The European Year of Skills will run from 9 May 2023 until 8 May 2024.
08.05.2023

European Year of Skills starts on 9 May 2023

The European Year of Skills will start officially on 9 May 2023 and will run until 8 May 2024. The thematic year aims to promote the visibility and uptake of further education and training in adult life and provides a unique opportunity for stakeholders to engage in discussions, learn from each other, and promote work in the field of skills development across Europe.

To kick off the Year, a European Year of Skills Festival will take place on 9 May, linking up with other events and speakers across Europe to showcase skills-related efforts and highlight the value of skills. You can find skills-related activities and events by checking the interactive map on the European Year of Skills website. Throughout the Year, national coordinators will shape the Year in their respective countries, and a Communication Toolkit for the 2023 European Year of Skills is available to help prepare communication activities, events, and media relations.

EAEA would like to stress that skills promoted in the European Year of Skills should be understood in a holistic way: skills that help for professional development, including basic and social skills, but also skills that all citizens need in their daily lives, including life and transversal skills and competences, and skills to strengthen sustainability, democracy, and social inclusion. The year will be an excellent opportunity for the European adult learning and education (ALE) community to showcase its many great achievements in transforming people’s lives and communities.

Text: EAEAPhotos: EAEA

19.01.2026 Project Design Training

Project design training 2026: Inclusion, life skills, and community at the forefront

Between 12–16 January 2026, EAEA organised its third edition of Project Design Training in Brussels, on how to write and conceptualise EU-funded projects in the field of Adult Learning and Education (ALE). This year’s edition highlighted the growing focus of the ALE sector on inclusion, life skills and community-building.

18.01.2026 advocacy

Call for Action: Towards a rights-based, human- and planet-centered ALE in times of digitalisation and AI

The European Association for the Education of Adults has joined the Call for Action: Towards a Rights-Based, Human- and Planet-Centered Youth and Adult Learning and Education (ALE) in Times of Digitalisation and AI, together with ASPBAE, DVV International and ICAE, to reaffirm the central role of adult learning in shaping a fair, democratic and inclusive digital transformation.

15.01.2026 advocacy

Upskilling the agrifood sector for the right to food – a call to action

On January 7, the European Citizens’ Initiative “Food is a Human Right for All! Guaranteeing healthy, just and sustainable food systems” from Good Food 4 All started the collection of signatures. The initiative calls for the systematic guarantee of the right to food to promote healthy, just, humane, and sustainable food systems for present and future generations