Survey of Adult Skills

Publication Details

New Zealand has participated in the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills. This is part of the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey (PIAAC).

Internationally, it is the most comprehensive survey of adult skills ever undertaken. Through interviews with a representative sample of respondents aged 16-65 in each participating country, PIAAC assesses literacy and numeracy skills, and ability to solve problems in technology-rich environments. It builds on previous international surveys of adult skills, allowing literacy levels to be compared over a 13-17 year period for some countries.

New Zealand, together with 8 other countries, participated in a second round. This follows a first round in 25 countries whose results were published in October 2013. A third round has also begun.

Author(s): Ministry of Education and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Date Published: Varies

Contact Us

Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)
For queries about the Survey of Adult Skills please contact:

Paul Satherley
Senior Research Analyst
Tertiary
Ministry of Education
P O Box 1666, Thorndon
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

  • Survey of Adult Skills: Pacific adults' literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills

    This is part of a series of in-depth reports from the Survey of Adult Skills. This report covers how the literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills (measured in English) of Pacific adults relate to their education and work. It also looks at how these skills compare to those of non-Pacific people and how they have changed over time.

    Author(s): Paul Satherley, Senior Research Analyst, Ministry of Education.

    Date Published: October 2018

  • Survey of Adult Skills: Māori adults' literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills

    This is part of a series of in-depth reports from the Survey of Adult Skills. This report covers how the literacy, numeracy and problem solving skills (measured in English) of Māori adults relate to their education, work and speaking to reo Māori.

    Author(s): Matt Jones and Paul Satherley, Senior Analysts, Ministry of Education.

    Date Published: April 2018

  • Survey of Adult Skills: Adults' financial literacy activities

    This is part of a series of in-depth reports from the Survey of Adult Skills. This report covers key findings on how often New Zealand adults (aged 16 to 65) participate in financial literacy activities in both everyday life and for work.

    Author(s): Paul Satherley, Principal Analyst, Ministry of Education.

    Date Published: August 2017

  • Youth Skills: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)

    This is part of a series of in-depth reports from the Survey of Adult Skills. This report covers key findings on how New Zealand youth (aged 16 to 24) compare internationally and what factors are associated with higher youth skills.

    Author(s): Matt Jones, Senior Research Analyst, and Paul Satherley, Principal Research Analyst, for the Ministry of Education

    Date Published: July 2017

  • Skills and Education: Survey of Adult Skills

    This report investigates the relationship between education and skills for New Zealand adults, how this relationship has changed over time and how it compares to other countries. Barriers to further education and how the relationship between education and skills varies for different genders and ethnic groups is also explored.

    Author(s): Ministry of Education and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

    Date Published: June 2016

  • Skills in New Zealand and around the world: Survey of Adult Skills

    This report looks at how the skills in of New Zealand adults compare to other countries and how they have changed over time. Also explored is how skills in New Zealand vary by age, ethnicity, gender and migration status.

    Author(s): Ministry of Education and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

    Date Published: June 2016

  • Skills at Work: Survey of Adult Skills

    This report looks at how skills, work-related learning and qualification mismatch varies across different industries and occupations. The report also compares training rates and the prevalence of qualification, skills and field-of-study mismatch in New Zealand to other countries.

    Author(s): Ministry of Education and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

    Date Published: June 2016

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