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A comparative study of the capability of being employed, lifelong learning and skills
WP Leader: Richard Desjardins.
Participants: Pål Børing, Roy A. Nielsen, Tove Midtsundstad and Jens B. Grøgaard.
Objectives: We examine how the probability of older adults being employed is affected by their participation in lifelong learning and their skills. An in-depth analyses will be carried out where Norway will be compared with some selected countries in PIAAC4. We will select countries in PIAAC where there are important differences in key aspects between Norway and the other countries that may influence older adults’ participation in lifelong learning, for example different adult learning policies and labour market regimes.
Approaches and applied method: Lifelong learning is measured in terms of formal and non-formal training. Participants in formal training have studied for any formal qualification (either full-time or part-time) during the last 12 months. Participants in non-formal training have participated in at least one of the following activities during the last 12 months: courses conducted through open or distance education, on-the-job training, seminars or workshops, and courses or private lessons.
We will control for three types of skills: literacy scale score, numeracy scale score, and problem-solving scale score (see OECD 2012; Goodman et al. 2013). The PIAAC data show that these scale scores are relatively low among older adults, on average.
Data: We use PIAAC data for countries (Norway included) which participated in the first round (2008-2013). For most of these countries, we have information about the age of each person, but for some countries we only have information about age groups at an aggregate level.
Description of work and sub-tasks: In PIAAC, formal and non-formal training refer to activities during the last 12 months, while the labour market status is measured at the time of the interview. In the analysis we therefore measure the short-term effect of training on the probability of being employed. For each selected country we will examine whether participants in formal and non-formal training have a significantly higher probability of being employed than non-participants in such training among older adults. Are there significant differences in the training effect between the selected countries? If yes, can these differences be explain by different adult learning policies and labour market regimes in the countries?
The group of employed persons consists of full-time or part-time employed. The group of non-employed consists of unemployed, persons in retirement or early retirement, permanently disabled, and persons fulfilling domestic tasks or looking after children/family.
The PIAAC data contain information about whether persons were employed (either full-time or part-time) while participating in formal and non-formal training in the last 12 months, and also information about whether persons are currently studying for any kind of formal qualification.
Deliverables:
D 3.1 – Comparative study of the relationship between skills, formal training and employment
D 3.2 – Comparative study of the relationship between skills, non-formal training and employment
