Upskilling Pathways initiative aims to help adults acquire a minimum level of literacy, numeracy and digital skills and/or acquire a broader set of skills by progressing towards an upper secondary qualification or equivalent.
19.12.2018 advocacy, engaging new learners, policy

EAEA statement on Upskilling Pathways

The European Council adopted the Upskilling Pathways strategy in December 2016. EAEA has collected feedback from its members on the state of the implementation and the impact of this strategy, and would like to highlight some key recommendations based on the feedback.

EAEA has very much welcomed Upskilling Pathways as it is an ambitious basic skills strategy that would enable many of the adults in Europe with low basic skills to have their skills assessed, receive tailored learning provision and have their learning outcomes validated. The feedback of our members, based on the Country Reports 2018, present a diverse picture of implementation of the initiative in different countries.

Upskilling Pathways has already had an impact in quite a few member states. Nevertheless, EAEA would like to highlight some key recommendations for the broader and better implementation of the Upskilling Pathways.

EAEA recommendations:

1.       Strengthen the governance of adult education and basic skills in the framework of lifelong learning. A comprehensive lifelong learning strategy will help link learning pathways. Within the Upskilling Pathways strategy the responsibilities need to be clearly spelt out.

2.       Reinforce cooperation between ministries, sectors and institutions of different backgrounds. A good strategy needs good cooperation between different sectors and institutions. Upskilling Pathways can be a real incentive to start building bridges.

3.       Cooperate with civil society and providers. Including them from the early stages of implementation will ensure outreach, adequate provision and ownership.

4.       Analyse and remove barriers that hinder people from participating. Barriers that hinder people from participating, especially from disadvantaged groups, need to be examined in depth.

5.       Link adult education and basic skills to existing strategies. In many countries, there are social inclusion strategies for disadvantaged groups, but they do not take adult education into account.

6.       Prioritise and invest in adult learning and basic skills. Public investment in adult education and learning and basic skills is crucial for outreach, making the system work and enabling the participation of those who need it most.

7.       Fund and support learning in communities. Communities are essential when wanting to support increased participation of potential learners who have had the least opportunities in the past.

8.       Strengthen non-formal structures. Better infrastructure for non-formal adult education through legislation, institutional development and continuous financing is needed.

Read the full statement on Upskilling Pathways (pdf)

More information

Gina Ebner
EAEA Secretary-General
tel: +32 2 893 25 24
gina.ebner(at)eaea.org

Text: EAEA  Photo: European Commission

News

More news >
24.04.2026 Democracy

Digitalisation, skills, and community learning: what’s at stake for adult education in Europe

Europe’s digital transition is reshaping how people work, participate in society, and access services. Yet many adults still lack the basic digital skills needed to benefit from these changes, raising urgent questions for policymakers and adult learning providers alike: how can ALE systems become more inclusive, better funded, and more responsive to learners’ realities?

23.04.2026 access

How do we build trustworthy and transparent adult education registries?

The RALExILA initiative came to an end in late March 2026, with the release of the guidelines and models to support the development of accessible, inclusive and interoperable (digital) ecosystems for adult education and individual learning accounts.

21.04.2026 adult educators

Supporting a culture of quality in the ALE sector

For many educators and policymakers, ‘Quality Assurance’ is linked to strong bureaucratic processes and additional workload, while in our approach Quality Assurance in education is to be seen as a mindful process of continuous improvements.