EPALE - Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe

I am very sorry that the complete power outage in Kyiv today prevented me from joining this event.

Dear Colleagues,

It has been an inspiring day full of valuable thoughts and contributions. The official moderation is now over, but the discussion remains open for more important insights.

Thank you again for all of you!

Lifelong learning is an indispensable future-oriented metaskill as it addresses the twin challenges of economic transformation and social cohesion. For the labor market, it ensures employability and resilience by enabling workers to continuously upskill and reskill in response to the rapid obsolescence of skills caused by AI and automation. 

Beyond professional adaptation, it also serves as a catalyst for profound personal fulfillment, fostering mental agility and creativity throughout one's life. 

Crucially, in terms of democracy and social inclusion, continuous learning cultivates critical citizenship—equipping individuals to analyze complex information and combat disinformation—while simultaneously serving as a powerful tool for reducing social exclusion, narrowing the skills gap among marginalized groups, and fostering informed civic participation essential for a cohesive modern society.

A significant question will be, what correlation we may see and identify in between rising participation in ALE and the constant fall of skills, according to PIAAC figures! Most probably the rate of functional illiteracy is a challenging issue to claim for more basic skills programmes in both formal and non-formal environments by restarting second chance opportunities for adults.

The lack of public and policy discourse on PIAAC in some EU-member countries in CEE, may also reflect the limited interest of the political to turn negative trends by making use of funds connected to the European programme of Union of Skills and to help people to change status and choices and society for inclusion and equitable futures.

I also think that not only OECD focuses, but also the recent publication of UNESCO on the Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education might also needs reflective attention to help education move respinding to needs of learners with renewed social contracts. - Futures of Education: learning to become - UNESCO Digital Library; Reimagining our futures together: a new social contract for education - UNESCO Digital Library

Let me highlight the scope of the World Economic Forum on Futute of Jobs - 2025 WEF_Future_of_Jobs_Report_2025.pdf, the skills focus relate toCore Skills in 2025as it is resonating the relations and dependencies amongst basic, vocational and transversal skills so as to signal the role and importance of lifelong learning as mindset to promote and support participatory actions emphasizing empowerment, engagement and resilience as Prof. Grotlüschen just underlined upon critical and reflective thinking.

Accordingly, future skills will be directly related, for example, to analytical thinking resilience, flexibility and agility, leadership and social influence, creative thinking motivation and self-awareness, technological literacy, together with empathy and active listening

The relation in between good rate of literacy, problem-solving and soc.ial and emotional sensitivity, attention and reflectivity. As an opposite aspect, the lack of and limited presence of basic skills may also result in non-participation, vulnerability, alienation, but also in readiness to socially separate and neglect collaborative actions to collect and share good knowledge and develop skills. 

Beyond, functional illiteracy is another problem how to engage people with limited or falling skills to join community-based skills development programmes both for jobs and for community engagement. This is also a challenging matter for successful outreach.

Digital and technological challenges, AI will certainly affect almost all adults. There is a socail and economic responsibility to help adults to get their skills develop in order not to suffer change, but also to make use of change and also to prepare for sustainable measures.  

Thank you to all contributors for the inspiring insights. For truly “future-proof” adult learning, it is essential not only which skills we develop, but also how quickly our systems can respond to new data. Adaptability is becoming a core meta-skill alongside digital, green and socio-emotional competences.

A data-informed approach (e.g. using PIAAC or skills forecasts), combined with recognition of prior learning and individual needs assessment, seems crucial. For example, working with data as a key component of digital literacy — especially in the context of the green transition — naturally requires critical thinking, clear communication and ethical reflection. Integrated, real-life tasks therefore support the development of multiple future-oriented skills at once.

Looking ahead, shortening the cycle data → redesign → implementation → feedback will be vital, especially to better reach adults who traditionally engage the least in learning.

With the AI advances and relevant changes of labor markets, we know that future will be dramatic. The way we acquire new skills and know-how will have to keep changing in order to adapt future speed of development. Thus, it seems to me that - apart from the issue of WHAT TO FOCUS on - it is equally important to focus on the SPEED - the level of adaptability and also willingness to constantly learn and adapt quickly among populations. Something we should promote not only on formal education level, but also in adult learning. So, I believe, we will face not only skill gaps in the future, but also speed gaps - the threat that large portions of populations will not be able to adapt to the extreme speed of changes, driven by post-singularity AI and advanced automation driven by post-singularity AI.

On  the other hand, there are people who prefer to think that since post-singularity AI will do almost all the tasks and jobs for us, we will not need to work and just enjoy themselves and send our future AI avatars to work and training and learning activities. Well, I don´t really think it is going to be that way but you can always decide what to think yourselves :-)

Across Europe, we face an urgent demand for deep tech skills in areas like AI, data science, and cybersecurity. At the same time, many refugees and immigrants possess untapped potential and motivation to contribute - if only they are offered the right pathways into the digital economy.

Our recent work with the Alliance for Deep Tech Skills and Education of Refugees and Immigrants (ALDEEP) highlights how inclusive, AI-supported training models can empower adult learners from diverse backgrounds to fill Europe’s tech talent gap.

How can we make adult learning systems more agile, inclusive, and responsive to emerging skills - especially for those who are new to Europe? I would love to hear from educators, policymakers, and practitioners:

👉 What approaches have you seen that successfully connect inclusion with future-oriented digital skills?

As part of the International Women’s Organization Zonta, I envision a future where every woman lives in safety, dignity, and equality. To build such a future, women need skills that strengthen both their personal and professional development. Digital literacy and critical thinking help women stay safe, informed, and capable of navigating a rapidly evolving technological world. Emotional intelligence and resilience enable women to strengthen themselves and others, fostering a compassionate and secure society. Financial literacy and economic independence form the foundation of safety, confidence, and freedom from violence. Equally important are leadership and the courage to advocate — the ability to influence decisions, defend rights, and inspire change. Healthy relationships and an awareness of personal boundaries help women recognize and prevent any form of violence, while self-directed learning and adaptability ensure readiness for the challenges and opportunities of the future. ....

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you found the videostream interesting, we certainly did. Let us pick up the thread from here. 

• What are the most important future-oriented skills for you and your organisation? 

• Do you make use of any data for designing your programs?

• And: what is the future of adults in Europe in your view?

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you found the videostream interesting, we certainly did. Let us pick up the thread from here. 

• What are the most important future-oriented skills for you and your organisation? 

• Do you make use of any data for designing your programs?

• And: what is the future of adults in Europe in your view?

Good afternoon!

First and foremost, basic skills are necessary as a first step towards a fundamental understanding of what is essential in order to become aware of how quickly the world is changing and how necessary new skills are, as well as to tackle the obsolescence of our skills.

But then, other skills are needed, which we can group into three categories:

a) Cognitive skills (Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving; Creativity and Innovation; Digital and Data Literacy);

b) Interpersonal skills (communication and collaboration, adaptability and resilience; emotional intelligence);

c) Self-management skills (lifelong learning mindset; self-direction and initiative and responsibility).

Recently, an article published in EPALE (Does the Future Belong to the Social Sciences? | EPALE)  also brought to light an aspect that is sometimes forgotten, which the author summarised as follows: “In a time of hyper-automation and digital speed, what makes us human becomes our greatest advantage. Empathy, listening skills, ethical reasoning, and understanding social processes are the fundamental competencies of the future”. 

The author concluded that “Social sciences are therefore not just making a comeback—they are the gateway we must pass through if we want technology to serve humanity, rather than the other way around”. 

However, the social sciences are often seen today as taking a back seat.

In Portugal, in the field of adult education, we have two key competence standards (one for basic education and another for upper-secondary education) that focus heavily on these basic skills and soft skills and are used both in adult education and training and in the recognition, validation and certification of competences. In addition, more technical and professional standards are created and updated on a regular basis by Sector Councils for Qualification (SCQ). These councils collaborate with the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education and Training (ANQEP) in updating level 2, 4 and 5 qualifications, which are available in the National Catalogue of Qualifications. 

The 18 Sector Councils for Qualification  integrate several stakeholders (social partners, representatives appointed by the Ministry in charge of the activity sector, reference companies, VET providers, independent experts, competitiveness clusters…) bringing together the world of education and training and the world of work. They seek to ensure a sectoral representation of the national economic activity, and they are an example of a bottom-up approach in the design of qualifications. 

Thank you for launching this rich discussion on future-oriented skills development—it’s incredibly timely and inspiring. As our world evolves rapidly, the need to ground adult learning in solid evidence (like PIAAC data) and forward-looking skills forecasting is more critical than ever.

I’m particularly excited about the idea of using large-scale data to design basic skills programmes that are not only responsive to current challenges, but also resilient to future changes. Turning evidence into practice is a powerful approach.

A question I’d love to see discussed further: how can we combine digital, green, and socio-emotional skills in a way that supports learners with very different backgrounds and learning needs?

Thank you to EPALE for organising this — looking forward to contributing and learning with this community.