This report presents analyses of the skills gap based on the international PIAAC study.

The skills gap, understood as a mismatch between the skills available in a company and those required to meet current and future business needs, is one of the most important challenges of the modern economy. The OECD report, based on the results of the Employer Survey Module of the international survey of adult competences PIAAC, analyses the incidence of competence gaps in five European countries - Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia - and examines how companies eliminate these gaps through various strategies, such as forecasting the demand for skills, training and recruitment.

The results presented in the report indicate that skills gaps exist in all the countries analysed - more than one in three companies report a skills mismatch. However, the scale of this problem varies among countries and reflects both their economic differences and various challenges in adapting to technological changes. A significant proportion of companies are not sure whether they are struggling with skills gaps. The highest percentage of companies reporting that they do not know whether they have skills gaps was reported in the Netherlands (18%) and Hungary (15%), which may suggest a lack of reliable skills assessment mechanisms.

In the individual countries surveyed, skills gaps were most often identified in technical skills (46% of companies declaring a skills gap), problem-solving skills (34%) and teamwork skills (33%). Gaps were least frequently identified in reading (2%) and mathematics (4%).

Skills gaps are associated with a number of negative consequences for companies, such as increased staff workload (63% of companies reporting skills gaps), increased operational costs (50%) and difficulties in implementing new work practices (46%).

Skills gaps usually affect a small share of workers - only a small proportion of companies (less than 5%) say that the majority of their workers lack necessary skills. This suggests that competency gaps are more likely to affect specific groups of employees, which means that they can likely be addressed through targeted interventions.

More analysis results and information, especially on how companies deal with competence gaps, can be found in the report at the OECD website.