Persistent skills inequalities are holding back both workers and economies, according to the latest OECD Skills Outlook published on 9 December. While TUAC welcomes the report’s recognition that these disparities are rooted in circumstances beyond individuals’ control, trade unions argue the analysis falls short by neglecting the critical role of labour market institutions, job quality and collective bargaining.
The Outlook’s findings reinforce TUAC’s long-standing concerns. Adults with tertiary-educated parents score significantly higher in literacy, numeracy and problem solving than those whose parents lack higher education. Participation in adult learning remains deeply unequal: while 61% of adults with tertiary qualifications engage in training, this drops to just 19% among those without upper-secondary education. It also shows that training accessed by disadvantaged adults tends to reinforce existing inequalities rather than close them.
TUAC endorses the Outlook’s conclusion that effective, inclusive and flexible lifelong learning systems are essential for reducing inequality and supporting economic resilience. Trade unions stress that unequal access to skills development harms not just individuals but the wider economy, as talent goes to waste. With megatrends reshaping economies more rapidly than in previous decades, workers have less time to adapt – TUAC calls for increased public investment to help workers change jobs voluntarily and transition securely.
Yet while the Outlook identifies these challenges clearly, it pays insufficient attention to what shapes them. It details how those from disadvantaged backgrounds face fewer opportunities to develop skills in the first place, while gender gaps relate to how skills once acquired are used and rewarded. Meanwhile, bargaining power, job quality, wage-setting and working conditions influence these returns – but the Outlook touches on these factors only briefly and largely ignores them in its core analysis.
The report identifies that skills gaps stem from unequal opportunities, but misses crucial institutional dimensions. Without strong collective bargaining, fair wage-setting and quality jobs, workers cannot access the training they need, and comparable skills will continue to yield vastly different rewards.
TUAC calls for policy measures such as paid training leave, study allowances and robust public funding for adult learning. Governments should design and implement these measures in partnership with trade unions, through collective bargaining and social dialogue, to ensure lifelong learning delivers not only productivity but also fairness – particularly for workers in low-paid, precarious or non-standard employment. TUAC urges the OECD to engage more deeply with these workplace realities to advance equality, social mobility and quality jobs.
Image credit: OECD
