ReportCompetence Framework_DEF_19.06.2018

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number: 2017-1-SK01-KA204-035385] • First, it is important to define the age range so we know what an adult is. In Europe, someone above 18 is legally considered an adult and, in most European countries, you are out of labour market when 65. • Second, we need to understand what being low skill/low qualified means. A low skill adult can be: o Someone with no academic qualification. o Someone with basic academic qualification. o Someone qualified but out of the market and non-updated. Nevertheless, the challenge is on how to measure their qualification because someone can be highly qualified and not count with academic awards. In 2016, 44,3% of men and 39,1% of women (25 to 64 years old) had a formal education level equivalent to a first stage of secondary school and lower (0-2 level). In higher formal education levels, population percentages are lower. According to age groups, amongst population between 25 and 34 years old, 35,0% of men and 47,0% of women have a formal education level corresponding to higher education and PhD (5- 8 levels). At this education stage there is the highest difference between sexes. For that same age group, with an inferior formal education to the second stage of secondary education, percentages are 40,6% of men and 28,9% of women. In the EU-28, in 2016 the highest percentage corresponds to population with the second stage of secondary education (3-4 level), men percentage being higher (48,0%) than women (44,6%). These figures double the Spain ones (22,7% of men and 22,5% of women). In the EU-28, the lowest population percentage corresponds to the second stage of secondary education (0-2 level), with 23,1% of men and 23,0% of women. Low Skills Adult in Spain – Analysis Adults in Spain present lower competence levels than the average in terms of reading comprehension and mathematics competences, compared to other countries. Spanish adults (16-65) obtain lower scoring than the average in mathematics competences, and they are second in the lowest scoring in reading comprehension amongst countries in the OCDE who participated in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2012. Spain also has a relatively high percentage in low performance. However, in a 16 to 24 years old age group, individuals are more competent than the total adult population who has been evaluated in key competences, and they are notably more competent than adults between 55 - 65 in the country. Spanish adults’ basic competences are lower than the OCDE average in every education level. What’s more, the proportion of adults who have finished tertiary education with a higher level of reading comprehension competence is much lower than the OCDE average.