EDUCATION AND SKILLS IN SOUTHEAST ASIASiem Reap, 7 October 2015Elizabeth FORDHAM, Senior Advisor, Global Relations, Education and Skills Directorate, OECD

Why education and skills matterWhat matters mostWhere ASEAN countries stand

.... and what we can do

SKILLS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Skills drive economies …

Knowledge capital and economic growth rates across countries

300.0 350.0 400.0 450.0 500.0 550.0 600.00.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Argentina

Australia

Austria

BelgiumBrazil

CanadaSwitzerland

Chile

China (People's Repub-lic of)

Colombia

CyprusDenmark

Egypt

SpainFinland

France

United Kingdom

Ghana

Greece

Hong Kong (China)

Indonesia

India

Ireland

Iran

Iceland

Israel

Italy

JordanJapan

Korea

Morocco

Mexico

Malaysia

NetherlandsNorway

New Zealand

Peru Philippines

Portugal

Romania

Singapore

Sweeden

Thailand

Tunisia

Turkey

Chinese Taipei

Uruguay

United States

South AfricaZimbabwe

… and transform lives

Likelihood of positive social and economic outcomes among highly literate adults

High w

ages

High lev

els of p

olitical

efficac

y

Particip

ation in voluntee

r acti

vities

High leve

ls of tr

ust

Being e

mployed

Good to ex

cellent h

ealth

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1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

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2.8

3.0

International averageOdds ratio

It is learning that counts

Economic impact of achieving universal basic skills

Korea Japan Singapore Indonesia Viet Nam Malaysia Thailand0

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Every Current Stu-dent Acquiring Basic Skills Universal Enrolment in Secondary School at Current School QualityUniversal Enrolment in Secondary School and Every Student Acquiring Basic Skills

% o

f dis

coun

ted

futu

re G

DP

Qualifications don’t always equal skills

Lower than upper secondary

Upper secondary

Tertiary

100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400Score

Italy

Lower than upper secondary

Upper secondary

Tertiary

100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 Score

Japan

25th percentile

Mean and .95 confidence interval

for mean 75th percentile

Japanese high school

graduates have literacy

skills comparable to those of Italian

tertiary graduates

Mean literacy proficiency and distribution of literacy scores, by educational attainment

Skills must be activated and put to use

Basic skills matter, particularly literacy and numeracy

Schools cannot do it alone

Work-based learning can bridge the gap

Getting the right skills for the job

Education and skills in ASEAN countries

Republic of Korea

Singapore Japan Brunei Thailand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Cambodia Lao PDR0

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Scho

ol Li

fe E

xpec

tanc

y in

Yea

rs

School life expectancy primary to tertiary

Education and skills in ASEAN countries

Enrolment by education level

Singa

pore

Japan

Cambo

dia

Viet N

am

Lao P

DR

Malays

ia

Thail

and

Indon

esia

Brune

i

Philip

pines

Myanm

ar0

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NER Primary NER Secondary GER Tertiary

Enro

lmen

t ra

te

Education and skills in ASEAN countries

PISA 2003

PISA 2006

PISA 2009

PISA 2012

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600

Mean score in mathematics

PISA 2000

PISA 2003

PISA 2006

PISA 2009

PISA 2012

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350

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550

600

Mean score in reading

PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012300

350

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500

550

600

Mean score in science

Trends in PISA performance

Share of students who fail to reach baseline level of performance on PISA 2012(below Level 2)

Education and skills in ASEAN countries

Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Viet Nam Singapore Korea Japan OECD Average

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Mathematics Reading Science

Get the basics right - Invest in the early years- Target disadvantage

Mind the gap- Connect schools and employers- Expand work-based learning Build skills intelligence

What we can do…