Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems
Lessons from Six OECD Countries
The governance of skills systems has always raised a number of challenges for governments. Being at the intersection of education, labour market, industrial and other policy domains, managing skills policies is inherently complex. Addressing these challenges is more than ever crucial as globalisation, technological progress and demographic change are putting daunting pressures on skills systems to ensure that all members of society are equipped with the skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems: Lessons from Six OECD Countries provides advice on how to make the governance of skills systems effective. Building on the OECD Skills Strategy 2019, which identified four main challenges of skills systems governance, the report presents examples of how six different countries (Estonia, Germany, Korea, Norway, Portugal and the United States) have responded to one or several of these challenges. It also outlines concrete policy recommendations together with a self-assessment tool which provides guidance to policy makers and stakeholders for designing better skills systems that deliver better skills outcomes.
Case study: Massachusetts’ (United States) Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS)
This chapter focuses on the role of integrated information systems in the public school system of the United States. In the United States, the education system is regulated at the state level. However, an accountability system exists between the state and the federal level based on education data, which makes sure that standards are achieved nation-wide. The case study looks at the Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS) in the state of Massachusetts. Based on various data sources, EWIS calculates individual probability levels of meeting certain predefined academic milestones for students from first to twelfth grade. The schools can use this information to direct specific support measures to the students at risk. This chapter introduces the technical details and distribution of responsibilities in the use of EWIS. Furthermore, it discusses how co-ordination across different levels of government can be achieved when establishing integrated information systems.
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