Centre for Skills peer learning events

Since 2016, the OECD has organised biennial OECD Skills Summits together with host countries. OECD Skills Summits provide ministers and senior officials with a unique opportunity to learn from each other’s experience in designing and implementing skills policy reforms, as well as to discuss how to best elevate skills policy on the public policy agenda.

OECD Skills Strategy Workshops provide officials with an opportunity to exchange experiences and insights on taking a strategic and comprehensive approach to the design and implementation of skills policy.  The Workshops convene representatives from countries having participated in OECD Skills Strategies, as well as other interested countries, to engage in open discussions on skills policies and to learn from each other.

Proceedings documents from past OECD Skills Strategy Peer-Learning Workshops:

• 10th: Turning Skills Vision into Action: A Decade of Lessons Learnt
• 9th: How to keep skills in balance? Learning from international approaches to reducing skills imbalances 
• 8th: Skills systems reboot? From emergency responses to lasting innovation
• 7th: Skills Strategies in the context of COVID-19: Policies for Recovery and Resilience

• The biennial joint Cedefop-OECD symposium on apprenticeship allows the key actors from apprenticeship systems around the world to learn from and discuss recent evidence on apprenticeship. The symposia feature presentations of new research evidence on apprenticeship, as well as panel discussions with social partners, apprentices, apprenticeship providers, and policy makers. Previous editions of the symposium have included a focus on the role of apprenticeship in the digital and green transition. 

• 2025 joint Cedefop/OECD symposium: New fields for apprenticeship
• 2023 joint Cedefop/OECD symposium on Apprenticeships and the digital transition
• 2021 joint Cedefop/OECD symposium on Apprenticeships for greener economies and societies 
• 2019 joint Cedefop and OECD symposium: The next steps for apprenticeship 

The Group of National Experts on Vocational Education and Training (GNE on VET)  assists the Education Policy Committee in helping members and partners to develop effective, efficient and evidence-based policies for vocational education and training and adult learning. At their annual meeting, the national experts discuss current and future priorities for VET in their countries, share insights from recent and ongoing initiatives, and explore common interest for new data and policy insights.

The Skills Advisory Group (SAG) is a horizontal and informal advisory group providing strategic guidance to OECD work on the development and effective use of skills. The SAG updates countries on the work done within the OECD in the area of skills. It also provides countries with an opportunity to express their interest in specific skills related issues and thus to guide future OECD work.

The OECD Centre for Skills offers tailored peer learning events on skills topics of interest to countries.  These can involve bringing peers in from other countries to learn from their experiences on specific skills policy topics or study tours to other countries to learn about and see their skills policies in practice. Typically, these workshops involve the preparation of short background papers to stimulate reflection and discussion, facilitated and interactive discussions techniques, and the preparation of short summary papers.

• OECD Workshop: Enhancing Quality Assurance in Digital Adult Education. Summary of Discussions