“A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults”. Basic premises and project implementation in the area of developing basic skills

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the premises of the project “A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults” and the main findings of qualitative research which included individual in-depth interviews with representatives of 50 institutions offering support to adults with low levels of basic skills. The aim of the study was to diagnose the types of support provided and to identify good practices. We verified the effective ways of reaching potential beneficiaries, accurately diagnosing their skills and needs, and encouraging participation in activities providing educational support. The survey confirmed that the understanding of “low basic skills” varies greatly depending on the type of organisation surveyed. It also showed that the Internet and word-of-mouth marketing remain the main sources of information for beneficiaries about available support. Adults with low basic skills often have problems with being motivated to develop and to participate in longer forms of support (such as courses lasting several months). At the same time, participants who covered (even a small part) of the training costs on their own and those who were internally motivated to change their situation (e.g. willingness to change jobs) were more involved in the educational activities and assessed their effects as being more permanent. The implementation of the project “A Chance – New Opportunities for Adults” is a response to the Recommendation of the Council of the European Union on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults of 2016. The Council of the EU recommends that Member States offer low-skilled adults access to upskilling pathways consisting of three steps: skills assessment, tailormade learning support, and the validation of learning outcomes. Basic skills are defined in the project as: literacy, numeracy, digital skills, and social competences. At the end of the project, recommendations for developing the basic skills of adults will be made. The project is implemented by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (leader) and the Educational Research Institute (partner). The article presents key documents compiled to support potential grantees, including ten sets of learning outcomes, guidelines for assessing the skills and needs of adults with low basic skills, as well as guidelines for conducting the validation of learning outcomes.