OECD recommends making lifelong learning "a reality for everyone"

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recommended that public authorities "make lifelong learning a reality for everyone".

In the OECD Skills Outlook 2025 report, published on 09/12/2025, the organisation said: "Governments must improve access to lifelong learning to reduce skills inequalities and ensure that everyone can acquire the skills needed to succeed in today's labour markets".

This edition looked at how countries can develop the 21^st-century skills that are "essential for growth and social progress". According to the report, information processing skills, particularly writing, numeracy and adaptive problem-solving skills, are unevenly distributed across the populations of OECD countries.

The OECD made other recommendations to public authorities, including ensuring the relevance and quality of training and giving priority to skills on the labour market.

"Disparities in labour market outcomes are, to a large extent, due to differences in education, skills and lifelong learning, highlighting the crucial role of skills policies in promoting equal…