PUTTING SKILLS TO GOOD USE Anna Rubin OECD

PUTTING SKILLS TO GOOD USE Anna Rubin, OECD LEED

TWO ROADS Competing on QUALITY, QUALITY supported by skilled workers with good jobs Competing on PRICE, PRICE with labour as a cost to be minimised LOW HIGH TWO ROADS

LOOKING INSIDE THE “BLACK BOX” OF EMPLOYERS

Source: Survey of Adults Skills (PIAAC) (2012), Table 4. 25 c. Sweden Finland Canada France Netherlands Estonia Poland Denmark Over-skilled Flanders (Belgium) England/N. Ireland (UK) Russian Federation³ 16 Norway United States Australia Cyprus¹ ² Japan Average Korea Italy Slovak Republic Germany Ireland Czech Republic Spain Austria INCIDENCE OF OVER- AND UNDERSKILLED Percentage of over- and under-skilled workers in literacy 20 18 14 Under-skilled 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Share of Jobs with High Levels of High Performance Workplace Practices 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 G R TUC R IT SVA KO K FRR G C A BR H -N L IR IR SV L PON ES L D P EU JP Av ESN er T ag AU e N S O CR Z G BR C E -E AN N UG SA IS NR Z N L L AUD BE T SWLᵈ E FI D N N K 0 Source: OECD 2016 Employment Outlook

Workers, employers, and economies can benefit from putting skills to better use, but what role can the public sector play in making this happen?

Supporting employees in reshaping work organisation to ensure skills are fully used Moving employers up the value chain to products and services that require higher skilled workers

WORKING DIRECTLY WITH EMPLOYERS • Building awareness and buy-in • Providing support for employers to diagnose weaknesses in work organisation and implement improvements • Creating support networks and promoting peer learning : d n a l n i F Liideri

TAKING A SECTOR-BASED APPROACH • Making moving to the high road a “win-win” in the short and long-term • Identify sectors with a high proportion of low quality jobs • Seizing the opportunities that “triggers” can bring • Considering broader institutional factors UK: s Future me m a r g Pro

WORKING REGIONALLY • Building a community-wide vision • Bringing a variety of players on board • Creating a regional brand US: d n a l e v e Cl

KEY TAKEAWAYS 123 Boosting supply of skills will not be enough Virtuous circle between developing & using skills Collective efforts needed to build buy-in & overcome inertia

Thank you! Anna. RUBIN@OECD. org