Skills Summits

Since 2016, the OECD has organised biennial Skills Summits together with host countries. 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.

Skills Summit 2024, Brussels (Belgium), 21-22 February 2024

Palais des Académies, Brussels
© Kiev.Victor/Shutterstock.com

The Atomium, Brussels
© Adriana Cevdari/Shutterstock.com

Grand-Place, Brussels
© Catarina Belova/Shutterstock.com

Belgium hosted the Skills Summit 2024 on 21-22 February 2024 in the Palace of the Academies, Brussels. The Summit brought together ministers and senior officials from 36 countries and 8 international organisations. During the two-day event, participants engaged in discussions on “Skills for the future - Building bridges to new opportunities”.

Discussions focused on finding opportunities in times of rapid technological, socio-economic, and ecological changes, as required skills will change and the importance of lifelong learning will continue to increase. The Skills Summit 2024 also emphasised the importance of partnerships between different policy domains, between training providers and employers, and between sectors to make the most of these opportunities.

The Skills Summit 2024 was conducted as an in-person only ministerial ‘retreat’, with informal receptions, interactive discussions with keynote speakers, a tour de table and bilateral meetings. Discussions were subject to “Chatham House” rules, and designed to encourage candid and open exchanges, raise challenging questions, offer concrete policy examples from a range of countries, and share state-of-the-art analysis by the OECD on skills. Participation was by invitation only.

Agenda

Issues for discussion paper

Presentations

Jo Brouns, Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation, Work, Social Economy and Agriculture
Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General
Shravan-Goli, Chief Operating Officer of Coursera
Mia Seppo, Assistant Director-General for the Jobs and Social Protection Cluster, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Mona Laroussi, Director of the Institute of the Francophonie for Education and TVET (IFEF)
Stefano Scarpetta, Director, OECD Directorate for Employment Labour and Social Affairs
Andreas Schleicher, Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

Watch the official opening of the Skills Summit 2024 here.

Visit the event website to find out more: https://skillssummitbelgium.be/

Previous Skills Summits

Skills Summit 2022, Colombia: Strengthening Skills for Equity and Sustainability

The 4th Skills Summit was organised by the Government of Colombia and the OECD on the topic of “Strengthening Skills for Equity and Sustainability – Providing Effective Up-and reskilling Opportunities for All” . It brought together ministers and senior officials with responsibilities for diverse skills-relevant portfolios from 39 countries, from the OECD and beyond, as well as representatives from 9 international and regional organisations. It was the first Skills Summit held in Colombia, and the first Skills Summit in Latin America.

Annotated agenda (English)
Issues paper (English/French/Spanish)
Joint summary (English/French/Spanish)
Video
Presentations
- OECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann
- Director, OECD Directorate for Employment Labour and Social Affairs, Stefano Scarpetta
- Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, Andreas Schleicher

Skills Summit 2020, Slovenia: Skills Strategies for a World in Recovery

The virtual event in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic brought together Ministers, senior officials and delegates from 36 countries, the European Commission, Council of Europe, UNESCO, BIAC, and TUAC.

Discussions focused on countries’ lifelong learning and skills use policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis, the relevance of skills in the context of megatrends, and the role of skills in ensuring better health outcomes and higher levels of well-being for all.

Event website

Skills Summit 2018, Porto (Portugal): Skills for a Digital World

The event brought together 23 Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Secretaries and Deputy State Secretaries from 22 countries as well as representatives of the European Commission to discuss the implications of the digital transformation for the skills people need as well as for skills policy.

Event website

Skills Summit 2016, Bergen (Norway): Skills Strategies for Productivity, Innovation and Inclusion

The first Skills Summit brought together 24 Ministers, State Secretaries and senior officials representing a range of skills-relevant portfolios from 15 countries, plus 2 EU Commissioners.

Participants discussed and recognised the importance of skills for productivity, innovation and inclusive growth; shared experiences with building effective, forward-looking, whole-of-government approaches to skills policies; and agreed on the need to build more flexible and resilient skills systems.

Chair's summary