The Skills Imperative 2035 is a five-year strategic research programme which is investigating future skills needs, skills supply and skill development, with a particular focus on the 'Essential Employment Skills' (EES) that are projected to be most vital across the labour market in 2035. The focus in this stage of the programme is on exploring the…

This paper develops a new measure of human capital, calculated as a cohort-weighted average of the quality of education (PISA scores) and the quantity of education (mean years of schooling). Contrary to the existing studies, the relative weights of quality and quantity are estimated (and not calibrated). The quality of education is estimated to be…

Standardised International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) have gained prominence in global and national educational discussions. ILSAs claim to offer valuable insights for improving education systems, but their impact on educational policy varies and has become a contested arena. This article analyses how these assessments fed educational…

This article explores the contribution of higher education to the development of numeracy and literacy competencies. To control for other post-schooling determinants of generic skills, the analysis is confined to adults aged 20-24 years who have completed or who are enrolled in tertiary studies. The quality of incoming students is controlled for…

Large-scale international assessments, such as PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) or PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), have heightened interest in the comparative analysis of factors influencing the formation of skills and their change over time. However, such comparison has been hindered…