Lifelong learning in Spain: a challenge for the future

In this second report of New Skills at Work we take stock of the participation of adults in lifelong learning in Spain. The report is divided in three parts. The first part of the report provides a descriptive analysis of the evidence on cognitive skills of the adult working population in Spain. The analysis confirms a well-known finding: despite major improvements in the educational attainments of the working population in the last few decades, the average level of cognitive skills remains low by international standards. In particular, Spain stands out as one of the EU countries with the largest share of adults who lack basic skills and competences. This is relevant for several reasons. The labour market position of this group has been deteriorating since the late 1970s, although this trend was temporarily interrupted during the period of the housing boom, and the digitalization of the economy is bound to place further pressure on this group in the near future. The report identifies three dimensions to the problem that deserve careful attention from Spanish policy makers: 1) Low average educational attainments; 2) Unsustainably high dropout rates from secondary education and 3) Comparatively low levels of cognitive skills at all educational levels. On all three scores Spain should strive for convergence to the levels prevailing in the leading countries in Europe.