Michael Ward is a senior policy analyst at the OECD since 2009. During his work at the OECD, he developed and managed the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) for Development project which aimed to make the assessment more accessible to and relevant for a wider range of countries. He subsequently led the OECD’s efforts to mainstream the project’s instruments and approaches in PISA 2018, PISA 2022, PISA 2025 and PISA 2029. Since 2013, he has been the OECD’s focal point for the Education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4). Currently, he is co-leading the work on PISA-Vocational Education and Training (VET). Inspired by PISA, the OECD is developing a new international assessment to measure the skills of learners completing initial VET programmes in selected occupations. Michael is leading the work designed to measure the learners’ ability to use their professional knowledge and skills to meet challenges faced in the workplace.