Empowering low-skilled people by means of promoting their upskilling and/or re-skilling is associated with large social and economic benefits not only for individuals, but also for the economy and society as a whole. Research suggests that being low-skilled is often associated with a set of negative consequences both at the individual and social level, such as lower earnings and employment rates, lower quality of health, wellbeing and life satisfaction, lower civic and social engagement and higher probability of involvement in criminal activities" (Background Paper, PLF on Upskilling Pathways, Brussels - 7-8/02/2018).

Aware of the above described context and moving from the difficulties faced daily by their staff and colleagues, partners are committed to play their role in the implementation at national level of the most relevant EU policies and recommendations - the New Skills Agenda for Europe with the specific Upskilling Pathway initiative and the revision of the Key Competences, and the EU Pillar of Social Rights - chapter 1.

Indeed, MASTER project is an initiative launched to:
- facilitate the participation of low-skilled adults in formal education / training opportunities and in the labour market by developing and/or reinforcing their Personal, social and learning competence [PSL competence], which is considered vital for the re-activation and re-engagement of potential learners from vulnerable groups;
- improve the capacity of Adult Education providers to reach out to the target groups through a multi-stakeholder outreach strategy and a better tailored training provision.
Coherently with their different and specific contexts, partners have identified the following sub-groups: long-term unemployed in Italy and Portugal, socially vulnerable adults in UK, adults with migrant background in CY - of which, over 250 will be directly involved in the activities functional to the production of the Outputs.

The Consortium is composed by partners from IT, PT, UK, CY and BE, including higher education institutions, public and private AE providers and an umbrella organization representing educational institutions and associations from adult education at EU level. It will contribute to upskilling, thus empowering, low-skilled adults by:
- designing, implementing and monitoring an outreach strategy, applying participatory approaches in partnership with adult beneficiaries and local stakeholders;
- adapting self-assessment tools to the specific sub-target groups’ needs already identified at national level and to the Personal, Social and Learning competence (PSL competence);
- designing, testing, assessing and validating a model for the development/reinforcement of the PSL competence for the selected categories within the heterogeneous group of low-skilled adults, based on a tailored learning programme (non-formal and contextualised learning approach);
- transnational training targeting AE staff asked to guide and tutor low-skilled on methods and tools to support the beneficiaries in conducting the self-assessment and filling the skills gap in the sphere of the PSL competence;
- providing guidelines to public authorities and AE providers for setting up effective and renewed policies and provisions in favour of disadvantaged and low-skilled adults.

By implementing the activities and reaching the expected results, the project is going to have a considerable impact:
- at individual level on adult beneficiaries, with reference to their empowerment and the improvement of their key competences, leading to a better social inclusion and employability;
- on AE staff, in terms of capacity building and of professional competences to strengthen the coordination among the different stakeholders working with low-skilled adults;
- at organization level, specifically in the case of Adult Education providers, leading to the provision of better services and opportunities for adults in their contexts;
- at community level, among others, in the form of an increased cooperation among stakeholders and an improved capacity of better informing decision makers with “grass-root” data and analysis.

For more information, please visit the project website here. 

Disclaimer: This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained here.