Annex B. Crosswalk between the Nexus and the OECD Skills for Jobs databases
Section 4.1 aims to assess the extent to which TF-supported training develops the skills that are most in demand in the Italian labour market. To do that, the analysis compares the number of TF-supported training programmes that have been completed in each given skill (or thematic area) with the degree by which that skill is in shortage/surplus in the Italian labour market. The information used for these two indicators draws from two different data sources: information on the number of TF-supported training programmes draws from the Nexus database (see Section 5.4); while information on the skills shortage/surplus indicators draws from the OECD Skills for Jobs database (hereafter S4J database) (see Box 4.1). Because these two data sources apply two different skills taxonomies, the analysis presented in Section 4.1 builds upon a simple crosswalk exercise between the skills taxonomy used by the Nexus database and the one used by the OECD S4J database. The methodology used for the crosswalk, the reference year, and the limitations of the exercise, are described below. The results of the crosswalk are presented in Table A B.1.
Methodology: The Nexus database contains information on various characteristics of TF-supported training programmes, including information on the types of skills that the training programmes aim to develop, using the taxonomy “Fields of Education and Training” - Eurostat, 1999 (MLPS, ISFOL, MFI, ITALIALAVORO, n.a.[2]). The OECD S4J database contains information on the skills that are in shortage/surplus in the labour market, using the occupation-skills taxonomy developed by O*NET (OECD, 2017[3]). Comparing the definitions of the skills taxonomies adopted in the Nexus database, with those adopted in the OECD S4J database, it is possible to generate a crosswalk between the two databases. Table A B.1 presents the result of the crosswalk. For almost all skills items contained in the Nexus database, it is possible to build a 1-1 match with a skills item contained in the OECD S4J database. For some skills items, however, it is not possible to develop a 1-1 correspondence. For example, the description of the skills item Personal Skills (“Sviluppo delle abilità personali”) contained in the Nexus database corresponds to the description of four different skills items included in the OECD S4J database, namely: (i) Complex Problem Solving; (ii) Basic Skills (content); (iii) Basic Skills (Process); (iv) Social Skills. For the calculation of the skills shortage/surplus indicator, the average of these four skills items is calculated, for every given year. Likewise, the description of the skills item Manufacturing and Production contained in the OECD S4J database corresponds to the description of two different skills items included in the Nexus database, namely: (i) Manufacturing and Production (agriculture and fishery) (“Tecniche e tecnologie di produzione dell'agricoltura, della zootecnica e della pesca”); and (ii) Manufacturing and Production (construction) (“Tecniche e tecnologie di produzione della manifattura e delle costruzioni”). For the calculation of the indicator on the number of TF-supported training programmes (by skill), the sum of these two skills items is used. In some cases it is not possible to map the skills items contained in the Nexus database into the OECD S4J database, because no corresponding skills item could be identified in the latter. This is the case for four skills items, namely: (i) Knowledge of the workplace (“Conoscenza del contesto lavorativo”); (ii) Foreign language, Italian for foreigners (“Lingue straniere, italiano per stranieri”); (iii) Occupational health and safety (“Salute e sicurezza sul lavoro”); (iv) Environmental protection (“Salvaguardia ambientale”). These skills items, included in the Nexus database, do not find any correspondence in the OECD S4J database, and are therefore excluded from the analysis presented in Section 4.1.
Reference year: All data presented in Section 4.1 refer to 2015, with the exception of regional data, for which 2016 data are used. This choice is simply driven by data availability. Indeed, while the latest data available contained in the Nexus database (both at the national and regional level) refer to 2016, latest data available contained in the OECD S4J database refer to 2015 for indicators at the national level, and 2016 for indicators at the regional level.
Limitations of the crosswalk exercise: There are two key limitations of the crosswalk exercise. First of all, the OECD S4J database includes a high level of disaggregation of skills, which encompasses a total of 135 skills items; the Nexus database, on the other hand, contains only 14 skills items. This means that the vast majority of the skills items contained in the OECD S4J database cannot be mapped into the Nexus database. Because only a limited number of skills items are available in the Nexus database, this may also lead survey respondents (Training Funds) to record information in an imprecise way, e.g. attributing the skills item that more closely describe the skills developed by the TF-supported training programme, whenever a more adequate skills item option is not available. Secondly, the crosswalk exercise between the Nexus and the OECD S4J database is based on a simple comparison of the descriptions of the skills item, which are by definition not identical. Like any other crosswalk exercise, the crosswalk exercise presented in this report is therefore imperfect and results should be taken with caution.