We must start again from education to support productivity. This is the clear message that comes from the latest OECD survey: in Italy 1 in 3 adults has inadequate skills. We are in the last places among advanced countries in terms of calculation, text comprehension and problem solving skills. The consequences on labor productivity are evident and cognitive poverty increases together with economic poverty
The OECD study photographed the situation in the years 2022-2023 in 31 countries, ten years after the last survey. Result? The skills problem in Italy exists and unfortunately it has not improved. In terms of reading comprehension, Italian adults aged between 16 and 65 achieved an average score of 245, well below the OECD average of 260. More than a third of Italians stop at a minimum level of competence, capable of dealing with only short texts and clearly organized information, while only 5% reach the highest levels, compared to the 12% international average. Even in numeracy skills, the data is no better. The average Italian score is 244 compared to the OECD average of 263, with a worrying share of people who can only carry out basic operations, such as adding or subtracting simple numbers. The situation gets even worse when analyzing adaptive problem solving skills: the average score is 231, with almost half of the adult population incapable of managing even moderately complex problems. These results, when compared with the previous survey of 2013, show a general stagnation, but also a widening of inequalities. While those who already have high skills record a slight improvement, those who are in difficulty find themselves further penalized.
One of the main causes is the difficulty of the education system to offer the same learning opportunities to everyone. Young Italians, although achieving slightly better results than older adults, remain far from the standards of their peers in other advanced countries. The comparison with the Nordic countries is emblematic, where graduates achieve higher skills than those of Italian graduates. Added to this is the lack of social mobility: the educational level of parents continues to be a determining factor for their children’s skills, reflecting the inability of the education system to bridge initial socioeconomic inequalities.
Professional and continuous training also remains a weak point. Italian adults have few opportunities to update themselves and improve their skills, a deficiency that makes the country unready in the face of technological and organizational changes. The exclusion of foreigners from the education and training system should not be forgotten. This, as the OECD points out, perpetuates educational and economic poverty, limiting social mobility and contributing to labor market inefficiency.
The consequences of this scenario are clear. Those with greater skills, especially in mathematical skills, have a greater chance of finding a job, lower risks of unemployment and higher wages. However, with a third of the population not reaching minimum proficiency levels, the country as a whole pays a high price. Productivity remains stagnant, average wages are lower than in the main European partners, and companies struggle to find qualified staff for strategic roles. Starting again from education is therefore a necessity for Italy, so as not to remain trapped in a vicious circle of educational and economic poverty.
