EPALE - Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe

By Dorthe Kirkgaard Nielsen – Link to LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorthe-kirkgaard-nielsen-b491366/ – for EPALE Denmark

For the individual citizen, basic skills are essential for job opportunities, good wages, participation in education, health, trust and community engagement. For society, when basic skills are lacking, this has implications for everything from productivity and competitiveness to prosperity, welfare, social cohesion and healthcare costs. 

At the same time, adults who lack basic skills rarely feel the need to engage in upskilling or the desire to go back to the classroom to improve their skills within maths, writing, reading or to acquire basic digital skills. 

So how can we solve this almost Gordian knot of a problem: That basic skills are absolutely essential for the population – both at the individual level and for society in general – while, at the same time, the adult citizens who need to boost their skillsets are rarely motivated to do just that? 

How can we make basic skills development more engaging, relevant and impactful for adults who, in most cases, have not had a good experience at school, and who do not necessarily thrive in traditional educational programmes? 

At VUC Storstrøm, we have the answer to these two questions: A new typology for adult and continuing education with a focus on strategic competence development in companies. The way this works is that a concrete skills need at a workplace triggers a tailored training course that simultaneously serves to boost basic skills. 

We need to get away from stigma

An example of this would be social and healthcare workers in Lolland Municipality receiving training in Danish documentation practices, and at the same time improving their basic reading and writing skills. Or when a manufacturing company adopts a new IT system, requiring employees to upskill and simultaneously using the opportunity to enhance overall digital competencies. 

“Learning that is directly related to the individual's immediate work life proves effective for this target group. Where we come away from the stigma that you are bad at Danish, but instead turn it around and focus on the fact that you need to become better at documentation in your workplace. Better at your work. This is motivating,” says Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen, Head of Education, Business and Development at VUC Storstrøm.

This work "Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen" is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen, chef for Uddannelse, Erhverv og Udvikling på VUC Storstrøm. 

At VUC Storstrøm, for years there has been a steady decline in participation in traditional adult education programmes – both in Preparatory Adult Education (FVU) and Dyslexia Education for Adults (OBU). On the other hand, we are seeing a sharp increase in students on vocational courses — within both FVU and OBU.  

“If we are to succeed in boosting basic competencies and skills, we need to think differently. We’ve long had a highly scholastic approach to skills development and lifelong learning. Instead, our focus should be on how skills and competencies can come into play. If it helps you in your everyday life — e.g. at work — then people will want to learn, but it is important not to link this to the idea of old-fashioned school skills,” he points out. 

Experience of personal improvement

Because for a target group that is often carrying negative experiences from their school years – or perhaps facing linguistic or cultural barriers – they’re not interested in returning to the classroom. On the other hand, experience from VUC Storstrøm shows that if students experience an immediate improvement in their lives, they become much more receptive to learning.

“Most people want to learn if it’s done right and if they can see a purpose in it. If the purpose is clear, they become better at their work in the company – for instance, with a specific task like documentation – and at the same time, this process can also serve to improve their Danish language skills,” explains Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen. 

The same can apply to an OBU course for sanitation workers in Næstved, or a course in everyday Danish for Ukrainian production workers at a company in Nakskov, for example. 

“By the time they finish, the employees will have gotten better at doing their jobs, but they may also have learned reading skills, spelling skills or how to check their e-Boks. They experience a personal improvement and acquire skills they can also use in their day-to-day lives. So it becomes a kind of trinity – they become better at their work, better at basic skills and better at participating in Danish society,” he says.  

Still many Danes with low skill levels

The need to find alternative solutions to boost the basic skills of the population is also absolutely crucial. 

Although the latest PIAAC study from the OECD, published last year, showed an improvement in both literacy and numeracy among adult Danes since the previous PIAAC in 2012, the number of Danes with low skills levels has remained virtually unchanged.  

The study showed that 667,000 Danes between the ages of 16 and 65 have low literacy, equivalent to 18 percent of all adults, and that 620,000 Danes in the same age group, equivalent to 17 percent, have numeracy skills at a low level.  

“Skills improvements between 2011/2012 and 2022/2023 have mostly occurred at the top — amongst those with the highest levels. Reading skills have especially improved among individuals with long-cycle higher education qualifications, which means that inequality in basic skills based on educational background is increasing,” concludes Vibeke Jakobsen, Senior Researcher at VIVE – The Danish Centre for Social Science Research. 

This work ".Vibeke Jakobsen" is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Vibeke Jakobsen, seniorforsker ved VIVE – Det Nationale Forsknings- og Analysecenter for Velfærd. 

“The good news is that, overall, we are seeing an improvement and the number of citizens with poor basic skills is not growing. The question is whether that is good enough. Many had hoped that the share of those with the lowest skills would have been smaller, and actually it has not changed,” she says.

There is a large overlap between people with poor skill levels in reading and arithmetic. Overall, the study estimates that about 550,000 adult Danes have both low literacy and low numeracy skills. 

“The actual number of Danes at the lowest skill level has increased slightly compared to the previous PIAAC, but according to Vibeke Jakobsen, this is due to population growth – the percentage remains more or less the same.

Need for upskilling

If you dig a little deeper into the numbers, Denmark ranks above the international average in overall reading and numeracy skills – but below the other Nordic countries.

Among adults with poor basic skills are those with limited education, immigrants, older individuals, people in poor health, and those who are unemployed. 

At the same time, the study also confirms what previous research has shown – those with the fewest skills are also the least likely to seek out education. 

“They may not feel they need education themselves, but citizens with the lowest skill levels are the most vulnerable – for example if they lose their job, if their work tasks change, or if society evolves and they cannot keep up. So there is a need for upskilling,” says Vibeke Jakobsen. 

She stresses that basic skills are not only essential for job opportunities, but also for being able to function in everyday life – for example, when out shopping, talking to the bank, using your phone, communicating with your doctor, understanding your health, democratic participation and everything else. 

“It has major consequences for society when there is a lack of basic skills among the population. The less employable citizens are, the lower the productivity – and the fewer opportunities there are to put money into the welfare system. It can also affect social cohesion and democracy, because a country needs active participants," explains Vibeke Jakobsen.  

Denmark has been working to raise skill levels among adults for more than 25 years, and the FVU programme was originally launched in 2000, following another study that also highlighted challenges with basic skills among low-educated ethnic Danes. Among other things, it laid the foundation for FVU Danish and FVU Mathematics. 

“Since those with the greatest need neither participate in nor wish to take part in upskilling, there’s a need for a different kind of effort – something other than what we’re currently doing,” says Vibeke Jakobsen.

Tests and exams can block learning

At VUC Storstrøm, there is no doubt that one of the ways to reach the target group is via strategic skills development in the workplace coupled with the development of basic skills. In this way, adult education becomes a combination of concrete skills and general competences. 

“Adult learning works for the target group when it’s directly relatable, practically relevant, not too scholastic, and not too long – and ideally wrapped in a purpose that is tied to the company or the employee, so that the learning objectives are embedded in the intention to improve at something specific,” says Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen. 

The skills development process must therefore be uniquely developed in accordance with the specific needs of the company — so that both the company and the employee can see the benefit of upskilling. 

“We need to think about reading, writing, and arithmetic in a new way, and perhaps new education ordinances will be needed if we are to seriously step up our efforts. If, in the long term, we could combine labour market training – AMU courses – with Danish language components, many would also feel more motivated and more confident about learning Danish,” he says. 

In addition, it is important to move away from the highly formalised system of tests and exams, because many in the target audience do not want to participate if there are tests and exams involved.

“This can hinder learning, because their old school traumas resurface – so even though we as education professionals believe that tests and certificates are important, they’re not important to everyone. So we have to stop putting things in boxes and think differently if we really want to boost people's basic skills,” Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen points out. 

Competence development must be a priority

If this mission is to succeed, first of all, it will require space and time for skills development – for employers and companies to prioritise the upskilling of their employees. 

“Their focus is on earning money, and that’s perfectly fine. Most of the time, they’re too busy for skills development, and right now, in our coverage area, there isn’t enough labour available – so in practice, it’s difficult to find substitute workers,” says Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen. 

In addition, this approach also requires skills development among staff at adult education centres in terms of supporting an adaptive approach to learners and to each individual teaching scenario in relation to method and objectives. 

“It takes a strong academic and didactic foundation and a completely different skillset to teach based on the context and needs of a company rather than in preparation for a test or exam,” he says. 

Another way to raise the population’s basic skill level is through specialised courses in collaboration with interest organisations. On that front, VUC Storstrøm has, among other things, developed targeted online courses for the DaneAge Association (Ældre Sagen) on using LinkedIn and basic knowledge of AI, as well as a tailored digital programme for parents of children with dyslexia, in collaboration with the organisation Skole og Forældre. 

“Even though each course has a specific topic, the participants also learn basic digital skills. “So that’s another way to raise the population’s basic competencies,” says Rasmus Kjær Kristiansen.