Comment of the week

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist

All of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.

The international adult skills survey PIAAC starts today, the aim of which is to collect information about people's everyday skills such as reading and mathematical literacy, information retrieval, computer and information technology use, as well as education and work experience. Estonia is participating in the survey for the second time.

"Previous analyzes of the PIAAC study have shown that coping in the labor market, in education and in social life requires the necessary basic skills," said Renno Veinthal , Deputy Chancellor of the Ministry of Education and Research . "Since basic skills can be learned, the results of the study provide important input on the bottlenecks that need to be solved in adult education and enable action to ensure that everyone's preparation better meets the needs of the changing labor market," Veinthal highlighted.

According to the results of a previous study ten years ago, our adults' basic information processing skills, functional reading and mathematical literacy were among the best in the world. However, the ability to use technology to solve problems turned out to be weaker in Estonia compared to other countries that participated in the study.

The PIAAC survey is conducted in Estonia by the Statistics Office, whose director general says that it is very important to participate in the survey again in order to evaluate the activities of the period between the two surveys and draw conclusions.

"The PIAAC study is like a PISA test for adults, where people's skills are mapped using a background questionnaire and various linguistic, mathematical and other life tasks. However, it is important to understand that this is still a study, not a test or an exam. We do not assign grades to anyone, we generalize the answers received during the analysis and we keep the data strictly confidential," said Urmet Lee , Director General of the Statistics Office .

During the survey, which will take place from September to April, the Statistics Office will interview up to 13,000 people aged 16-65 on the basis of a random sample. Each person included in the sample is unique, because it represents other Estonian residents similar to themselves in terms of age, gender, place of residence, education or other parameters. "Therefore, I make it a point that if you get an invitation to participate in the study, definitely do it. Your contribution is very important," emphasized Lee.

In the summer of 2021, the PIAAC 2018-2023 pilot study was conducted with 1,500 people who helped refine the questionnaire and test the tasks. "Despite the difficult epidemiological situation, Estonia managed the pilot study very well. We thank everyone who participated in the pilot survey and thus made the main survey possible," added the Director General of the Statistical Office.

In September, the information leaflet introducing the PIAAC survey will arrive in the mailboxes of the people in the sample, along with a request to contact the surveyor of the Statistical Office in order to agree on a suitable time and place for the face-to-face survey. There is no time limit for answering, but it should be taken into account that on average it takes two hours to complete the survey.

You can familiarize yourself with the sample tasks of the study here .

Source: https://www.hm.ee/et/uudised/uuring-selgitab-kas-eesti-taiskasvanud-sama-nutikad-kui-meie-lapsed