National priorities
Skills Agenda
Around 70 million people in Europe have inadequate basic competences in reading and writing, concerning basic competences in calculating and the handling of digital media, the number of people without adequate competences is even higher. More than half of the long-term unemployed in Europe have acquired minor or deficient basic competences. About 40 percent of companies in Europe have difficulties finding employees with the right skills. Against this background, the EU Commission, under the lead of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, launched the "A New Skills Agenda for Europe" in June 2016. More information
Objectives of the renewed European Agenda for Adult Learning
The primary objective of the Agenda is to strengthen the role of adult learning in the participating countries. Adult education is the weakest link in the development of national systems for lifelong learning.
In order that the adult education sector can make its contribution to realising the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, efforts are required in the following areas, among others, in terms of the Agenda for Adult Learning:
- Increase in the participation rate of adult education, in particular for low-skilled workers;
- Concentration on learning outcomes, in which the focus is on the independent learner, irrespective of where he or she learns – whether it is at work, at home, in the local community, within the scope of volunteer work or in training facilities or educational institutions;
- Support for effective and efficient financing options for the adult education sector;
- Support for opportunities for a “second chance” and the acquisition of basic skills such as reading and writing and numeracy as well as the acquisition of basic skills in the area of information and communication technology;
- Target-group-oriented learning for people with disabilities as well as target-group-oriented learning for older adults;
- Target-group-oriented learning for migrants, early school leavers and young people who are not in school education, vocational training or permanent employment;
- Collaboration among employers, social partners and civil society.