Foreword and acknowledgements

Equipping citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their full potential, contribute to an increasingly interconnected world, and ultimately convert better skills into better lives is a central preoccupation of policy makers around the world. Results from the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills show that highly skilled adults are not only twice as likely to be employed and almost three times more likely to earn an above-median salary than poorly skilled adults, they are also more likely to volunteer, to report that they are in good to excellent health, to see themselves as actors rather than as objects of political processes, and to trust others. Fairness, integrity and inclusiveness in public policy thus all hinge on the skills of citizens.