1.

RECALLING the political background to this issue as set out in Annex to these conclusions, and in particular that: (a) the social dimension of education as stated in the first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that allow full participation in society and successful transitions in the labour market (1); (b) the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. As noted in the Commission's Reflection Paper ‘Towards a Sustainable Europe by 2030’, ‘everything is changing for everyone. Education, science, technology, research and innovation are a prerequisite for achieving a sustainable EU economy that meets the UN Sustainable Development Goals’; (c) the Council on 22 May 2018 adopted Conclusions on moving towards a vision of a European Education Area (2), in which it set out that a European Education Area should be underpinned by the lifelong learning continuum, and stressed that initiatives under a European Education Area should include all levels and types of education and training, including adult education and vocational education and training; (d) the ageing population in Europe, increased longevity in society and the need to foster intergenerational cooperation, the accelerating changes in the labour market, emerging forms of work and the penetration of digital technologies in all aspects of daily life result in a growing demand for new skills and a higher level of skills, knowledge and competences; this gives added urgency to the need to upskill or reskill all people who have not mastered basic skills or have not gained a qualification to ensure their employability and active citizenship; (e) in the light of the major transformations now taking place in labour markets, inclusive and quality education and training — delivered at all stages of life — have become even more crucial, and the Union faces an upskilling and reskilling imperative requiring strategic approaches towards lifelong learning and skills development; some data suggest that as soon as 2022, 54 % of all employees will require significant upskilling and reskilling (3); (f) the Education and Training 2020 (ET2020) adult learning benchmark has been stagnant in the Union for the last decade: in 2017, 10,9 % of adults had recently undertaken some form of learning activity, against the 2020 benchmark of 15 % (4); (g) the Country Specific Recommendations within the European Semester have identified upskilling, reskilling and lifelong learning as a key challenge to be addressed in the future for various Member States; (h) in 2017, 61 million adults aged 25 to 64 in the Union had stopped their formal education before they had completed upper secondary education (5); at the same time the share of early leavers from education and training in 2017 was 10,6 % and is now close to reaching the target set for 2020, namely less than 10 %, however rates between countries vary greatly; 43 % of the Union population has an insufficient level of digital skills and 17 % has none at all (6); and around 20 % of the adult population in countries participating in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (7) struggles with basic skills like literacy and numeracy. Provision for these adults therefore requires urgent attention; (i) there is no one-size-fits-all; employed, unemployed and inactive people and the many different sub-groups all have specific needs; assessing and validating legally residing migrants' and refugees' skills and competences and their upskilling and reskilling will accelerate their entry to the labour market and their smooth integration into their new communities; (j) investment in upskilling and reskilling can have a strong economic impact including a higher productivity and economic growth; a more skilled and competent population able to stimulate innovation and technological progress (8); growth in tax revenues and reduced public expenditure due to individuals' improved health, social and civic engagement, and lower levels of involvement in criminal activities (9); (k) for individuals, upskilling and reskilling can lead to enhanced employability, higher earnings, better health and wellbeing, more active citizenship and social inclusion. However, individuals and employers may have difficulties in recognising these effects and therefore underinvest in upskilling and reskilling, which calls for setting the right incentives to stimulate awareness and motivation to engage in further education and training; (l) in light of this, the Council on 19 December 2016 adopted the Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults (‘the Recommendation’) (10), which calls for a strategic and coordinated approach to providing joined-up learning opportunities to the Union's 61 million (11) low-skilled and/or low-qualified adults and aimed to support adults with low levels of skills and qualifications to enhance their basic skills, i.e. literacy, numeracy and digital competence, and/or to acquire a broader set of skills, knowledge and competences and by progressing towards higher qualifications; (m) the Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways recommends Member States to offer to low-skilled and/or low-qualified adults access to upskilling opportunities built around an easily accessible pathway comprising three steps: skills assessment to identify existing skills and upskilling needs; a tailor-made offer of learning and mentoring, to enable them to update skills and fill deficits; and the opportunity to have their acquired skills, knowledge and competences validated and recognised with a view to gaining a qualification or giving access to employment.