between their job and that of a traditional brick-and-mortar school leader. [The authors] found that cyberschool leaders tend to be predominantly new, technology savvy administrators who have some background in online learning. Main differences between cyberschool leadership and brick-and-mortar school leadership included interactions with students, teacher supervision, provision of professional development, and management of the day-to-day operations.

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This study was designed to investigate: (a) the work values; (b) the technology skills concerning software, hardware, and technology tools; (c) the perceived competency level to complete basic computer tasks; and (d) the correlation between work values and technology skills of students enrolled in one or more career and technical education (CTE) courses at a community college in a Southeastern state. Data were analyzed using the follow statistical procedures: Descriptive, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The majority of respondents were female (71.3 per cent). The highest reported age category was between the ages of 20 to 29 (42.9 per cent). The largest percent of respondents identified themselves as Caucasian (52.9 per cent). General Studies was the highest reported degree program (29.5 per cent). There were no differences in students' overall work values across the degree programs groups. However, when ranked, students identified the extrinsic work values of high salary/income and opportunity to advance quickly as the two most important work values.

There were no differences in students' perceived competency to utilize hardware based on degree programs group; however, there were differences in students' perceived competency to utilize software technology and technology tools based on degree programs group. In addition, there were no differences in students' perceived need for further development of software skills, hardware skills, or technology skills. Collectively, students enrolled in a CTE course at a community college in a Southeastern state believed that they possessed the ability to complete basic computer tasks without assistance. The majority of respondents, did, however, identify Excel tasks and Internet/web browser tasks that they could not perform. In this study, it was determined that there is no correlation between the overall work values and technology skills of students enrolled in one or more CTE courses at a community college in a Southeastern state.

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If young adults in remote Indigenous Australian communities are to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively in mature roles in their own and the wider community, then educators will need to pay attention not only to the provision of schooling and formal adult-literacy tuition, but also to how language, literacy, and technological know-how are acquired through socialization and learning as a lifelong process. In this article, Inge Kral and Jerry Schwab take a social practice approach to reading (and writing) by looking at how Indigenous youth use alphabetic and digital literacies in everyday life and in community settings beyond school. Their proposition is that, in addition to pedagogy, it is meaningful practice across the lifespan that determines competence. Drawing on ethnographic research, Kral and Schwab outline a 'learning centre' model, suggesting that it provides a template not only for transformative practice but also for achieving an appropriate blend of formal and nonformal approaches to adult learning in the remote context.

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Skills for a Changing World is a project of the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and the LEGO Foundation that seeks to ensure all children have high quality learning opportunities that build the breadth of skills needed to create a productive, healthy society in the face of changing social, technological, and economic demands. This paper gives an overview of project aims, perspectives and outcomes.

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This project is a direct response to the lack of digital literacy capability amongst health science graduates, making them ill-equipped to work or innovate in the context of Ehealth. Continued advances in technology are driving an ever-dynamic process of restructuring the health sector, with requirements for interdisciplinary expertise in health care across geographically and organisationally distributed locations. An underlying premise of the project is the centrality of digital literacies beyond proficiency with Information Communication Technology (ICT), extending to broad skills and competencies, and metacognitive understanding required to scaffold lifelong learning to make best use of technology for creativity and efficiency in workplaces where digital forms of information and communication predominate. This project builds on previous Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) projects focused on the use of information communication technology and extends the work to a much broader focus on digital literacy and embedding digital capabilities in the design of learning and teaching.

The aims of our project were: To identify current and projected Ehealth needs and usage amongst health service employers; To develop an Ehealth curricula mapping tool and pilot this by mapping health science curricula in one university to identify current Ehealth teaching; and To develop an online Ehealth module and user guide to embed digital literacies into undergraduate health education, and make available on an open access platform, so as to provide a means of ensuring graduate Ehealth capabilities for current and future work.

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Data literacy across the [Australian Public Service] APS will have a critical role in supporting evidence-based decision making, developing more efficient government policy and delivering services that meet the needs of people across Australia. Skills and knowledge in publishing, linking and sharing public data can help make government more citizen focused, and create new and innovative products and services.

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