Literacy for Life
Further Results from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey
Literacy for Life is the second report from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey.
It presents additional results on the nature and magnitude of the literacy gaps faced
by OECD countries and how these gaps have evolved over the medium term.
It offers new insights into the factors that influence the formation of adult skills
in various settings – at home and at work – for the eleven countries participating
in the first and last round of data collection between 2003 and 2008. The study offers
comparative evidence on the impact of various factors on the supply of skill. The
study offers a special focus on numeracy skills and problem solving skills. It explores
the relationships between numeracy and key socio-demographic factors as well as labour
market outcomes and earnings.
It highlights the importance of problem solving skills by defining this foundational
skill and by exploring its determinants as well as its relative role in influencing
important labour market outcomes.
The report offers also an analysis of performance across multiple skill domains. It
investigates the skill profiles of various population groups defined in terms of the
demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of those who score at levels deemed
to be low in one or more skill domains and explores the resulting consequences.
The report concludes by investigating the issue of skill mismatch in the labour market
and its relationship to adult learning. The extent and distribution of mismatch between
the day-to-day literacy related requirements of workers and the literacy skills they
have obtained is an important issue that is being explored in this study.
Published on December 20, 2011Also available in: French