AIR will present in a symposium (see below for more details) at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. The full online program is forthcoming.

Symposium: What Skills Are Key to Labor Force Success?: Results from PIAAC

Abstract: This session explores skills that are associated with positive labor force outcomes for adults. Papers in this session look at the impact of cognitive skills (literacy, numeracy, and problem solving), soft skills, and digital literacy on these outcomes, which include employment and earnings. Papers in the session examine this issue from various perspectives, discussing trends over time and transitions into the workforce. Data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will be used in all of the papers.

Papers:

• Transitions into the Labor Force: Examining U.S. Young Adults by Student-and Employment Status – Emily Pawlowski, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

• Examining Earnings, Higher Education Attainment, and the Use of Soft Skills among U.S. Workers – Huacong Liu, University of Hamburg and Frank Joseph Fernandez, University of Houston

• Who is not Digitally Literate in the United States? – Saida Mamedova, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

• The Changing Impact of Literacy Skills on Trends in Key Indicators of Economic Performance – T. Scott Murray, DataAngel Policy Research