Core Skills for learning, work and society

What are Core Skills?

Today’s young people are growing up in a fast-paced world. As new technologies, labour markets and digital channels open up new opportunities, they also pose new challenges. In order to be successful, young people need to be able to generate and implement new ideas, use digital tools effectively and apply their knowledge creatively in order to solve real world problems.

We are committed to supporting school systems to provide young people with following essential skills they need for life and work in the 21st century global economy:

• Digital literacy
• Critical thinking and problem solving
• Creativity and imagination
• Student leadership
• Collaboration and communication
• Citizenship

"Today, where you can access content on Google, where routine cognitive skills are being digitised or outsourced, and where jobs are changing rapidly, the focus is on enabling people to become lifelong learners, to manage complex ways of thinking and complex ways of working and to live in a multi-faceted world as active and responsible citizens."

- Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills

Download our Redefining learning outcomes brochure (see Downloads section below) to find out more about our Core Skills.

What we offer

Teachers and school leaders need to create a learning environment which allows young people to develop core skills and competencies. Our flexible training packages give them the tools and knowledge they need, including:

• one-day introductory courses
• in-depth courses on each of the core skills
• strategies for mapping core skills across the curriculum
• new interactive teaching approaches and techniques, including use of digital tools and resources
• strategies for monitoring and improving teaching and learning
• practical activity plans to embed core skills in the curriculum
• a project implementation phase to put their knowledge into practice
• online support
• an international support network of educators to share best practice

These courses are based on what we know about really effective professional development and are focused on practical classroom implementation. 

Core Skills reach and impact