Proceedings of the 7th OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

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4 February 2021

OECD CENTRE FOR SKILLS

Proceedings of the 7th OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning Workshop

Skills Strategies in the context of COVID-19: Policies for Recovery and Resilience Workshop held virtually on Friday 6 November 2020 14:30-18:00 (Paris time).

This proceedings document summarises the major discussion points from the virtual 7th OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning Workshop. On 6 November 2020, approximately 40 representatives from 16 diverse countries and the European Commission participated in the workshop to discuss “Skills Strategies in the context of COVID-19: Policies for Recovery and Resilience”. In two sessions, discussions focused on how skills policies – for both the development and use of skills – could support the recovery and help to build resilience to future potential disruptive events. This proceedings document presents the main findings of these discussions and provides an overview of the examples presented by participating countries.

For any questions about this document, please contact: Bart Staats, Policy Analyst, National Skills Strategy Team, at [email protected] For any questions about the work of the OECD National Skills Strategy team, please contact: Andrew Bell, Head of National Skills Strategy Projects, OECD Centre for Skills at [email protected]

JT03470922 OFDE

This document, as well as any data and 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.

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 7TH OECD SKILLS STRATEGY PEER-LEARNING WORKSHOP

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Introduction

OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning Workshops

Since the National Skills Strategy (NSS) project was launched in 2013, 24 projects have

been completed or are underway in 17 diverse countries1.The annual OECD Skills

Strategy Peer-Learning Workshops convene representatives from countries having

participated in these NSS projects, as well as other interested OECD member countries, to

engage in open discussions about the challenges and opportunities countries face in

taking a strategic approach to skills policy. Representatives of countries involved in NSS

projects have the opportunity to present their country’s policies and practices, and all

participants (both those having participated in projects and those representing other

Member countries) have the opportunity to share their experiences and explore how they

could strengthen their strategic approach to skills. This workshop was made possible

through the financial support of the European Commission (EC), which has also played an

invaluable role in supporting NSS projects in a number of European Union (EU) Member

States, as well as in supporting this peer-learning event.

The 7th Peer-Learning Workshop

On 6 November 2020, approximately 40 representatives from 16 diverse countries (see

full list in Annex A) and the EC participated in the workshop to discuss “Skills Strategies

in the context of COVID-19: Policies for Recovery and Resilience”.

The OECD Centre for Skills delivered a 3.5 hour long virtual workshop, including

opening remarks, an OECD presentation, 6 presentations by representatives from NSS

countries, and interactive discussions (see Annex B for the full Agenda). These group

discussions were stimulated by the outcomes of a pre-workshop survey and targeted

questions (see Box 1), and were organised around two main sessions: i) skills development

policies for recovery and resilience; and ii) skills use policies for recovery and resilience.

Box 1. Questions as input for discussions

1. Which skills policies are your country prioritising to boost the recovery and build

resilience?

2. Are the presented policies/practices by the NSS countries relevant for your country?

3. What is a successful skills policy/practice from your country in the context of COVID-19?

1 Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Peru,

Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland).

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The relevance of Skills Strategies in the context of COVID-19

COVID-19 is a unique global health crisis, with dramatic economic and social

consequences. The fallout will be felt for years to come, the effects of which will be

disproportionally felt by those individuals and vulnerable groups who were already facing

difficult circumstances prior to the crisis.

The pandemic has had significant impacts on skills systems. In a survey given to

participants prior to the workshop, respondents indicated that COVID-19 has been very

disruptive for their country’s skills system – on a scale of 1 (not at all disruptive) to 10

(extremely disruptive), more than half of respondents rated the impact of COVID-19 as 7

or higher (see Figure 1, panel A). As a result, the focus of governments shifted almost

completely to addressing COVID-19 related challenges (see Panel B).

Figure 1. Impact of COVID-19 on skills policy making, according to attendees

Notes: N=17. The presented outcomes could be non-representative for all attendees.

Source: OECD (2020), Outcomes Survey 7th OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning Workshop.

Governments are still actively responding to limit the immediate impact of COVID-19 on

skills systems, especially now in the middle of a 2nd wave. Skills policies – for both the

development of skills and use of skills in labour markets and workplaces – could support

the countries’ recovery from the immediate consequences arising from the pandemic and

ensure resilience to future potential disruptive events.

Skills policies should be a vital part of the policy response to COVID-19, by helping to

boost the pace, breadth and depth of the recovery from the crisis. For instance, skills

development policies for the most vulnerable groups in the society, could help to ensure an

inclusive recovery, and polices that strengthen the use of skills in workplaces can help to

drive productivity and thereby stimulate economic growth. Skills investments will also be

needed to prepare economies and societies for ongoing challenges posed by megatrends

(e.g. technological change, ageing populations, climate change) (OECD, 2019[1]).

This requires a move towards skills policies that focus on resilience and adaptability.

More specifically, this shift implies designing policies to help individuals and organisations

to persist, perhaps even thrive, amid unforeseeable crisis and disruption. Skills policies

should help to ensure that people have the necessary skills, flexibility, and responsiveness

to thrive amidst social and economic change.

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A comprehensive and strategic approach to skills policies is needed to build an effective

policy response, supported by strong governance arrangements. COVID-19 demonstrated

how coordination and collaboration is needed across the whole of government to effectively

respond to external shocks to skills systems, and how stakeholders need to be considered

and engaged in this process. Moreover, in the context of competing skills priorities faced

by countries, pressures to re-allocate public funds away from skills to other priorities (e.g.

public health, welfare), and broader pressures on state budgets in the wake of COVID-19,

countries should aim to make financing arrangement as efficient and effective as possible,

while ensuring that these policies are financially feasible and sustainable.

Session 1: Skills development policies for recovery and resilience

In session 1, participants discussed how skills development policies could contribute to the

recovery and help to build resilience. The following section will introduce the topic, by

describing the impact of COVID-19 on skills development, and subsequently, present a

summary of the discussions.

Introduction to the topic

The pandemic resulted in the widespread physical closure of schools for most groups

of students, causing unprecedented challenges for educational continuity. At the peak of

school closures in April, around 1.6 billion learners were affected across 194 countries,

accounting for more than 90% of total enrolled learners (UNESCO, 2020[2]). Almost all

OECD countries are affected, and as of December 2020, many schools still remain only

partially open (see Figure 2). Remote learning solutions such as online classrooms, TV and

radio broadcasts, and computer-assisted learning were implemented at an unprecedented

scale to bridge the gap between schools and learners, which was a major challenge for many

education institutions, students and teachers (OECD, 2020[3]).

Figure 2. Number of OECD countries with schools closures, February-November 2020

Source: Unesco (2020), COVID-19 Impact on Education, https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse.

The impacts of school closures on “learning losses” could be large and persistent. On

average, based on the OECD-Harvard Graduate School of Education Survey, the impact of

school closures on education continuity is estimated to be at least 2 months of instruction

for half of the primary and secondary school students (Reimers and Schleicher, 2020[4]).

Moreover, Hanushek and Woessman (2020[5]) consider that a typical learner could have

lost one-third of a school year of learning during the crisis. They estimated that this would

https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

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reduce learners’ lifetime incomes by about 3%, and lower a typical country’s GDP by an

average of 1.5% over the remainder of the century.

Young learners from disadvantaged backgrounds face the greatest risks of learning loss

and dropping out. For instance, the 2018 PISA data shows that students in disadvantaged

schools had less access to services that are important pre-conditions for remote learning

(e.g. a quiet place to study, a computer for schoolwork, an internet connection, etc.) than

students in advantaged schools (OECD, 2019[6]). Remote learning and the use of

technologies may also exacerbate existing gender gaps in attainment and achievement –

e.g. remote learning could further reduce the engagement of boys at risk of dropping out.

Vocational education and training (VET) systems have been especially impacted by

the COVID-19 crisis, as lockdowns interrupted learning in both workplaces and the

classroom. It is particularly disruptive to work-based learning, including

apprenticeships. In some occupational fields, theory can be taught and learned online, but

practical aspects cannot be effectively delivered because of a lack of access to tools,

materials, equipment and machinery.

Furthermore, a dramatic decrease in economic activity, especially in hospitality, tourism,

aviation and leisure services, has left these sectors unable to offer or maintain

apprenticeships due to a lack of staff to provide training and a lack of financial resources.

A recent study in Germany shows that, on average, the number of apprenticeships on offer

will drop 9% in 2020, while a similar study in Switzerland estimates a reduction of at least

20% in the number of apprenticeships available over a 5-year period (Mühlemann, Pfeifer

and Wittek, 2020[7]; Luethi and Wolter, 2020[8]). As a consequence, it is reasonable to

expect a reduction in VET enrolments (and fewer prospective apprenticeships) for the

coming year.

Many higher education institutions (HEIs) had to adapt to a model without face-to-

face tuition. In April 2020, HEIs in 175 countries and communities did not offer face-to-

face tuition (The World Bank Group, 2020[9]). Compared to schools, HEIs are typically

more used to delivering online courses (OECD, 2020[10]). However, many of them needed

to move hundreds of courses online at once, which entailed new challenges, and since many

studies aim to foster and develop skills for communication and relationship building, the

quality of education and the development of socio-emotional skills might be affected by

remote learning. At the same time, many students faced difficulties during the pandemic,

especially related to social isolation, lack of internet connectivity, and general anxiety (see

Figure 3). HEIs also need to adapt to increased uncertainty and reduced funding, including

because of uncertainty linked to enrolments in upcoming years and a potential drop in

international students.

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Figure 3. Main difficulties faced by students in higher education during the pandemic, 2020

Source: UNITWIN/UNESCO(2020), Chair Holders Institutional Responses to COVID-19: Preliminary results

of a survey conducted in April (link).

Along the spectrum of lifelong learners, adult learners have arguably been the “invisible

losers” of the pandemic and shutdowns, most critically low-skilled workers. Adult

learners at formal education institutions (schools, colleges, universities) faced closures and

remote learning with potential learning losses like young learners. Moreover, millions of

adults lost access to their main form of learning – on-the-job learning – owing to

teleworking, reduced hours and/or unemployment, and various types of informal and non-

formal training have been interrupted or cancelled. An upcoming OECD study indicated

that medium- and low-skilled workers experienced a 50%-65% larger reduction in informal

and non-formal training and learning opportunities than tertiary educated workers (OECD,

forthcoming).

Summary of discussions

In the next sections, a number of key findings from discussions in session 1 (see Box 2 for

an overview) will be discussed in more detail, and presented examples of countries will be

described.

To provide a starting point for discussions in the Peer-Learning Workshop, the OECD

Centre for Skills selected 10 policy actions that could help to address skills development

challenges. These policy actions were also included in a pre-workshop survey, where

participants were asked to indicate what priority was given to actions in their respective

countries. Figure 4 shows the resulting prioritisation, based on the share of respondents

who gave the policy action a very high priority. Overall, almost all actions were given a

high or very high priority by more than half of respondents.

https://apa.sdg4education2030.org/sites/apa.sdg4education2030.org/files/2020-05/HED%20UNITWIN%20_COVID19_SURVEY%20REPORT%2002.04.20.pdf

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Box 2. Overview key findings session 1

Policies to address urgent short-term skills challenges often overshadow long-term

skills ambitions

COVID-19 is helping to accelerate the adoption of digital learning at all levels of

education

Platforms for digital learning have been playing a vital role in adapting learning

processes and education systems

Governments are applying strategic approaches (e.g. formalised in action plans) for

transitioning to digital learning

Teachers and educators are actively supported to adapt teaching methods and

pedagogical practice to digital learning

Disadvantaged students and their parents have been receiving additional support to

limit their learning losses

The adoption of new technologies and online programmes is helping to provide

continuity of learning in Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Governments have been encouraging employers to continue offering

apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities with financial support and

incentives

Platforms and other digital tools to better link apprentices with businesses have been

introduced to address the limited take-up of apprentices

The expansion of online learning provides an opportunity to strengthen a culture of

lifelong learning

Governments are supporting low-skilled adults to overcome barriers to participation

in online learning

Figure 4. Prioritisation of skills development policies to support the recovery and build resilience



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Policies to address urgent short-term skills challenges often overshadow long-

term skills ambitions

Governments are still grappling with what to do to meet urgent short-term, and still

evolving skills challenges. Participants in the workshop indicated that the selected 10

policy actions as input for discussions do not always reflect the short-term urgency of

current skills challenges. For example, participants expressed that a policy action on

professional development of teachers was considered more of a long-term challenge, and

not immediately urgent. With the second wave of COVID-19, which at the time of writing

is still present in many OECD countries, policy makers appear to operate on an ad hoc basis

to address these immediate skills challenges.

A challenge is how to balance these current urgent matters with longer-term

ambitions. In the pre-workshop survey, respondents indicated that their governments are

giving a comparatively low priority to more long-term skills challenges caused by

megatrends (e.g. ageing populations, automation), with the focus shifting almost

completely to addressing COVID-19 related challenges in recent months (as shown in

Figure 1, panel B). Participants are very aware of the relevance of these long-term

challenges, and note that a key challenge is to find a balance between the short-term and

long-term policies. Applying a strategic approach to skills policies, could help to create

such a balance and helps to maintain an emphasis on more long-term ambitions. An

example of such a strategic approach is the Plan for the DNA of the Future Economy in

Lithuania, which was developed in response to COVID-19, and with the aim to outline

conditions for a qualitative transformation of the economy (see Box 9 for a short

description of the Plan in the context of education responsiveness).

COVID-19 is helping to accelerate the adoption of digital learning at all levels of

education

While COVID-19 negatively affected skills development in several ways, participants in

the workshop agreed that the health crisis did have a positive impact on digital learning,

by accelerating the uptake of online learning in education during lockdowns. This

trend is seen across all levels of education. Discussions focused on the clear shift in

priorities towards remote and digital learning, and emphasised that the digital future that

many policy makers foresaw, became a reality much faster. Participants also provided

several examples of the implementation of online learning methods and courses, including

new online courses that were developed in very short periods of time, and the

implementation of blended learning opportunities to ensure that education institutions at

least can stay open for some days of the week.

Platforms for digital learning have been playing a vital role in adapting learning

processes and education systems

A main challenge for countries has been to adapt learning processes and educational

systems to the context of online or blended learning when schools are physically closed or

only partially open. In most participating countries there were already digital tools, methods

and other resources in place before the pandemic, but they were not always sufficient or

effective enough for an expansion of digital learning on this scale. For example, a

representative of a participating country in the workshop commented that existing digital

resources were generally designed for the use by teachers, not by students themselves and

parents at home, and it required a lot of effort to adapt these resources to be used during

the pandemic.

Discussions focused on the plethora of measures that have been introduced to support the

transition to digital learning for both teachers and students. Online learning platforms

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have been playing a particularly important role, and several participating countries have

been adapting existing, or developing new platforms for digital learning. Among other

benefits, the platforms helped to improve interactions between students and teachers, and

complemented the use of available communication and learning tools.

Governments are applying strategic approaches (e.g. formalised in action plans)

for transitioning to digital learning

Discussions focused on how the current, often temporary, measures that have been

implemented should be replaced with measures that help to facilitate a change of education

systems where online and blended learning become a more integral part of learning

processes. To move forward, countries must not only adapt, but also establish more

organised, coherent, and permanent structures (e.g. IT infrastructures, coordinated policies,

sustainable financing, etc.) to support the transition to digital learning. As an example,

some countries expressed that there was a need to develop online learning platforms for

more permanent use, to replace or complement the current, often temporary, platforms that

have been introduced. Such a transition could be supported and promoted by a

comprehensive, strategic approach to digital education, formalised in an action plan. In

Slovenia, for instance, a National Digital Education Action Plan, which is based on the

Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) by the EC, has been introduced in response to

COVID-19. Stakeholders have been involved in the development of the plan to provide a

vision with a range of actions for the digital transformation at all levels of education.

Teachers and educators are actively supported to adapt teaching methods and

pedagogical practice to digital learning

Discussions focused on the need and relevance to appropriately support teachers and

educators in the transition to digital learning. Teachers should be trained how to

incorporate technology effectively into teaching methods, and how to use digital resources

for pedagogical practice, and also other staff (e.g. principals, social workers, psychologist,

counsellors, speech therapists) in schools could benefit from being supported in the

transition. This is a policy priority for governments – in the pre-workshop survey (see

Figure 4), 31% of respondents indicated that “strengthening professional development for

teachers to improve delivery of remote and blended learning” has been a very high priority

for their country. Various measures already have been introduced, including portals with a

focus on support for teachers (e.g. the Portuguese platform Apoio à Escolas –

https://apoioescolas.dge.mec.pt/), national networks of teachers were activated to share

good practices, and countries raised investments to train school teachers with a specific

focus on developing online teaching skills.

Through gained experience with online and blended learning in the first lockdown,

participants indicated that great improvements already have been made, and that, in the

current lockdown, in some countries, teachers and schools feel more prepared. However,

also for the long-term, countries should continue to further strengthen digital skills of

the teaching workforce. Professional development of teachers is emphasised in visions

and actions plans for digital education (e.g. the Slovenian National Digital Education

Action Plan puts significant focus on improving teaching skills).

Disadvantaged students and their parents have been receiving additional support

to limit their learning losses

Participating countries felt that providing targeted support to disadvantaged students

(e.g. students from low socio-economic background) is very important, since these students

face more challenges when moving to online and blended learning. Disadvantaged students

https://apoioescolas.dge.mec.pt/

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at all levels of education should be engaged, and gaps in learning losses should be closed,

especially by closing digital and social gaps that help to drive these differences.

Parents naturally play an important role in the development of their children, and

their role is even more important when children cannot go to school. Participants mentioned

that the impact of COVID-19 on the skills development of disadvantaged students has been

underestimated and that related learning losses are largely the result of less involved

parents. A related policy action on providing better information and guidance to parents to

support their children’s learning in times of school closures or partial openings, was given

a very high priority in the pre-workshop survey. Participants indicated that their

governments already have been implementing measures to support families to teach their

children. For example, Flemish parents were supported with ‘pre-teaching’, where teachers

went over learning materials with parents before they helped their children with the

materials. Moreover, in Latvia, among other efforts to support disadvantaged students (see

Box 3 for an example to reduce early school leaving), the educational television programme

"Your class" (Tavaklase.lv) was launched for primary and upper secondary students with

limited online opportunities.

Box 3. Country example 1: Latvia – Targeted support to disadvantaged students who fell behind and/or may drop out

While Latvia successfully reduced early school leaving in the past 10 years, urban/rural

and gender differences remain serious challenges. In response to these challenges, the

State Education Quality Service launched the 5-year PuMPuRS project in 2017, which

aims to reduce early school leaving by implementing preventive and interceptive

measures. The objective of the project is to provide a favourable learning environment

and to identify risks in a timely manner and to prevent them. The project applies a long-

term systemic approach, and includes individual and education focused support

measures, complex social assistance, as well as institutional activities. Over 44 thousand

individual support plans, have been developed, and 23 thousand students received

support. Different stakeholders are involved, including local governments, state

vocational education institutions, schools, teachers and parents. The PuMPuRS project

also helps to raise awareness of the problem of early school leaving, through short films,

TV programmes, and involving famous people and opinion leaders.

The adoption of new technologies and online programmes is helping to provide

continuity of learning in Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Participants in the workshop expressed that students in VET have been particularly

affected by COVID-19. With its focus on work-based learning (WBL), digital learning is

often less suitable for VET, and fewer workplaces have been offering learning

opportunities, such as apprenticeships. Countries have been creative to ensure the

continuity of learning in VET.

The adoption of new technologies (e.g. using simulators, augmented reality, etc.) could

help to overcome some of these barriers, and participating countries indicated that they are

already being implemented in VET learning environments. Developing and offering more

online programmes with relevant VET content could also be a solution, and participants

provided examples where new online training programmes were introduced (e.g. for

training in the healthcare sector). However, participants indicated that technologies and

online learning do not work for all types of programmes and could never fully replace

practical learning. School-based alternatives have also been provided in countries, but this

is naturally not an ideal solution, because of the limited exposure to practical learning in

workplaces.

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Governments have been encouraging employers to continue offering apprenticeships and

work-based learning opportunities with financial support and incentives

Participants commented that the challenge of a smaller offer of apprenticeships and work-

based learning opportunities for students due to the ramifications of COVID-19 is likely a

short-term one. However, to address this short-term challenge, participating countries have

already been providing support to employers to encourage them to continue offering

these opportunities (see Box 4 for an example from Norway). For instance, participants

agreed that additional financial support was needed for businesses, especially for smaller

ones, to ensure that they retain current, and continue to recruit new, apprentices. In

Northern Ireland, an apprenticeship Recovery Package helped to address this challenge,

including by providing support for apprentices who were furloughed (i.e. the Return, Retain

and Result Scheme) and financial incentives for the recruitment of new apprentices. Also

in other countries, comparable schemes are in place for apprenticeships, with some schemes

also providing financial incentives for employers to offer internships.

Box 4. Country example 2: Norway – Measures to support employers to continue to offer training to VET students

In response to COVID-19, Norway implemented several measures supporting

employers to continue to offer training opportunities to VET students. Norway enhanced

funding for training enterprises through a flat increase of the state grant to these

businesses. Additional funding for employers had a strong regional focus, and regional

government were able to decide what kind of support to finance. Among popular

measures were: increased financial support to employers in affected sectors; support for

employers willing to "adopt" an apprentice; measures to increase the length of the

apprenticeships; and measures to recruit employers and connect VET students to

employers. The strengths of this approach are the regional implementation, resulting in

more flexibility, and strong involvement of stakeholders (e.g. social partners).

Upcoming evaluations still need to demonstrate the effectiveness, but it is expected that

the flat increase of the state grant was likely not targeted enough, support for employers

did not solve all problems, and there is still a need for school-based alternatives.

Platforms and other digital tools to better link apprentices with businesses have

been introduced to address the limited take-up of apprentices

The need to better link apprentices with businesses was also identified as important

means for improving the take-up of apprentices, especially by smaller businesses.

Participating countries have been trying to raise the share of businesses with

apprenticeships, but are not yet meeting targets. Helping businesses to find apprentices that

are a good match for them, could help to raise the number of apprenticeships. Discussions

focused on the role of online marketplaces for apprenticeships to better match

apprentices with specific businesses, with some countries already having such platforms in

place, and others panning to introduce them. For instance, establishing one-stop-shops for

apprenticeships could help to encourage employers to take apprentices on board. Since not

only the quantity, but also the quality of apprenticeships should be considered, also

information on apprenticeships quality should feed into platforms. In this context,

discussions focused on mechanisms, such as evaluations, to better measure the success of

apprenticeships. Participating countries experience challenges in this area, and while some

countries have been trying to developing mechanisms, they are without clear results so far.

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The expansion of online learning provides an opportunity to strengthen a culture

of lifelong learning

Discussions focused on the relevance of lifelong learning in the context of COVID-19,

and the difficulties countries already face with raising participation rates of adults in

learning activities. Various challenges were mentioned, affecting both the supply (e.g. a

lack of relevant training opportunities) and demand (e.g. a lack of motivation and

awareness of the need to participate) for learning opportunities. Participants emphasised

the need for a broader culture of lifelong learning, and discussed mechanisms that have

been, or are planned to be adopted to achieve this, including financial incentives for

individuals and employers, increased funding, expanded short-term cycle courses, and

more. That lifelong learning is a priority for countries is also reflected in outcomes of the

pre-workshop survey – the action on “ensuring a sufficient supply of learning opportunities

for adults” was given the highest priority (see Figure 4).

Driven by the pandemic, participants noted a recent increase in demand for online training

by adults in their countries. Online learning helps to reduce barriers to participation in

learning activities, by making programmes more accessible and flexible. Moreover, with

the broader adoption and use of digital tools in work and life during the pandemic, adults

became more used to online activities. The acceleration of online learning therefore

provides an opportunity to further strengthen the culture of lifelong learning. Countries

should respond to this opportunity, by adapting and adopting policies that affect both the

demand for and supply of online courses. Participants mentioned that their respective

governments already have been adapting and adopting their policies, including for the

provision of new online courses, adapted regulation to ensure that existing measures (e.g.

paid educational leave) can be used for online learning, and new digital learning plans that

focus on motivating adults to participate in online learning.

Governments are supporting low-skilled adults to overcome barriers to

participation in online learning

A common challenge for countries is that the adults who are most in need of training, are

often not participating and are difficult to engage. The expansion of online learning risks

exacerbating this challenge, since low-skilled adults with low digital skills face

additional barriers to participation in online learning. Digital skills have increasingly

become a pre-requisite for all types of learning, potentially resulting in less access to

learning by low-skilled adults who are already less used to learning in digital environments.

For example, in Latvia, a recently completed National Skills Strategy project also helped

to guide an expansion of online learning, but the country still faces difficulties in reaching

the right target groups and keep them engaged.

Extra support will be needed to engage and motivate low-skilled adults to participate in

these learning activities. Strengthening digital skills of adults has been an objective of

many participating countries in recent years, and countries have been expanding these

efforts in recent months (e.g. in the Netherlands, budgets for adult digital training

programmes doubled). Moreover, in Korea, budgets shifted more towards support for

disadvantaged groups (including by assessing their digital literacy and targeted outreach),

the provision of a digital platform, workplace learning, and these measures are supported

by the Lifelong Learning Card (see Box 5). Participants noted a key role for employers to

change the culture and perception of lifelong learning and to engage and motivate low-

skilled adults.

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Box 5. Country example 3: Korea – Lifelong Learning Card

In 2010, the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labour (MOEL) launched “My work

learning card”, which involved two different programmes for employed and

unemployed groups, allowing individuals to participate in vocational training courses

of their choice. Since then, 200 000 unemployed and 250 000 employed people have

used the card. In January 2020, a new single “Lifelong Learning Card” was introduced

in response to new challenges (e.g. online platform workers and freelancers), combining

the two existing programmes for unemployed and employed. The card facilitates the

access to vocational training and individual training needs, and provides systemic

support for lifelong training. It also enhances the effectiveness of training services, by

moving towards a learner-based training system, where individuals directly manage

their training portfolios throughout their lives. The card also has a longer validity period,

provides increased financial support, and makes training accessible for more different

types of groups, regardless of employment type, thereby mitigating previous blind spots

of vulnerable groups. In the context of COVID-19, unemployed workers likely did issue

the card, and obtained training rights, but a challenge remains that there are many

training options and often adults do not know how or what training they need to access.

Session 2: Skills use policies for recovery and resilience

In session 2, participants discussed how skills use policies could contribute to the recovery

and help to build resilience. The following section will introduce the topic, by describing

the impact of COVID-19 on skills use in both labour markets and workplaces, and

subsequently present a summary of the discussions.

Introduction to the topic

Before the pandemic, after solid economic growth in recent years, employment and

participation rates were at an all-time high in many OECD countries. However, in a matter

of weeks, several years of improvement in labour markets performance was undone.

The pandemic resulted in a precipitous drop in economic activity and unprecedented job losses, with the initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on OECD labour markets being

ten times larger than that observed in the first months of the 2008 global financial crisis

(OECD, 2020[11]). OECD countries quickly introduced many bold new measures and

considerably expanded existing ones to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the labour

market and society, including financial support to firms, income support measures, sick

leave, and more (see Figure 5.). However, despite these measures, large numbers of

workers have been laid-off from businesses that are struggling to remain afloat or that are

forced to close entirely, especially in the hardest hit sectors such as tourism, retail,

hospitality, construction work, and more.

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Figure 5. COVID-19 employment and social policy responses

Source: OECD COVID-19 Employment and social policy responses by country, http://oe.cd/covid19tablesocial.

Most likely, this will not be a temporary shock and some of the losses in employment

and productive capacity could be long lasting. With the current second wave, the average

unemployment rate in the OECD is expected to increase from 5.3% at the beginning of the

year, to 12.6% by the end of 2020 – an increase of 7.3%-points (see Figure 6) (OECD,

2020[11]). While unemployment rates are expected to drop in 2021, they will still be 3.6%

higher in late 2021 than in early 2020.

Figure 6. Change in unemployment rate, double hit scenario, Q1 2020 – Q4 2020/2021

Source: OECD (2020), Unemployment rate forecast (indicator), doi: 10.1787/b487f2cf-en (Accessed on 18

November 2020).

Some groups of workers are bearing the brunt of the crisis. The increase in

unemployment is likely to disproportionally affect workers with comparatively low skills,

who generally have lower earnings, less job security, and less favourable working

environments. Low-paid workers have been key to ensuring the continuation of essential

services during lockdowns, often at a substantial risk of exposing themselves to the virus

while working, but they have also suffered greater job or income losses. In addition,

workers who are not in standard (i.e. permanent, full-time dependent) employment, notably

the self-employed, have been particularly exposed to the shock (OECD, 2020[11]).

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Young people and women are especially affected by the current crisis. Students who

are graduating this year, will face bleak prospects, with poor chances to secure a job, or

even an internship, in the short run. Meanwhile, their older peers are experiencing the

second heavy crisis in their still young careers. Because young workers generally hold less

secure jobs and are overrepresented in hard-hit industries such as accommodation and food

services, youth employment numbers have already fallen precipitously in many OECD

countries (OECD, 2020[11]). Women have faced compounding burdens during the crisis,

many of which affect their skills use. They have been over-represented on the frontlines of

the health care response, and have picked up much of the additional unpaid work in

households. At the same time, women are generally facing larger declines in employment

and greater economic insecurity.

Countries and employers should aim to effectively use skills of workers in workplaces to

optimally benefit from the available skills supply. With COVID-19, this became an even

bigger challenge than before, since businesses rapidly had to re-organise their workplaces

in a way to contain the spread of the virus. This has generated a sudden and substantial

rise in teleworking across virtually all OECD countries – from 10% of employees before

the pandemic to 37% across the EU in April (Eurofound, 2020[12]). However, still many

workers, especially low-skilled ones, do not have the option of teleworking – adults

possessing higher levels of skills are significantly more likely to telework (Espinoza and

Reznikova, 2020[13]).

Early evidence suggests that not all workers have managed to adjust to the new working

arrangements successfully, which negatively affects the use of their skills at work. In the

process of adapting their working arrangements, it is likely that productivity of some

workers has been affected. For instance, in the absence of structured working days in the

office, employees suddenly needed to rely more on themselves to organise workdays, and

working from home could bring distractions – e.g., 23% feels that family responsibilities

prevent them from giving enough time to work (Eurofound, 2020[12]).

The digital transformation, which is accelerated by the crisis, will also transform the way

we work in a post-pandemic world. This acceleration in digitalisation might help to

strengthen skills use and productivity growth, but this will largely depend on the

capacity of businesses to adopt technologies and to adapt to a changing business

environment.

Summary of discussions

In the next sections, a number of key findings from discussions in Session 2 (see Box 6 for

an overview) will be discussed in more detail, and presented examples of countries will be

described.

As in session 1, to provide a starting point for discussions, the OECD Centre for Skills

selected 8 policy actions that could help to address the skills use challenges, and these

policy actions were ‘tested’ in a pre-workshop survey (see Figure 7 for outcomes of the

survey). One of the main findings of the pre-workshop survey was that, overall, a smaller

share of respondents gave these policy actions a ‘very high priority’ compared to the policy

actions in session 1 (skill development). However, the majority of actions were still given

a medium or high priority by a majority of respondents.

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Box 6. Overview key findings session 2

Effectively adapting job-retention schemes is amongst the top policy priorities for countries

Governments are reinforcing upskilling and reskilling efforts to adapt skills of workers to

post-COVID labour markets

Workers and job seekers will be assisted in the transition to post-COVID labour markets

through enhanced coaching, guidance and early interventions

Countries are aware that strong skills assessment and anticipation (SAA) systems are

needed to inform upskilling and reskilling efforts, as well as coaching and guidance

Governments aim to strengthen policies and mechanisms to make education and training

systems more responsive to changing skills needs in the labour market

Various measures have been launched or expanded to ensure that young people establish

and maintain their links with the labour market

Regulations have been adopted to facilitate and support teleworking for more workers to

ensure the continued use of their skills

Businesses could be supported to adapt their business models, processes and workplaces

practices to the digital transformation

Figure 7. Prioritisation of skills use policies to support the recovery and build resilience



Effectively adapting job-retention schemes is amongst the top policy priorities for

countries

Most participating countries adopted job-retention schemes, or comparable measures to

support employers and employees with financial support, to avoid economic and social

fallout from the pandemic (see Box 7 for an example from Tlaxcala, Mexico). In

discussions, participants highlighted that job-retention schemes helped to protect

existing jobs, especially in sectors most affected by COVID-19 (e.g. hospitality,

tourism). These schemes have been and still are a top policy priority, and countries often

applied a targeted and differentiated approach (e.g. by focusing specifically on smaller

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businesses), and sometimes prioritising individuals who are most at risk of being

unemployed.

In the pre-workshop survey, by far the highest priority was given to adapting the current

job retention schemes to reduce pressures on public budgets and to avoid that they

become an obstacle to the recovery. Participants indicated that job-retention schemes

have already been criticised for promoting moral hazard incentive – e.g., by reducing

incentives for business to adapt their business models. In addition, countries should avoid

having these schemes for too long, to avoid that they protect jobs that are disappearing in

any event. This has proven to be a challenge for countries, since in many countries the 2nd

wave of pandemic has proven to be long and difficult. In response to these challenges,

governments are considering adaptations of these programmes. For example, countries

could provide more incentives for both firms and workers to move off job retention support,

including by introducing limits for the length of support, and by requiring that businesses

bear part of the costs of the schemes.

Box 7. Country example 4: Tlaxcala (Mexico) Economic Recovery and Job Preservation programme

In April 2020, Tlaxcala introduced the Economic Recovery and Job Preservation

programme in response the COVID-19. The programme provides credit to SME, loans

to large businesses, and economic support to small family businesses. In addition to

financial measures, the region also introduced 3-month extensions of payroll tax

payments, deferring the payment, and exempting 33% of the taxes for businesses that

are punctual payers. The programme also included measures to support remote training

for adults in the areas of labour and self-employment, remote modality for processes to

link job seekers with employers, as well as special support measures for people living

in extreme poverty. The rapidly implemented measures, with mechanisms to ensure

simple access to programmes and broad coverage, were supported by effective

governance arrangements, such as strong involvement of different government

ministries, and engagement with stakeholders. As a result, it is estimated that the

programme helped to preserve 7835 jobs, and more than 3500 people were assisted to

find formal jobs, resulting in comparatively low job losses in Tlaxcala.

Governments are reinforcing upskilling and reskilling efforts to adapt skills of

workers to post-COVID labour markets

The long-term impact of COVID-19 on labour markets (e.g., by acceleration the digital

transformation), creates the need for some workers to transition from sectors and

occupations that might disappear, or reduce in size, to other sectors and occupations

that will be in demand in future labour markets. Participating countries emphasised that

active upskilling and reskilling efforts will be needed for workers who already lost, or will

lose their jobs, to support them in these transitions. In addition, tasks within jobs will

change, and many workers will need to appropriately adapt their skills sets.

Participants indicated that efforts to upskill and reskill employed and unemployed

workers are part of recovery plans, and that they have been developing specific

programmes for specific workers (e.g. young people), often in specific vulnerable sectors

(e.g. tourism), and for helping workers to shift from one sector to another. In this context,

VET could likely play an important role, and participants indicated that they are already

working to better support VET training, and especially apprenticeships, to activate skills of

job seekers. These lifelong learning programmes should be supported by strategic

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approaches and effective governance. For example, the Flemish Government has a

standardised approach for developing lifelong learning regulations (see Box 8), and is

applying a systemic approach to lifelong learning, by developing an action plan that is

informed by a committee of social partners and education specialists.

Box 8. Country example 5: Flanders – Screening of regulation for lifelong learning

Flanders applies a standardised approach for developing regulations in the field of

lifelong learning. With a specific policy challenge as the point of departure, a screening

process of regulations involves 5 standardised steps: from interviewing all policy

domains/administrations on related regulations, and developing an inventory of these

regulations, to checking whether these regulations are in line with policy ambitions and

targets, prioritising, and creating a final list of regulations to remove, renew/adapt, or

develop. This process involves all policy domains on the regional and federal level,

helps to reduce complexity of regulations, and enhances systemic and transversal

collaboration between policy domains. The approach can still be approved, since policy

domains maintain own regulations, and information is not always sufficiently shared.

However, the approach could possibly be applied as a more common practice within

government (i.e., the process can be applied to different policy domains – e.g., mobility,

labour law), and helps to make regulations more proactive instead of reactive.

Workers and job seekers will be assisted in the transition to post-COVID labour

markets through enhanced coaching, guidance and early interventions

Coaching and guidance on education, training and career paths, could help to overcome existing challenges with raising participation in lifelong learning (e.g. by providing clear information on the benefits of learning), and could support workers to find their way to jobs in a structurally different labour market and at a time of limited job openings. This will be especially important for the workers who already lost their jobs, or who likely will lose their jobs in upcoming years, and will help to ensure that adults develop the ‘right skills’ (i.e. skills that are in need in labour markets).

In response to COVID-19, countries have been intensifying efforts to strengthen

coaching and guidance. Beyond just offering courses, countries aim for a targeted and

individual approach to lifelong learning through personalised guidance and coaching. For

example, in the Netherlands, employment centres provide coaching and career advice to

adults on jobs that are in high demand, with fully funded reskilling programmes adapted to

the context of COVID-19. Participants also highlighted the need for early interventions,

i.e. before redundancies happen, to guide and inform workers on possible transitions to

different sectors. And ideally, to minimise upskilling and reskilling efforts, workers in jobs

that are likely to disappear should transition to sectors that are relatively well-aligned with

the skills they already possess.

Countries are aware that strong skills assessment and anticipation (SAA) systems

are needed to inform upskilling and reskilling efforts, as well as coaching and

guidance

For countries to adapt their skills systems, it is important to know what future labour

markets will look like, and discussions in the workshop focused on the many uncertainties

in this respect. There is a need for strong skills assessment and anticipation (SAA)

systems to better understand the skills demands in labour markets now and in the future.

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This information should inform upskilling and reskilling efforts as well as coaching and

guidance for workers and job seekers, by policy makers, employers, education and training

institutions and others. Participants emphasised that this high-quality information on future

skills needs should be made widely available. Outcomes of these SAA exercises strongly

depend on countries, but COVID-19 will play a role in reinforcing some existing global

trends affecting skills needs. For instance, the acceleration of the digital transformation as

a result of COVID-19, will certainly create a broader need for digital skills, and the green

transformation will put more emphasis on skills for green jobs (e.g., in sectors such as

renewable energy, renovation of buildings, etc.). Participating countries are also foreseeing

a broader demand for entrepreneurship skills.

Governments aim to strengthen policies and mechanisms to make education and

training systems more responsive to changing skills needs in the labour market

The changing skills needs should be reflected in the skills that are being developed, to

ensure that the demand and supply of skills are well-aligned. Countries could create the

conditions for education and training systems to be responsive to these skills needs in

labour markets. Participants in the workshop considered this a policy priority and

governments have been seeking ways to achieve this, including by facilitating and

supporting collaboration between education and training institutions and employers,

especially in higher education and VET. In this context, participants also discussed the

relevance of effective study and career guidance for students, and incentives to

education institutions, to ensure that they, respectively, choose and supply programmes

and studies that are aligned with changing skills needs in the labour market. These efforts

should be informed by outcomes of the SAA exercises. As an example of an approach to

reduce skills imbalances through education responsiveness, Lithuania included various

actions with this objective in the Plan for the DNA of the Future Economy (see Box 9).

Box 9. Country example 6: Lithuania – Education responsiveness to post-pandemic labour market needs

Lithuania adopted a range of measures in response to COVID-19, including as an initial

response (e.g. guidelines and database on digital learning, distributing 35 000 computers

and tablets, and more) and a long-term response, formalised in the Plan for the DNA of

the Future Economy for the period July 2020 till December 2021, and with a budget of

EUR 757 million. As part of the Human Capital priority of the Plan, several proposals

relate to the responsiveness of the education system to post-pandemic labour market

needs. The Plan has the objective to support labour market relevant programmes and the

attraction of qualified teachers in VET and HE, more digitalisation (e.g. tools, content,

and resources) across all levels of education, a focus on financial literacy and

entrepreneurship education, and measures to reduce disparities in student achievement.

Moreover, an expansion of science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths (STEAM)

specialists is envisioned, through the development of new programmes, equipment, and

more scholarships, and the Plan aims to maintain a regional balance, and to ensure skills

and activity of the workforce.

Various measures have been launched or expanded to ensure that young people

establish and maintain their links with the labour market

Participating countries noted that young people have been particularly affected by

COVID-19 (e.g. through an increase in youth unemployment, and weak labour market

prospects for recent graduates), and that additional efforts are needed to ensure that they

20 SKC(2021)1


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establish and maintain links with the labour market. According to respondents in the

pre-workshop survey, this has been a policy priority for countries, and in discussions,

participants reported measures that have been launched or expanded to keep youth engaged

in recent months. These measures include direct financial support to young unemployed

workers, and the creation of additional study places at all levels to provide additional

learning opportunities for students who are graduated but not yet employed. Alternatively,

countries could also consider introducing subsidies to employers to hire graduated students.

The EC is playing an important role in this area, including through an extension of public

financial support to the unemployed under 30 years old, and a reinforced Youth Guarantee,

comprising of an increase in the upper limit age to 29, outreach to disadvantaged groups,

and the provision of tailored counselling, guidance, mentoring, and short preparatory

courses.

Regulations have been adopted to facilitate and support teleworking for more

workers to ensure the continued use of their skills

Participants discussed the increased awareness of the benefits of effectively using skills

of workers in workplaces. For instance, following its OECD Skills Strategy project in

2019, Poland has put skills use higher on the strategic agenda, and after COVID-19, the

government is planning to introduce a lot of measures dedicated to skills use. However, as

mentioned, COVID-19 has already affected skills use in the short-term, by driving a sudden

acceleration of teleworking across OECD countries. Discussions focused on the various

challenges countries face with teleworking, especially with regards to teleworking of low-

skilled workers, who often have jobs that do not lend themselves well for remote working.

For instance, in Turkey, teleworking of low-skilled workers is much less common, not only

because their work is more often not telework-compatible, but also because regulations do

not permit it. To this end, legislation needs to be amended to allow for more flexible and

comprehensive regulations to support teleworking for more types of workers, including

by reinforcing workers’ rights to flexible working arrangements (e.g. remote working,

flexible start and finish times, “time-banking”, and more). Furthermore, participants noted

that policies and regulations should also aim to address new challenges, such as mental

issues and stress management for workers, resulting from teleworking. For example,

remote workers could experience stress due to the absence of structured working days and

the need to combine work with family responsibilities.

Businesses could be supported to adapt their business models, processes and

workplaces practices to the digital transformation

The changing business environment following COVID-19, which is making digitalised

forms of businesses even more prevalent, will need to be reflected in the business models

in the private sector. Participants in the workshop expressed that not only jobs themselves

have been changing, but also that employers have had to rethink their whole approach to

doing business across the board. To ensure the effective use of workers’ skills in more

digitalised work environments, businesses will not only need to ensure that employees have

the necessary digital skills, but will also need to change their business models, processes

and workplace practices, to remain competitive in a more digitalised world. This could,

for instance, involve the adoption of so-called high-performing workplace practices

(HPWP) that are known to positively affect business performance, and the implementation

of various digital tools and methods. An additional challenge in this transition will be to

retain employees. Governments can support businesses in this transition through various

measures. For example, the Flemish Government runs a scheme that provides incentives to

consultancy businesses to provide support to businesses in re-defining their future

strategies.

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References

Espinoza, R. and L. Reznikova (2020), “Who can log in? The importance of skills for the feasibility of

teleworking arrangements across OECD countries”, OECD Social, Employment and Migration

Working Papers, No. 242, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/3f115a10-en.

[13]

Eurofound (2020), Living, working and COVID-19 data, https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/nl/data/covid-

19 (accessed on 29 June 2020).

[12]

Hanushek, E. and L. Woessmann (2020), “The Economic Impacts of Learning Losses”, OECD. [5]

Luethi, S. and S. Wolter (2020), “The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the provision of apprenticeships

in Switzerland”, Leading House Short Note.

[8]

Mühlemann, S., H. Pfeifer and B. Wittek (2020), “The Effect of Business Cycle Expectations on the

German Apprenticeship Market: Estimating the Impact of COVID-19”, IZA Discussion Paper 13368.

[7]

OECD (2020), “Education and COVID-19: Focusing on the long-term impact of school closures”, OECD

Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19), http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-

responses/education-and-covid-19-focusing-on-the-long-term-impact-of-school-closures-2cea926e/

(accessed on 23 July 2020).

[3]

OECD (2020), Education responses to COVID-19: Embracing digital learning and online collaboration,

https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/education-responses-to-covid-19-embracing-

digital-learning-and-online-collaboration-d75eb0e8/.

[10]

OECD (2020), OECD Employment Outlook 2020: Worker Security and the COVID-19 Crisis, OECD

Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/1686c758-en.

[11]

OECD (2019), OECD Skills Strategy 2019: Skills to Shape a Better Future, OECD Publishing, Paris,

https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264313835-en.

[1]

OECD (2019), PISA 2018 Results (Volume I): What Students Know and Can Do, PISA, OECD Publishing,

Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5f07c754-en.

[6]

Reimers, F. and A. Schleicher (2020), Schooling Disrupted, Schooling Rethought: How the Covid-19

pandemic is changing education, Harvard Graduate School of Education and OECD,

https://globaled.gse.harvard.edu/files/geii/files/education_continuity_v3.pdf (accessed on

23 July 2020).

[4]

The World Bank Group (2020), The COVID-19 Crisis Response: Supporting tertiary education for

continuity, adaptation, and innovation, http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/621991586463915490/WB-

Tertiary-Ed-and-Covid-19-Crisis-for-public-use-April-9.pdf.

[9]

UNESCO (2020), Global Monitoring of School Closures caused by COVID-19,

https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse (accessed on 20 August 2020).

[2]

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Participating countries and organisations

1. Australia

2. Flanders (Belgium)

3. Canada

4. Hungary

5. Korea

6. Latvia

7. Lithuania

8. Luxembourg

9. Mexico

10. Netherlands

11. Norway

12. Poland

13. Slovenia

14. Spain

15. Turkey

16. Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)

17. European Commission

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Final agenda

Time Item

14:30-14:35 Welcome from the OECD

14:35-14:40 Opening remarks by Julie Fionda (DG EMP)

14:40-14:45 Opening remarks by Patricia Perez-Gomez (DG REFORM)

14:45-15:00 OECD introduction on why skills matter in the context of COVID-19

COVID-19 implications for the skills system and the policy response to COVID-19

15:00-16:15 Session 1: Skills development policies for recovery and resilience

Introduction by the OECD (5 mins)

NSS country presentations (3 x 5 mins)

Virtual break out room discussions (45 mins):

o Which skills development policies is your country prioritising to boost the recovery and build resilience? (discussion based on survey outcomes)

o Are the presented policies/practices by the NSS countries relevant for your country?

o What is a successful policy/practice from your country?

Plenary discussions: Key messages (10 mins)

16:15-16:25 Short break

16:25-17:40 Session 2: Skills use policies for recovery and resilience

Introduction by the OECD (5 mins)

NSS country presentations (3 x 5 mins)

Virtual break out room discussions (45 mins):

o Which skills use policies is your country prioritising to boost the recovery and build resilience? (discussion based on survey outcomes)

o Are the presented policies/practices by the NSS countries relevant for your country?

o What is a successful policy/practice from your country?

Plenary discussions: Key messages (10 mins)

17:40-17:50 OECD reflections

17:50-17:55 OECD presentation on work and survey on impact evaluation of NSS projects

17:55-18:00 Next steps and closing remarks

Documents

Proceedings of the 7th OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning