Key competences for lifelong learning - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 189/1

The European Pillar of Social Rights (1) states as its first principle 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. It also states the right of everyone ‘to timely and tailor-made assistance to improve employment or self-employment prospects, to training and re-qualification, to continued education and to support for job search’. Fostering the development of competences is one of the aims of the vision towards a European Education Area that would be able ‘to harness the full potential of education and culture as drivers for jobs, social fairness, active citizenship as well as means to experience European identity in all its diversity’ (2).

People need the right set of skills and competences to sustain current standards of living, support high rates of employment and foster social cohesion in the light of tomorrow’s society and world of work. Supporting people across Europe in gaining the skills and competences needed for personal fulfilment, health, employability and social inclusion helps to strengthen Europe’s resilience in a time of rapid and profound change.

In 2006, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted a Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning. In that Recommendation the Member States were asked ‘to develop the provision of key competences for all as part of their lifelong learning strategies, including their strategies for achieving universal literacy, and use the ‘Key Competences for Lifelong Learning — A European Reference Framework’ (3). Since its adoption, the Recommendation was a key reference document for the development of competence-oriented education, training and learning.

Nowadays, competence requirements have changed with more jobs being subject to automation, technologies playing a bigger role in all areas of work and life, and entrepreneurial, social and civic competences becoming more relevant in order to ensure resilience and ability to adapt to change.

At the same time, international surveys such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) indicate a constant high share of teenagers and adults with insufficient basic skills. In 2015 one in five pupils had serious difficulties in developing sufficient reading, mathematic or science skills. (4) In some countries up to one third of adults are proficient at only the lowest levels in literacy and numeracy (5). 44 % of the Union population have low or no (19 %) digital skills (6).

Consequently, investing in basic skills has become more relevant than ever. High quality education, including extra-curricular activities and a broad approach to competence development, improves achievement levels in basic skills. In addition, new ways of learning need to be explored for a society that is becoming increasingly mobile and digital. (7) Digital technologies have an impact on education, training and learning by developing more flexible learning environments adapted to the needs of a highly mobile society (8).

In the knowledge economy, memorisation of...