The Skills-First Learning Ecosystem sub-index assesses how well skills-first principles are integrated into education and training. It examines whether programmes prioritise the development of specific skills over the pursuit of formal qualifications - for instance, through shorter and more targeted learning opportunities. It also looks at the extent to which guidance and career services emphasise skills rather than credentials, alongside levels of adult learning participation and the alignment of training opportunities with labour market needs.
Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index
The Skills-First Readiness and Adoption Index is a multi-dimensional index that captures employer practices, policy alignment, education and training systems, and individual experiences to offer an actionable picture of the degree of skills-first readiness and adoption across countries. It has been co-developed by the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Centre for Skills-First Practices at the Singapore University of Social Sciences-Institute for Adult Learning (SUSS-IAL).
Flexible Learning Pathways
National policies promoting modularisation
Extent to which modularisation of learning pathways has been implemented nationally, 0 (not at all) to 1 (universally)
National policies promoting micro-credentials
Extent to which development and promotion of micro-credentials have been implemented nationally, 0 (not at all) to 1 (universally)
Availability of suitable training opportunities
% of adults whose primary barrier to training is not “lack of suitable training”
Skills-Focused Guidance
Availability of guidance and incentives to train in high-demand skills
Extent of policies aimed at guiding individuals/training providers toward high-demand skills and qualifications, 0 (limited extent) to 1 (very large extent)
Career guidance focused on skills
Extent to which career guidance focuses on developing skills rather than obtaining formal qualifications, 0 (limited career guidance) to 1 (strong skills-first focus/balanced or neutral approach)
Engagement in Adult Learning
Adult participation in non-formal learning
% of adults participating in non-formal job-related adult learning (excluding safety/compliance training) in past 12 months
Employer-sponsored training
% of participants in non-formal job-related adult learning whose employer covered part or all of training cost
Training Relevance
Alignment of training with employer skill needs
% of the top three skills priorities for the enterprise that are also among the top three skills targeted by enterprises providing CVT courses
Perceived usefulness of training
% of adults participating in non-formal job-related adult learning for whom at least one training activity was “very useful” for their job
For a small subset of countries, data for some indicators are not available. Detailed information on the derivation of each indicator can be found in the Methodological Note. To request the full dataset, please contact the OECD team at ELSSkills1@oecd.org.
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