Brussels, 09/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 9 September, the European Commission welcomed the publication of the new OECD report 2014, Education at a Glance, which assesses the education systems of the OECD countries and the challenges facing them. Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, said that the report constitutes “a major source of knowledge and evidence for policy-makers… It also shows that there are still big differences between EU member states in the level of skills among both recent graduates and older age groups”. She added that the OECD has reached the same conclusion as the Commission: increasing the quality of education and raising skills levels is a smart investment and a powerful way of combating inequalities in our societies
The report covers the 34 OECD member countries, including 21 EU member states. The main findings in the report are as follows:
Educational opportunities continue to expand significantly in Europe. The percentage of the adult population holding a tertiary education diploma has steadily increased in most EU countries during the past decade (to 29%), although the EU still lags behind the OECD average (33%). The percentage of pupils with upper secondary qualifications has remained stable, while the percentage of those with less than upper secondary education has decreased. The report confirms the Commission's analysis that, if current trends continue, the EUROPE 2020 targets of at least 40% of young people completing tertiary education and less than 10% leaving school before completing upper secondary education are within reach.
High levels of education and skills pay off for both individuals and society. A higher education graduate with the highest literacy skills earns 45% more on average than a similarly educated adult with the lowest literacy level. In general, in all OECD countries, people with higher education levels are more likely to be employed. Society at large also gains through reduced public spending on welfare and through taxes.
Similar levels of educational attainment do not always mean similar levels of skills. There are significant differences in the EU between the skills levels of people with similar qualifications: recent upper secondary graduates in some countries score similarly or higher in literacy skills than higher education graduates from others.
The right skills matter during the transition from education to work. Professional expertise is paramount but interpersonal skills, such as communication and teamwork, are becoming more important and work experience during studies is a plus for the employability of higher education graduates.
The teacher population is ageing. On average in EU countries 37% of secondary school teachers are aged at least 50. This underlines the importance of maintaining or increasing the attractiveness of the teaching profession.
Private investment in tertiary education is growing. Private expenditure in tertiary education has risen from 14% in 2000 to 21% in 2012 in EU countries. This is still significantly below the 31% OECD average, and there are large differences between EU countries. (IL)