Deadline: 8 July 2019

The European Commission-Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion is accepting proposals to support the deployment of a tailored, flexible and quality learning offer for low-skilled / low-qualified adults (and where relevant for priority groups identified by countries in the framework of the Recommendation).

The overall objective of this call, in line with the two calls published in 2017 and 2018 is to support participating countries in implementing the Upskilling Pathways Recommendation by putting in place coherent pathways comprising the three key steps: skills assessments; provision of a tailored, flexible and quality learning offer; and validation and recognition of skills acquired.

This call complements the support for provision for low-skilled adults that is provided through the European Social Fund and the Erasmus+ programme, by assisting each focus participating country to develop a coherent strategy for raising the levels of skills and qualifications of adults who lack an upper secondary education (or equivalent) or who lack proficiency in basic skills. This call should also complement related activities (ongoing or future) taking place at national, regional or local levels.

Type of Actions

Proposals must be centred around the following activities:

• Enlarging the scale or scope of existing tailored learning provision for low-skilled / lowqualified adults that is considered to be effective (e.g. to cover a different low-skilled/ low-qualified target group); OR
• Adapting existing learning provision to the needs of low qualified / low skilled individuals or priority groups as defined by countries, where relevant (e.g. embedding basic skills training, use tailored teaching methods); OR
• Developing new tailored learning provision (if duly justified by the lack of appropriate existing provision) for low qualified / low skilled individuals or priority groups as defined by countries, where relevant (e.g. designing new modularised curricula for basic skills education) and/or testing it on a scale that allows conclusions to be drawn about its effectiveness.

In general, proposals must be centred around activities ensuring that the three Upskilling Pathways steps are available to low skilled and /or low qualified adults, including priority groups as defined by countries, where relevant. Therefore, skills assessment and mechanisms for validation of skills, appropriately linked to the tailored offer of learning, are essential to the design of the activities to be funded.

Where the proposal focuses on specific sub groups of low-qualified and/or low-skilled adults, it should provide the rationale of focusing on that specific sub-group. Taking into account that the young people not in employment, education and training (NEETs) benefit of the Youth Guarantee implementing measures, the proposals under this call should not focus on this specific target group.

In addition applicants can, if they so wish, include in their proposals activities related to key enabling conditions of Upskilling Pathways (outreach, guidance and support measures; stakeholder coordination).