11 June 2026, 16:00
The Skills Outlook 2025 highlights that family background remains a strong driver of skills differences across OECD countries. Adults with tertiary-educated parents score higher in literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving than their peers from less advantaged backgrounds, a gap that is especially pronounced among those with the lowest skills levels. Skills differences are already large in primary school and although they narrow during the compulsory school years, they remain large in many countries.
This webinar will examine how socio-economic differences in skills take shape early, narrow somewhat during compulsory schooling, but widen again in adulthood as socio-economically advantaged learners access higher-quality formal, non-formal, and informal learning opportunities. Drawing on international evidence and policy examples, the session will showcase what works to break the cycle of inherited disadvantage in skills development.