Publications & Documents

As societies become increasingly digital, the importance of cyber security has grown significantly for individuals, companies, and nations. The rising number of cyber attacks surpasses the existing defense capabilities, partly due to a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals. This report delves into the analysis of the demand for cyber security experts in Latin America, using information from online job postings in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. The analysis investigates recent trends in job demand for various cyber security roles, the geographical distribution of cyber security job postings, and the evolving skill requirements in this field. Additionally, the report focuses on the supply side by examining the landscape of cyber security education and training programmes in Colombia. It explores the different types of programmes offered in vocational and higher education, the characteristics of learners enrolled in these programmes, and their outcomes. Lastly, the report examines policies and initiatives implemented in Colombia to enhance the accessibility and relevance of cyber security education and training programmes. This report is part of a broader initiative that examines the evolution of policies and experiences in the cyber security profession around the world.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) creates new content in response to prompts, offering transformative potential across multiple sectors such as education, entertainment, healthcare and scientific research. However, these technologies also pose critical societal and policy challenges that policy makers must confront: potential shifts in labour markets, copyright uncertainties, and risk associated with the perpetuation of societal biases and the potential for misuse in the creation of disinformation and manipulated content. Consequences could extend to the spreading of mis- and disinformation, perpetuation of discrimination, distortion of public discourse and markets, and the incitement of violence. Governments recognise the transformative impact of generative AI and are actively working to address these challenges. This paper aims to inform these policy considerations and support decision makers in addressing them.

This publication provides additional reference material for Education at a Glance 2023, the authoritative source for data on the state of education around the world. It provides guidance on the data and methodology used to calculate each indicator. It also contains references to the sources and specific notes for each country.

This Spotlight presents data and analysis on vocational education and training (VET) from Education at a Glance 2023. VET is a key component of most education systems in OECD countries. About one in three 25-34 year-olds have a vocational qualification as their highest level achieved, whether at upper secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary or short-cycle tertiary level. The first part of the Spotlight focuses on upper secondary programmes, analysing their components and outlining the main challenges to countries aiming to improve their quality, while promoting equity and ensuring better labour-market opportunities for their graduates. The second part focuses on progression pathways open to VET graduates and higher-level vocational programmes. Taken together, the two parts of this spotlight demonstrate the huge diversity of OECD country VET programmes.

Policies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of human activities have important consequences for labour markets, jobs, and skills. As employment is shifting towards more sustainable activities, workers are increasingly expected to have skills that support the transition to a greener economy. Assessing and anticipating emerging skill needs is crucial to avoid bottlenecks and sustain the green transition. This report sheds light on existing methods to measure changes in skill demand and supply related to the green transition through an in-depth review of practices in five OECD countries (Australia, Austria, France, Norway and Sweden). It also identifies best practice on how to feed information on changing skill needs into policies, notably in the areas of employment, career guidance, education and adult learning.

This policy brief was prepared as part of the OECD's Resourcing Higher Education Project. This wider project aims to provide a shared knowledge base for OECD member and partner countries on policy for higher education resourcing, drawing on system-specific and comparative policy analysis. The policy brief for Lithuania was developed at the request of the Lithuanian authorities as part of their efforts to promote the development of a more diversified and efficient institutional landscape in the national higher education system, in which universities and colleges can sharpen their profiles to align better with their individual strengths and the student populations and communities they serve. The brief initially provides a concise overview of the operating environment for HEIs in Lithuania and the existing institutional landscape. It then examines the approaches adopted to institutional differentiation and missions in higher education in other OECD higher education systems, before considering the rationale for reform in Lithuania and – informed by international examples – the policy options open to Lithuania to effect reform of its higher education landscape.

This policy brief was prepared as part of the OECD's Resourcing Higher Education Project. This wider project aims to provide a shared knowledge base for OECD member and partner countries on policy for higher education resourcing, drawing on system-specific and comparative policy analysis. The policy brief for Finland was developed at the request of the Finnish authorities to support reflection on possible adjustments to the public funding model for Finnish higher education for the funding period (2025-28). The brief reviews the key challenges facing higher education in Finland and national policy priorities, compares Finland’s model of funding higher education institutions (HEIs) with models in OECD systems sharing similar characteristics to Finland’s and reviews policy options – both within and outside of the funding model – to support achievement of key policy objectives.

This report analyses the career options of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. It identifies policies and practices to promote diverse careers, flexible career trajectories and ultimately better-quality research and innovation across different economic and social sectors. The report presents a conceptual framework and synthesis of available data and policy information. It offers recommendations and a set of policy options to: promote engagement and interaction with employers outside academia; provide researchers with experience and skills for diverse careers; encourage valorisation of diverse career options; support career development and guidance for researchers; promote inter-sectoral mobility; and, reconfigure and support careers in academia.

This report presents the conceptual foundations of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), now in its eighth cycle of comprehensive and rigorous international surveys of student knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. As in previous cycles, the 2022 PISA assessment covered reading, mathematics and science, with a major focus on mathematics, plus an evaluation of students’ creative thinking and financial literacy skills. This publication includes the frameworks for assessing mathematics, financial literacy and creative thinking. These chapters outline the content knowledge and skills that students need to acquire in each domain, how each domain is assessed, and the contexts in which this knowledge and these skills are applied. The publication also presents the frameworks for the various questionnaires distributed to students, school principals, parents and teachers, including a new Global Crisis Module (GCM) for students and school principals. It concludes with the framework for the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) familiarity questionnaire distributed to students.