The PIAAC study is intended to provide important pointers for improving education systems. Based on the data collected, these can be adapted to future requirements, for example on the labor market, so that subsequent generations can succeed in life and work.
The "Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies", as the PIAAC study is called in full, is organized by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). It is an international study of adult daily living skills in which 32 countries participate.
Everyday skills refer to reading and understanding texts, dealing with numbers, and problem solving. Beyond daily living skills, information is also collected on the background of the respondents (e.g., education, employment history, use of skills in work and everyday life). The PIAAC study is conducted according to the highest methodological standards in order to obtain high-quality and internationally comparable data.
In Germany, around one hundred interviewers from the survey institute Kantar will conduct the survey between September 2022 and April 2023. Thousands of people are invited to take part nationwide. They were selected at random and represent the German population aged 16 to 65. Initial study results will be presented publicly at the end of 2024.
The PIAAC study is being conducted for the second time and will continue to take place every ten years. In Germany, it is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the participation of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS). GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences under the direction of Prof. Dr. Beatrice Rammstedt and Anouk Zabal is responsible for the national project management for Germany.
Further information about PIAAC: https://www.gesis.org/info/piaac