IT
02.12.2024 – On December 10, the results of the second cycle of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will be released. PIAAC, an initiative by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), involves numerous countries worldwide, including Italy.
Through extensive data collection, the PIAAC programme aims not only to fulfill scientific objectives but also to guide the development and implementation of effective policies to enhance individual skills. Its primary focus is the Adult Skills Survey, a statistical sample survey targeting people aged 16 to 65. The main goal of PIAAC is to provide an updated, internationally comparable information base that highlights the level and dynamics of skills, their link with education and employment, and their role in improving the occupational and life prospects of adults.
The PIAAC survey is structured as a cyclical study, conducted every decade. The first cycle took place across three phases (2011–2018) and involved 39 countries, including Italy. For the second cycle, Italy is joined by 30 other countries and economies. Data collection occurred between 2022 and 2023.
Internationally, the OECD has entrusted the coordination of this cycle to a consortium of renowned research institutions: Educational Testing Service (ETS), Westat, cApStAn, the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA), GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
In Italy, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies assigned INAPP the task of conducting the survey. The Italian team, comprised of INAPP, ANPAL, and ISTAT (serving as the National Sampling Manager), worked collaboratively on this project.
Due to the methodological complexity and rigorous planning required, the second cycle spanned several years. Activities began in 2018, with the Field Trial (pilot survey) initially scheduled for April 2020 but postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main survey’s field phase began in September 2022 and concluded in spring 2023, followed by data verification and harmonisation, which wrapped up in August 2024.
On the morning of December 10, the OECD will hold an international press conference to unveil the first results of the second PIAAC cycle. During the event, the OECD will release the second cycle’s International Report and make the data available as a Public Use File (PUF).
To complement the OECD’s findings with specific insights into the Italian context and the country’s regional diversity, INAPP will publish a Short Report in the afternoon of December 10, 2024.