Social, technological, and professional changes require skills that enable people to independently and proactively tackle new challenges. Future Skills therefore include not only digital skills but also, among other things, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, self-directed learning, and adaptability. The ongoing professional development of educators also plays an important role in this regard.
Erasmus+ projects demonstrate how these future skills can be promoted in concrete ways. Through European professional development opportunities, the exchange of new teaching and learning methods, and the testing of digital tools, teachers expand their subject-specific and pedagogical competencies and share the knowledge they have gained within their institutions. In this way, the projects tie directly into the Agenda’s priority area of Future Skills and help make adult education fit for the future while preparing learners for a changing world of life and work.
The Erasmus+ project “Teaching and Learning with the Web”, led by the Institute for International Communication e. V. in Düsseldorf, demonstrates how future skills can be specifically strengthened in adult education. As part of European professional development programs, foreign language teachers expanded their digital and pedagogical skills—for example, in creating educational videos and using digital authoring tools such as H5P. The knowledge gained was then applied to their own teaching practices and shared with their colleagues through internal professional development sessions. The project thus illustrates how Erasmus+ combines the professional development of educators, the European transfer of knowledge, and the development of future skills, thereby providing practical support for the goals of the European Agenda for Adult Learning.