LInking Citizenship and Employability perspectives in Adult Learning strategies and practices

<< Background >>The world of adult education often focuses on employability and the acquisition of skills that can be directly applied in a professional environment. However, citizenship skills, which are largely coming from transversal skills, are becoming increasingly important in the recruitment process. By emphasizing these skills, which are often more developed than technical skills among adults looking from employment, the LICEAL project aims to facilitate the professional integration and active participation in society of adults and young adults.<< Objectives >>LICEAL's objective is to develop learners' capacity, with the support of teachers, to self-assess and undertake learning and personal development projects that contribute to social inclusion and employability. Encouraging civic engagement and participation is an full part of the LICEAL project, in line with recent policy documents aimed at developing social and relational skills, including traditional employability skills. LICEAL will also formulate policy recommendations for decision-makers at all levels.The project will implement its activities based on the needs of the target groups. These activities explored and assessed labor market challenges and socioeconomic conditions through initial research, including surveys and individual interviews; a concrete evaluation, including a pilot phase and various national and stakeholder workshops; and a final, policy-oriented phase, with the implementation of policy labs.<< Implementation >>The LICEAL project focused on carrying out all the activities planned in the application.Firstly, the aim was to analyze existing practices, identifying and gathering information, and then analyzing them to capitalize on these practices in the subsequent stages of the project.Secondly, the project implemented the following two work modules in parallel: one for learners (WP3), with the development of a platform bringing together tools and information directly for them, and a module for education and support professionals (WP4), with tools and methods enabling them to better understand employability and citizenship education issues by providing concrete examples and support for their implementation in their professional practice.Finally, the last work package (WP5) was dedicated to developing policy recommendations. For optimal reliability and relevance, these recommendations are the result of a policy lab process, enabling the greatest number of stakeholders to be involved in their formulation and also their implementation.<< Results >>In accordance with the application, LICEAL produced the following:• An analysis of existing adult learning practices linking learning outcomes in citizenship and employability;• The Integrated Learning Support Toolkit (citizenship and employability), including elements for adult education professionals in their teaching practices, as well as for their managers to better consider these dimensions.• Guidelines and a policy guide for teachers for the integrated design of adult learning pathways focused on citizenship and employability.• Policy recommendations, resulting from a policy lab process conducted in each of the project partners' territories.