Estimating the determinants of supply of computing, problem-solving, communication, social, and teamworking skills

We investigate the sources of supply of several core skills,using an innovative approach to skills measurement that involvesadapting a job analysis methodology and applying it in a surveycontext. We then estimate the determinants of skills supplyusing a production function model. The main findings are: (i)prior education and work experience have generally positivebut diminishing marginal impacts on skills, consistent withthe earnings function literature; (ii) off-the-job trainingis productive of most types of skill, while on-the-job trainingis effective for the generation of problem-solving and team-workingskills. Both types of training are transferable from previousemployers; (iii) more education enhances the development ofcomputing skills at work, but with respect to other core skills,less educated workers make up for their lower education throughmore work-based learning; (iv) there is a strong associationbetween the presence of some new or flexible organisation characteristicsand both the level and growth of all types of skills. We argueoverall that the contribution of work-based learning to skillsdevelopment is more important than normally allowed for in theskills policy discourse.