2025EU
The Union of Skills
Makes regular upskilling and reskilling the norm across the EU. CAFÉ+ tests a low-threshold way in for adults who rarely take part.
State of the Art
A living summary of what is known about adult learning in trusted community places — Language Cafés, libraries and integration centres — and of the research and EU policies CAFÉ+ builds on, kept up to date as new studies and policies appear.
On this page
Background
In numbers
Policy context
Research findings
National perspectives
Gaps & responses
News & reading
Sources
Background
The adults who need learning most are the hardest to reach
The European Commission's Union of Skills (2025) sets out to make regular upskilling the norm for everyone. Yet in 2022 only 39.5% of adults in the EU took part in learning — far from the EU target of 60% by 2030.
Adults with low qualifications take part far less: in 2024, 12.6% of them had learned in the previous 12 months, against 28.4% of all adults (Eurostat, Labour Force Survey). The Action Plan on Basic Skills (2025) adds that about one in five working-age adults in the EU struggles with reading and writing.
Many of these adults already meet every week in Language Cafés, libraries and integration centres. What is missing is a way to turn that trusted, informal learning into structured skills development and recognised credentials — without losing what makes these places work. CAFÉ+ was designed to close this gap.
39.5%of adults aged 25–64 in the EU took part in learning in 2022 (Adult Education Survey). The EU target for 2030 is 60%.Source: European Commission, The Union of Skills, 2025 ↗
12.6%of adults with low qualifications (at most lower secondary education) learned in the last 12 months in 2024 — against 28.4% of all adults.Source: Eurostat, trng_lfs_18, 2024 ↗
60.4%of people aged 16–74 in the EU have at least basic digital skills (2025). The EU target for 2030 is 80%.Source: Eurostat, isoc_sk_dskl_i21, 2025 ↗
In numbers
The partner countries at a glance
How the six CAFÉ+ countries compare with the EU average on three indicators that matter for the project. Latest Eurostat data, retrieved October 2026.
Adults learning in the last 12 months
% of adults aged 25–64 who took part in education or training, 2024
Labour Force Survey data, without guided on-the-job training — so lower than the Adult Education Survey used for the 60% EU target. Greece: break in series.
Adults with low qualifications learning
% of adults aged 25–64 with at most lower secondary education who learned in the last 12 months, 2024
Finland: low reliability. Greece: break in series.
Basic digital skills
% of people aged 16–74 with at least basic overall digital skills, 2025
The target comes from the Digital Decade policy programme.
Policy context
The European frameworks we build on
CAFÉ+ contributes to EU priorities for adult learning, basic skills and the recognition of what people learn outside formal education. New policies are added here as they are adopted.
2025EU
Action Plan on Basic Skills
Responds to the decline in basic skills among young people and adults. Skills Cafés build language, digital and transversal skills through conversation.
2021–2030EU
European agenda for adult learning
Sets the targets of 47% of adults learning by 2025 and 60% by 2030. CAFÉ+ provides evidence on reaching adults where they already are.
2016EU
Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults
Three steps for adults with low skills: skills assessment, a tailored learning offer, and validation and recognition. The Skills Café brings all three into the Language Café.
2022EU
European approach to micro-credentials
Common standards so that short learning experiences can be trusted, combined and recognised. The ten CF10 micro-credentials are designed to them.
2018EU
Key competences for lifelong learning
Eight key competences, including multilingual competence and personal, social and learning to learn competence — both at the heart of a Skills Café.
CF10: ten future skills, rooted in four EU frameworks
The CF10 Competence Framework, developed in CAFÉ+, starts from the skills the World Economic Forum expects to matter most by 2030 and links each one to the EU's own competence frameworks — so that what adults learn in a Skills Café can be recognised across Europe.
LifeComp
- Personal
- Social
- Learning to learn
9 competences, from self-regulation and empathy to critical thinking and managing your own learning.
DigComp
- Information
- Communication
- Content creation
- Safety
- Problem solving
21 digital competences in five areas. The JRC published version 3.0 in November 2025.
GreenComp
- Sustainability values
- Complexity
- Futures
- Action
12 sustainability competences, from valuing sustainability to acting for it.
EntreComp
- Ideas and opportunities
- Resources
- Into action
15 competences for turning ideas into action — in work, community and everyday life.
CF10future skills
Reference points for the CF10 micro-credentials
ESCO ↗The European classification of skills, competences and occupations — links each credential to real jobs.
European Qualifications Framework ↗Eight levels that make learning comparable between countries and national frameworks.
European inventory on validation ↗How each country recognises non-formal and informal learning (Cedefop, 2023 update).
Research findings
What the research shows
CAFÉ+ is based on a needs analysis carried out by the partners while preparing the project: a survey of 42 Language Café practitioners in the six countries, national consultations with facilitators and community stakeholders, a review of national adult learning data and strategies, and recent research from the OECD, Cedefop, Eurostat and the European Commission.
6countries in the needs analysis
42Language Café practitioners surveyed
90%say adults find standard courses hard to access, stigmatising or incompatible with care duties
93%say transversal skills are what adults need most urgently
1
Adult learning is stalling, and the gap is not closing for the right reason
In many countries, participation in adult learning is flat or falling. Gaps between groups are narrowing mainly because adults who used to train most now train less — not because more low-skilled adults are taking part.
OECD, Trends in Adult Learning, 2025 ↗2
Growth comes from job-related training that low-skilled workers rarely get
EU Labour Force Survey data for 2013–2022 show participation grew mostly through job-related non-formal training. It stays lowest in low-skilled occupations, and most countries were likely to miss the EU's 2025 benchmark of 47%.
Pemberton-Frings and Ilie, International Review of Education, 2026 ↗3
The barriers are motivation, time and trust — not only cost
In the CAFÉ+ needs analysis, 38 of 42 practitioners said adults see standard courses as hard to access, stigmatising or incompatible with care duties, and 34 named care duties as a barrier no current offer addresses. Cedefop likewise finds that many adults with low skills see little need to upskill, and calls for targeted outreach.
Cedefop, Skill development and employment pathways for adults with low skill levels, 2026 ↗4
Trusted intermediaries are the way in
The OECD concludes that closing the gap for adults with low literacy and numeracy requires active outreach through intermediaries they trust. Research on language cafés in Sweden shows how they already work as social venues for inclusion and language practice.
OECD, Navigating Life with Low Literacy and Numeracy, 2026 ↗
Theory of change
How CAFÉ+ turns the findings into lasting transformative change
NeedAdults who need upskilling most rarely join formal provision — yet many already attend Language Cafés, with no route to recognised learning.
InputsSeven partners in six countries, their Language Café and integration networks, links with employment services and employers, and Erasmus+ co-funding.
ActivitiesMapping and dialogue rounds (phase 1); the CF10 framework, toolkit and training (phase 2); Skills Café pilots compared with standard Language Cafés (phase 3); employer endorsement, policy dialogue and roll-out (phase 4).
OutputsOpen tools in the partner languages, trained facilitators and 70 Peer Ambassadors, 31 Skills Café sites, CF10 micro-credentials and a Policy Brief.
Outcomes420+ adults learning in Skills Cafés, earning micro-credentials and taking next steps into training, employment services or work.
ImpactTrusted community places recognised across the EU as a route into upskilling — bringing more adults within reach of the 60% target.
National perspectives
Six countries, six starting points
The needs analysis showed different levels of progress and different issues in each partner country. Each partner brings its national context, its expertise and earlier projects that CAFÉ+ builds on — and the European Union sets the common frame.
A common European frame
The EU wants 60% of adults to take part in learning every year by 2030; in 2022 it was 39.5%. The Union of Skills and the Action Plan on Basic Skills call for flexible routes that reach adults where they are.
Builds on: Upskilling Pathways, the European approach to micro-credentials, LifeComp, DigComp, GreenComp and EntreComp
Erasmus+ · co-funded by the European UnionEU policy →
Upskilling pathways and digital learning
Austria is above the EU average — 52.2% of adults took part in learning in 2022 — but aims for 62% by 2030, and the share of adults with low literacy has grown. ACCELERAS coordinates CAFÉ+ and brings EU Pact for Skills networks and digital learning design.
Builds on: Erasmus+ projects such as BRIDGE and VETDESIGN
ACCELERAS · CoordinatorProfile →
Integration and basic education in Vienna
In Austria, adults can take free basic skills courses through the federal–state programme Level Up – Erwachsenenbildung. INTERFACE Wien, a non-profit company of the City of Vienna, supports about 38,000 people a year in 38 languages.
Builds on: "Mama lernt Deutsch" with childcare, and the StartWien hub
INTERFACE Wien · PartnerProfile →
Roma and migrant communities
Only 21.2% of adults in Czechia took part in learning in 2022, against a national 2030 target of 45%. The National Register of Qualifications lets adults certify vocational skills however they gained them — a route CAFÉ+ can connect to.
Builds on: 27 years of community work, the Khamoro festival and the "Welcome to CZ" course
Slovo 21 · PartnerProfile →
Language cafés since 2004
Finland has the highest participation of the CAFÉ+ countries (51.8% in 2022), but adults with low education still take part far less: 38.7% in 2024, against 62.9% of tertiary graduates. Employment services moved to municipal employment areas in 2025.
Builds on: Café Lingua Helsinki and the Nordplus Nordic-Baltic Café Lingua
LFI · PartnerProfile →
Social inclusion and mental health
With 15.1% of adults taking part in learning in 2022, Greece is among the lowest in the EU. A 2024 law introduced micro-credentials, but many of the measures are not yet in place.
Builds on: 80+ EU projects and community mental health services across Greece
IASIS · PartnerProfile →
Migrant and refugee integration
19.1% of adults in Romania took part in learning in 2022 — and only 3.7% of adults with low qualifications in 2024. A national strategy for continuing adult education (2024–2030) aims to build a culture of lifelong learning.
Builds on: Erasmus+ accreditation for adult education and links with the employment agency ANOFM
MIC Brașov · PartnerProfile →
Employability and social inclusion
34.1% of adults in Spain took part in learning in 2022, but only 15.4% of low-skilled adults. Adults can now have skills gained through work experience accredited through a procedure that is open all year.
Builds on: Employability programmes for migrant women and long-term unemployed adults in Fuenlabrada
SAN · PartnerProfile →
Gaps and responses
See the resources
From gaps to what CAFÉ+ delivers
Gap · Adults
Learning in Language Cafés leads nowhere formal
Adults may attend for years and gain real skills, but nothing records or recognises them. Only 1 of the 42 practitioners we surveyed knew of a validated micro-credential pathway.
How CAFÉ+ responds
CF10 micro-credentials, earned through a Skills Café portfolio
About the micro-credentials →Gap · Facilitators
No shared method, no training
Only 3 of 42 practitioners used any structured method to develop competences. Most improvise activities, with no link to EU frameworks.
How CAFÉ+ responds
The CF10 framework, the CLIL Skills Café Toolkit and facilitator training
About the toolkit →Gap · Carers and hard-to-reach adults
Courses do not fit lives shaped by care and distrust
81% of practitioners named care duties as a barrier that no current offer addresses, and many adults avoid anything that feels like school.
How CAFÉ+ responds
Care-friendly Skills Cafés — childcare, short sessions, online activities and evening times — and Peer Ambassadors
See the roadmaps →Gap · Policy
No evidence on what works at EU scale
There is no controlled, multi-country evidence on whether enriched Language Cafés bring more adults into upskilling — so policymakers cannot plan for them.
How CAFÉ+ responds
Skills Café pilots in six countries, compared with standard Language Cafés, and a roll-out plan for policy
About the pilots →
News and further reading
All project news →
What is new
The latest from the project, plus studies and reports from across Europe.
Europe
CAFÉ+ selected for Erasmus+ funding
CAFÉ+ is selected for co-funding under the Erasmus+ call for European Policy Experimentation. The project starts in January 2027.
Paris, France
OECD: reach adults with low literacy through people they trust
A new OECD report finds that closing the gap for adults with low literacy and numeracy needs active outreach through trusted intermediaries.
Thessaloniki, Greece
Cedefop: adults in low-skilled jobs take part less in learning
A new Cedefop study on pathways into skills and jobs calls for targeted outreach to adults with low skills.
Further reading from around Europe
OECD
Navigating Life with Low Literacy and NumeracyWhy outreach through trusted intermediaries matters · 2026
Cedefop
Skill development and employment pathways for adults with low skill levelsOutreach and pathways into skills and jobs · 2026
Social Inclusion
Migrants' Inclusion in Civil Societies: The Case of Language Cafés in SwedenHow language cafés work as places of inclusion · 2023
CESIE
Reciprocal Maieutic ApproachThe dialogue method by Danilo Dolci behind the CAFÉ+ dialogue rounds
Sources
References
- Cedefop (2024). European inventory on validation of non-formal and informal learning – 2023 update ↗. Country reports.
- Cedefop (2026). Skill development and employment pathways for adults with low skill levels ↗.
- Council of the European Union (2016). Council Recommendation of 19 December 2016 on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults ↗. 2016/C 484/01.
- Council of the European Union (2018). Council Recommendation of 22 May 2018 on key competences for lifelong learning ↗. 2018/C 189/01.
- Council of the European Union (2021). Council Resolution on a new European agenda for adult learning 2021–2030 ↗. 2021/C 504/02.
- Council of the European Union (2022). Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022 on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability ↗. 2022/C 243/02.
- European Commission (2025). The Union of Skills ↗. COM(2025) 90 final.
- European Commission (2025). Action Plan on Basic Skills ↗. COM(2025) 88 final.
- European Commission (2025). Education and Training Monitor 2025 — country reports ↗. Austria, Czechia, Finland, Greece, Romania and Spain.
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2020). LifeComp: the European Framework for Personal, Social and Learning to Learn Key Competence ↗.
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2025). DigComp 3.0 — the European Digital Competence Framework ↗.
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2022). GreenComp: the European sustainability competence framework ↗.
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2016). EntreComp: the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework ↗.
- European Parliament, Council and Commission (2017). European Pillar of Social Rights ↗. OJ C 428, 13.12.2017.
- Eurostat (2026). Participation rate in education and training (last 12 months) ↗ (trng_lfs_17).
- Eurostat (2026). Participation rate in education and training (last 12 months) by educational attainment level ↗ (trng_lfs_18).
- Eurostat (2026). Individuals' level of digital skills (from 2021 onwards) ↗ (isoc_sk_dskl_i21).
- Majlesi, Jansson and Kunitz (2023). Migrants' Inclusion in Civil Societies: The Case of Language Cafés in Sweden ↗. Social Inclusion, 11(4).
- OECD (2025). Trends in Adult Learning: New Data from the 2023 Survey of Adult Skills ↗. Getting Skills Right.
- OECD (2026). Navigating Life with Low Literacy and Numeracy ↗.
- Pemberton-Frings and Ilie (2026). Understanding Europe's skills shortage: Patterns of participation in formal and non-formal education and training ↗. International Review of Education, 72(2).
- World Economic Forum (2025). The Future of Jobs Report 2025 ↗.
Recent updates
How this page has changed
- First version published, based on the research for the CAFÉ+ application and updated with the latest Eurostat data (2024–2025), the Education and Training Monitor 2025 and new OECD and Cedefop studies from 2026.
Know a study, policy or article that belongs here? Suggest a source.