Cedefop published the results of a study on empowering adults through upskilling and reskilling pathways.

CEDEFOP’s new publication presents the first volume of research on upskilling and reskilling the qualifications of adults. The purpose of the report is to better understand the scale of the size of the adult population with a low level of skills in the EU-28 Member States, Iceland and Norway (EU-28+). It also aims to determine which groups of adults are most at risk of being low-skilled according to a broader definition going beyond just educational attainment to digital skills, cognitive skills (literacy and numeracy) as well as the effects of skill loss and obsolescence.

For the purpose of this research, the following skill domains of adults (aged 25 to 64) were investigated:  educational attainment, computer and digital skills, as well as cognitive skills (numeracy and literacy). Data on adults with secondary or higher education (ISCED 5-8) but working in elementary occupations were also analysed (as a proxy for skills obsolescence/skill loss).

The report shows that in Poland, the incidence of low skill levels among adults is higher than that observed on average in the EU28+ countries in all the skill domains considered (except for educational attainment). It is also estimated that the share of the adult population with the potential for upskilling and reskilling ranges between 28.9% and 40.6% of the total adult population, that is, from 6 to 8.4 million adults.

The report is available from the Cedefop website.