The labour market is changing fast: some low-skilled jobs are progressively being replaced by automated processes. New jobs require information and communication technology (ICT) skills as well as analytical skills and creative thinking. The education system plays helps prepare youth for the jobs of the future. Responsiveness in this context involves ensuring that citizens from different backgrounds, income levels and living conditions have equal education opportunities.
Youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) is one of the main challenges for OECD countries, especially following the 2007-08 crisis. In OECD European countries, 5.2% of youth aged 18-24 years fit into this category in 2018 (a 1.7 p.p. improvement from 2012). In total, 10.7% of people aged 18-24 years left school before or upon completing lower secondary education (i.e. early leavers) in 2018, 2.1 p.p. down from 2012. While most countries were able to reduce the number of young people experiencing these conditions, in Greece, Portugal and Ireland these were halved.
In 2010 Germany launched the Education Chains initiative to support young people in transitioning from school to vocational training. The initiative includes a potential analysis to help youth discover their own strengths and talents. For example, Practice-oriented Workshop Days provide them with practical insight into roughly 18 occupational fields for them to identify jobs which match their interests.
Schools require lower secondary education teachers who are qualified to respond to the needs of students to encourage them to continue their studies. Across OECD countries, 31% of principals reported a shortage of teachers with competence in teaching students with special needs (i.e. those who are mentally, physically, or emotionally disadvantaged). Further, 18% indicated that they lacked staff qualified to teach in multicultural settings, and 16% do not have enough teachers skilled to deal with socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
The governance of schools is another dimension that affects the responsiveness of education systems. In the OECD, on average, 38% of all decisions are taken at the school level or after consultation with it, with 23% of all decisions are taken by the school within a framework set by higher authorities, and 10% in full autonomy.
The degree of autonomy conceded to schools varies across OECD countries, with some granting them little decision-making power and others fostering decentralised governance. The Netherlands allows schools to take 92% of all decisions, 11 times more than Greece and Turkey. England allows schools to take 48% of decisions in full autonomy, while around 33% of OECD countries do not grant them any decision-making power.
