OECD Skills Outlook 2025: Building the Skills of the 21st Century for All

The OECD Skills Outlook 2025 examines how countries can build the 21st-century skills needed to sustain growth and social progress. It explores how differences in background, education and opportunity shape who develops, uses and benefits from key skills such as literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving. Differential access to skills development limits the potential of many, thereby constraining economic performance. Socio-economic background strongly influences who builds skills that are valued in the labour market, whereas differences between men and women appear mainly in how skills are used and rewarded. As skill demands evolve faster than policy cycles, investing in lifelong learning and using timely labour-market intelligence are crucial to help people adapt, strengthen productivity and ensure that no one is left behind in a changing world.