The preparation of this report was led by the OECD Centre for Skills (SKC) in collaboration with a team of primary authors.
Chapter 1 - Introduction and theoretical framework, Chapter 3 - Case study: The Alliance for Initial and Further Training in Germany and Chapter 8 - Conclusion and general policy recommendations were written by Marius R. Busemeyer, Professor of Political Science and a Speaker of the Excellence Cluster “The Politics of Inequality” at the University of Konstanz in Germany. His work centres on the comparative political economy of education and training in OECD countries, the role of public opinion in education reforms and the politics of inequality.
Chapter 2 - Case study: The Estonian Education Information System (EHIS) and Chapter 4 - Case study: Lifelong learning in Korea were written by Gina Di Maio, Junior Researcher at the International Research Cluster “Governance in Vocational and Professional Education and Training” (GOVPET). She is based at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Her research focuses on further training and the institutionalisation of social equality and economic efficiency in training.
Chapter 6 - Case study: Portugal’s National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education and Training (ANQEP) and Chapter 7 - Case study: Massachusetts’ (United States) Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) were written by Lina Seitzl. She is a Junior Researcher at the Political Science Department of the University of St. Gallen. She works at the International Research Cluster “GOVPET”. Her work focuses on employer co-ordination in education systems and the effect of digitisation on skills demands.
Chapter 5 - Case study: Norway’s Skills Policy Council and Future Skills Needs Committee was written by Daniel Unterweger, Junior Researcher at the International Research Cluster “GOVPET”. He is based at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. His current research projects examine the integration of multinational companies and the role of the state in dual vocational and education training (VET).
Andrew Bell, Ricardo Espinoza, Ben Game and Sam Kim (SKC) shaped the research design and scope, and provided guidance and comments to the research team. Laura Reznikova (SKC) contributed analysis, drafting, and editing and co-ordinated the production process. Cuauhtémoc Rebolledo-Gómez (International Service for Remunerations and Pensions) and Serli Abrahamoglu (SKC) provided statistical support. Written contributions and comments were provided by Najung Kim, Dami Seo and Sunhwa Kim (SKC). Andrew Bell (SKC) provided analytical guidance and supervision.
Montserrat Gomendio, Head of the OECD Centre for Skills (SKC), supervised the project and provided comments, while Stefano Scarpetta (Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD) (ELS) and Mark Pearson (Deputy Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD) provided strategic oversight and comments.
Véronique Quénehen and Jennifer Cannon (SKC), Lauren Thwaites (Public Governance) and Lucy Hulett (ELS) provided invaluable support for mission organisation, report layout and design, and publication planning. Elizabeth Zachary provided proofreading and editorial support. Bohyun Kim supported missions to Korea by providing ad hoc interpretation and translation into Korean.
The OECD is grateful to the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission for contributing both financial support and expertise throughout the project. We are especially grateful to Alison Crabb, Head of Unit, Skills and Qualifications, Directorate‑General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and Michael Horgan, Policy Officer, Skills and Qualifications, Directorate‑General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
Many government representatives and stakeholders from all the countries included in the report generously shared their insights and provided comments. Our warm thanks go to, in alphabetical order: Jonas Frister from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany), Sven Rahner from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Germany) as well as Thomass Sondermann and Ute von Oertzen Becker from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Germany). We are equally grateful to Jaak Anton and Tatjana Kiilo from the Ministry of Education and Research (Estonia). We also wish to thank Pedro Abrantes from the Ministry of Education (Portugal) as well as Alexandra Teixeira and Ana Cláudia Valente from the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education and Training - ANQEP (Portugal). Our many thanks also go to Siv Hilde Lindstrøm from the Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and Annette Skalde from the Ministry of Education and Research (Norway). We would also like to thank Yoon-Jo Lee and Jae Young Chang from the Gyeonggi Do Provincial Institute for Lifelong Learning and Tae Hee Kim from Suwon City (Korea). We are equally grateful to Jennifer Appleyard, Nyal Fuentes and Kathryn Sandel from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (United States).
Participants at the Expert Workshop on the Governance of Skills Systems, held on 5-6 April 2018 in Paris, France, also provided valuable insights integral to the development of the report. These participants were: Jonathan Barr (OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities), Bert Brys (OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration), Claire Charbit (OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities), Donata Cutuli (Fondimpresa, Italy), Emma Duchini (University of Warwick, United Kingdom), Alessia Forti (OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs), Michael Horgan (Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission), Florina Koester (OECD Directorate for Education and Skills), Marco Leonardi (University of Milan, Italy), Fabio Manca (OECD Centre for Skills), Luca Marcolin (OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs), Elvio Mauri (Fondimpresa, Italy), Marco Mira D’Ercole (OECD Statistics and Data Directorate), Konstantinos Pouliakas (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), Marinus Rouw (OECD Directorate for Education and Skills), Micheline Scheys (National Union of Socialist Health Insurance and Promotion Services), Mariagrazia Squicciarini (OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation), Siria Taurelli (European Training Foundation), Sergio Urzua (University of Maryland, United States) and Bryan Wilson (Workforce Data Quality Campaign, United States).
The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the OECD member countries or the European Union.