This paper places the competencies to be measured by the OECD’s Programme for the International
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) in the context of the technological developments which are
reshaping the nature of the workplace and work in the 21st century. The largest technological force
currently shaping work is the computer. Computers are faster and less expensive than people in performing
some workplace tasks and much weaker than people in performing other tasks. On the basis of an
understanding of the kinds of work computers do well, it is possible to describe the work that will remain
for people in the future, the skills that work requires and the way that computers can assist people in
performing that work. The paper argues that a technology-rich workplace requires foundational skills
including numeracy and literacy (both to be tested in PIAAC), advanced problem-solving skills or Expert
Thinking (similar to the construct of Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments to be tested in
PIAAC) and advanced communication skills or Complex Communication (not being tested in PIAAC).
