(ANSA) - Rome, October 5 - OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said Thursday that over 13 million adults in Italy, or 40% of the adult population, have low numeracy and literacy skills, as he presented a diagnostic report on the country.

"This is much higher than the share of low-skilled adults across OECD countries, who on average make up 27% of the population," he said. "It is also higher than what is observed in Germany and Poland, where the share of low-skilled adults comprise 23% and 29% of the population, respectively. "Italy also has a relatively low share of first-time tertiary graduates at 35% on par with countries like Hungary, Mexico and Luxembourg compared to the OECD average of 49%".

It was not all bad news though.

"Italian workers display relatively good 'readiness-to-learn and problem solving' skills, suggesting that more targeted education and training policies could help develop and make better use of skills," he said. "Italy has already taken important steps towards this, through an ambitious reform process. "The Good School Reform, the Jobs Act, and the Industry 4.0 programme have been milestones".

