14 November 2025
OECD report on the skills that matter for adulthood
The OECD has published its ‘Skills that matter for success and wellbeing in adulthood’ report, based on insights from the 2023 Survey of Adult Skills.
The 2023 survey went beyond exploring skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem solving, to include social and emotional measures such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion and openness to new experiences.
Insights included identifying openness and emotional stability as moderate but consistent predictors of educational attainment. Extraversion and emotional stability are positively associated with employment status and job satisfaction, plus greater life satisfaction and better health. Openness is linked to volunteering and belief in the ability to shape political affairs.
It found that the biggest differences between individuals’ skills were based around levels of educational attainment. There were also variations based on age, gender, the education attainment of parents and more.
Read the Skills that matter for success and wellbeing in adulthood report.
The 2023 survey went beyond exploring skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem solving, to include social and emotional measures such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion and openness to new experiences.
Insights included identifying openness and emotional stability as moderate but consistent predictors of educational attainment. Extraversion and emotional stability are positively associated with employment status and job satisfaction, plus greater life satisfaction and better health. Openness is linked to volunteering and belief in the ability to shape political affairs.
It found that the biggest differences between individuals’ skills were based around levels of educational attainment. There were also variations based on age, gender, the education attainment of parents and more.
Read the Skills that matter for success and wellbeing in adulthood report.
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