NVL’s Head Coordinator Antra Carlsen took part in the event Back to Basics on June 7 2023 in Brussels. The event was part of the initiative European Year of Skills 2023.
Basic skills are defined by UNESCO as “the minimum competence and knowledge needed for learning, work and life”. Yet, according to the European Commission, one out of five adults in Europe have low literacy and numeracy skills. To address this problem, DigiCo organised a debate with international adult learning experts who shared best practices and solutions for reducing the basic skills gap. The discussion was part of the international event “Let’s Bring Basic Skills Back in The European Year Of Skills”.
NVL’s Head Coordinator Antra Carlsen presented NVL Digital’s work and shared recommendations from the Nordic countries. In order to improve the existing basic skills training initiatives, providers need to focus on cooperation between education providers and workingplaces and on solutions that are designed specifically to the learnings’ needs:
“An example of a workplace learning which is very successful in Norway is called SKILLS+ Programme which finances trainings developed by a partnership of a workplace, an education provider and a non-formal education provider. Small and medium sized enterprises in the Nordic countries do not usually have Learning and Training Departments, so the workplace needs to team up with an education provider. Non-formal education providers are valuable partners as they have methods for raising the participants’ learning motivation.
Another example is from Finland where the government has invested in non-formal education for newcomers. The goal is to get the newcomers into working and studying after they complete the initial integration programme.”, says Antra Carlsen.
Watch a recording of the event “Let’s Bring Basic Skills Back in The European Year Of Skills” here:
Read the NVL’s onepager “5 Policy recommendations for digital inclusion” here.
About NVL Digital
The network NVL Digital works for closing the digital skills gap and increasing adults’ digital participation.
The work of the network is part of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ strategy Vision 2023. The following three initiatives are part of the strategy in relation to basic digital skills:
- Making digital services accessible and used by all Nordic citizens
- Keeping the democratic values and the critical approach towards IT
- Raising the skills level for individuals with low basic digital skills
About the Digital Collective (DigiCo)
DigiCo is a Brussels-based non-profit organisation whose mission is to ensure all people have access to skills that can improve their lives and help them thrive in the digital age. DigiCo is also a community of organisations, policy-makers and educators working towards the digital inclusion of vulnerable individuals and sharing knowledge and best practices.
Read more about DigiCo here.