The Nordic and Baltic countries perform well overall in the OECD’s latest Programme of the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC. But behind the impressive average figures lie growing challenges: many adults still lack foundational skills and competencies; labour market demands are changing rapidly; and the gap between strong and weak groups appears to be widening.
These are some of the key issues that will be discussed at the Nordic-Baltic PIAAC Conference 2026 to be held at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland on 26–27 August.
Many adults are still lagging behind
The PIAAC assessment shows a generally high competency level in the Nordic and Baltic countries compared to many other OECD countries. Only Lithuania and Latvia fall below the OECD average in the three competency areas: literacy, numeracy and problem-solving.
But according to Kari Nissinen, a senior researcher in education at the University of Jyväskylä, who has worked with PIAAC for many years, the results are not a reason for complacency.
“Despite Finland being a top country when it comes to adult skills and competencies, there is still an adult population of over 300,000 with insufficient competencies for a well-functioning working life or active participation in society,” he says.
With the generally high level of education in the Nordic countries, you would expect the group with low competencies to decrease over time. But PIAAC shows that the development is not necessarily going in that direction. Across the OECD countries, the group with low competencies has grown in many countries – particularly literacy competencies. And simultaneously, the differences between strong and weak groups are increasing.
According to Kari Nissinen, this is due partly to demographic changes.
“The demographic development in the Nordic countries is characterised by a larger proportion of foreign-born adults, who often have challenges with the language,” he says.
The PIAAC results also reveal that the differences in literacy skills between native and foreign-born adults are generally relatively vast in the Nordic countries.
In the Baltic countries, the demographics look different, says Kari Nissinen.
“The Baltic countries don’t have the same proportion of refugees and immigrants as the Nordic countries do. In Latvia, for example, the challenge is, rather, that more and more people are travelling and working abroad,” he says.
Literacy skills are crucial
Language and literary competencies are crucial for being able to cope in the contemporary labour market. The PIAAC data shows an interesting paradox here: adults are reading less in general, particularly longer texts, while at the same time, working life is placing ever greater demands on literary and information processing.
Dan Grannas from the Swedish Ministry of Employment, and a long-time Swedish representative on the PIAAC board, highlights literary competencies as absolutely crucial, even in jobs where you might previously have been able to manage without strong reading skills.
“You need to be able to read instructions, learn new things and evaluate and handle information to carry out your work duties and responsibilities. If it is not your mother tongue, it can be extra difficult to get a job. Employers often expect you to have a good command of the language,” he says.
He also points out that the current labour market offers far fewer jobs with very low competency requirements.
“We actually have very few jobs left that hardly require education. That part of the labour market has largely disappeared. Your parents or grandparents may have had such jobs, but they no longer exist,” he says.
According to Kari Nissinen, the PIAAC results demonstrate, too, that many adults are experiencing a growing mismatch between their competencies and the demands of the labour market.
“In the first PIAAC survey in 2012, we saw that almost 90 per cent of Finnish adults felt that their competencies matched the demands of their job. In the 2024 survey, only about 70 per cent felt the same,” he says.
This suggests that the demands in the labour market have changed faster than the competencies of adults have developed.
Working life is placing new demands
Another central theme at the conference will be major changes in the labour market, which are placing completely new demands on the skills and competencies of workers.
Dan Grannas points out that the labour market is undergoing many structural changes when it comes to technology, demographics and the green transition.
“This is changing the demand for labour and the need for the right skills and competencies. Without the right skills and competencies, it will be more difficult to gain a foothold in the labour market, while, at the same time, new skills are necessary for innovation and development,” he says.
He believes that developments in AI and digitalisation, in particular, will shape the labour market in the coming years.
“Many people are worried about losing their jobs due to AI. Based on studies carried out by, for instance, the OECD, the job loss is not expected to be enormous, but you do need to upgrade your skills or be prepared to retrain to maintain your employment,” says Dan Grannas.
Employers are also increasingly demanding employees who are able to adapt and learn new things – not just employees with certain educational qualifications.
“Some employers are no longer looking at your educational background as much. They want people with competencies such as learning ability and critical thinking, as well as interpersonal and collaboration skills, who can keep up with developments, adapt to modern working life and adopt new technologies,” he says.
Lifelong learning will be vital
That is precisely why lifelong learning is a key issue of the conference. Both researchers and decision-makers point out that adults need to have better opportunities to update their skills and competencies throughout their working lives.
Yet, experience shows it is often the groups that need upskilling the most who participate the least.
“Some age groups and people with low skills – who really need upskilling – don’t make use of the opportunity for lifelong learning. In the PIAAC assessment, the group aged 55 and over, for example, indicated to a great extent that they had a desire to pursue continuing education, but for one reason or another, didn’t start any courses,” says Dan Grannas.
He points out that such a development risks creating even greater differences in the labour market.
“Highly-educated people often participate in continuing education because they understand it enables them to remain attractive in the labour market and ensures positive development. But if people with a low level of competencies are left behind, it will be very difficult for them to keep up with the rapid development,” he says.
According to Dan Grannas, there is a need for close collaboration and dialogue between employers, authorities and education systems.
“It’s very important that the labour market partners and the education system work together on what competencies are needed today and tomorrow and how learning in the workplace can be supported,” he says.
How do we maintain our position?
The PIAAC Conference 2026 will be a discussion of how the Nordic and Baltic regions can maintain their position as strong knowledge societies in a time of rapid change – without some demographics of the population being left out in the cold.
According to Kari Nissinen, the conference will be a forum to discuss what new questions the PIAAC results raise for the Nordic and Baltic countries.
“I expect useful discussions on how we can strengthen the group with a low level of competency and ensure that the differences between the strong and the weak groups don’t widen,” he says.
