What the OECD Report Means –

Across advanced economies, industries are facing a workforce transition unlike anything seen in decades. According to research from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, more than 2.6 million workers are expected to retire from manufacturing jobs in the United States alone over the next decade, creating significant pressure on employers already struggling to fill skilled positions.

At the same time, employers across sectors continue to report difficulties finding workers with the technical and practical skills needed for modern industrial roles. This growing Skills Gap is increasing pressure on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) providers to prepare the next generation of skilled workers.

But solving workforce shortages is not simply about attracting more learners into vocational pathways. It is also about ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to succeed once they arrive.

This is where a recent OECD report offers valuable insights. Exploring how AI and assistive technologies can support neurodivergent learners, the report highlights a challenge that extends well beyond accessibility: how can TVET providers create learning environments that unlock the potential of a broader and more diverse talent pool?

Why TVET Matters for Neurodivergent Learners

TVET has long provided alternative pathways to success for learners whose strengths are not always reflected in traditional academic environments. Its practical, skills-focused approach can offer valuable opportunities for students who thrive through hands-on experiences, applied learning, and direct connections to employment.

This is particularly relevant when considering neurodiversity.

Conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia affect millions of learners worldwide. Across many education systems, the number of students identified as requiring additional educational support continues to rise. In England, for example, research from the UK Department of Education shows that more than one in five pupils are now identified as having special educational needs.

Yet focusing solely on neurodivergent learners risks missing the bigger picture.

Today’s learners, regardless of diagnosis or background, have different expectations about how education should be delivered. They expect flexibility. They expect content to be available in multiple formats. They expect digital experiences that reflect the way they access information in other areas of their lives.

For TVET providers, the challenge is therefore not simply one of accommodation. It is about creating learning environments that can support a wider diversity of learners while meeting the expectations of a new generation.

It is within this context that the OECD’s latest report on AI and neurodivergent learners arrives.

What the OECD Research Reveals About Neurodivergent Learners in TVET

The OECD report offers a timely reminder that creating more inclusive learning environments is not only an educational priority, it is also increasingly an economic one. While the report explores a range of emerging technologies and approaches, three insights stand out for TVET providers.

Insight #1: The biggest barriers are often systemic, not individual.

One of the report’s strongest messages is that many of the challenges faced by neurodivergent learners are not caused by a lack of ability, but by learning environments that have been designed around a narrow understanding of how people learn.

The OECD argues that educational systems frequently assume learners will consume information, engage with content, and demonstrate knowledge in similar ways. When this assumption does not reflect reality, barriers emerge that can affect participation, progression, and ultimately employment outcomes.

For TVET providers, this represents an important shift in perspective. The question is no longer how learners can adapt to existing systems, but how systems can become more responsive to different learning needs.

Insight #2: Neurodiversity should be viewed as a source of talent, not a challenge to manage.

A second theme running throughout the report is the importance of moving beyond deficit-based thinking.

The OECD highlights the strengths that neurodivergent individuals can bring to education and employment, including alternative ways of thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and information processing. Yet these strengths often remain underutilised because barriers prevent learners from fully participating in education and training.

At a time when employers across industries are struggling to find skilled workers, overlooking neurodiverse talent is becoming increasingly difficult to justify. Expanding access and improving outcomes for neurodivergent learners is not simply an inclusion initiative; it is also a workforce development opportunity.

Insight #3: Technology can help create more inclusive pathways into employment

The OECD report also explores how AI-powered and assistive technologies can help reduce barriers throughout the learning journey.

Importantly, the OECD does not present technology as a replacement for effective teaching. Instead, technology is positioned as an enabler that can help create more flexible, accessible, and personalised learning experiences.

The ultimate goal is not technology adoption itself. It is improving educational outcomes, strengthening learner confidence, and helping more people successfully transition into employment. For TVET providers, that distinction matters. Technology delivers value when it helps learners develop skills, complete training, and progress into meaningful careers.

Why the OECD Highlights Text to Speech as a High-Impact Support

Among the technologies discussed in the report, text to speech (TTS) and speech to text are identified as some of the most impactful tools available to support neurodivergent learners.

This recognition is significant.

For years, accessibility advocates have argued that assistive technologies should not be viewed as optional accommodations, but as essential tools that enable learners to access information in ways that align with their strengths. The OECD’s findings provide further validation of this position.

The value of text to speech extends far beyond accessibility compliance. Its impact can be seen in the outcomes it enables.

For learners who struggle with reading fluency or decoding text, listening can reduce cognitive effort and allow greater focus on comprehension and learning objectives. For learners with attention-related challenges, audio support can make content easier to engage with and process. For others, having multiple ways to access information can increase independence and confidence.

The report also highlights an often-overlooked benefit of accessibility technologies: learner wellbeing.

When students can access content in ways that align with their preferences and strengths, learning can become less frustrating and more manageable. This can reduce unnecessary cognitive effort, improve confidence, support engagement, and contribute to a stronger sense of independence.

These factors are closely linked to educational outcomes. Learners who feel supported are more likely to participate, persist, and successfully complete their training. Many of these outcomes are also closely connected to learner engagement, one of the most important drivers of success in vocational education.

The OECD report reinforces an important point: accessibility technologies are not simply support tools. They can be powerful enablers of engagement, inclusion, and learner success.

Designing Learning for a Wider Range of Learners

The implications of the OECD’s findings extend far beyond any single technology.

If barriers are often created by the way learning experiences are designed, then accessibility should be considered from the very beginning of the learning process rather than added later as an accommodation.

This principle sits at the heart of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that encourages educators to provide multiple ways for learners to engage with content, access information, and demonstrate understanding.

Rather than creating separate pathways for different groups of learners, UDL seeks to create flexible learning environments that work for as many people as possible from the outset.

For TVET providers, this approach aligns closely with both learner expectations and workforce realities. Flexible learning materials, multiple content formats, and inclusive digital experiences can benefit neurodivergent learners while simultaneously improving the learning experience for many others.

This is why conversations around accessibility in vocational training are increasingly moving beyond compliance and towards educational quality, learner success, and workforce readiness.

The OECD report reinforces this broader perspective. Accessibility is not simply about removing barriers. It is about creating conditions in which more learners can thrive.

Neuroinclusive TVET Is Already a Workforce Strategy

The OECD report arrives at a time when skills shortages remain a major concern across many industries.

As governments, employers, and educators search for ways to strengthen talent pipelines, neurodiversity represents an opportunity that cannot be overlooked.

Creating more inclusive learning environments is not simply about meeting accessibility requirements or adopting new technologies. It is about ensuring that more learners can develop their skills, complete their education, and successfully transition into employment.

For TVET providers, the message is clear.

Supporting neurodivergent learners should not be viewed as a future challenge or a niche consideration. It is increasingly central to building effective education systems and sustainable workforce strategies.

The most successful TVET institutions will be those that recognise inclusion, accessibility, and flexibility as core components of learner success. Technologies such as text to speech have an important role to play, but their greatest value lies in the outcomes they help achieve: greater engagement, stronger participation, improved confidence, enhanced wellbeing, and better pathways into employment.

As the OECD’s latest research suggests, the future of TVET is not simply more digital or more personalised.

It is more inclusive by design.

Supporting More Learners, Strengthening the Workforce

The OECD’s latest research reinforces a message that many educators have recognised for years: when learning becomes more accessible, more learners can succeed.

For TVET providers, that means creating learning environments that support engagement, inclusion, and workforce readiness from the start.

If you’d like to see how ReadSpeaker’s text-to-speech technology is helping institutions address accessibility challenges while supporting skills development and tackling the Skills Gap, explore our TVET resources.