Action Plan on Basic Skills
Summary
The plan will lift literacy, numeracy, science, digital and citizenship skills, tackling underachievement. A Basic Skills Support Scheme will pilot interventions with EU funding, from early identification and tutoring to school-level improvement plans. A European Innovative School Award will recognise innovation and partnerships with businesses and local authorities. The Commission will pilot university–business partnerships via Erasmus+, Digital Europe and EIT to train for shortage sectors and co-develop micro-credentials. The plan will expand the European Alliance for Apprenticeships to 700 pledges and streamline the Pact for Skills (linking EU Skills Academies, CoVEs and European Universities) to double 25-million upskilling commitments.
Action items
1–6 of 18 items
Source order · D = digital dimension- Item 1
Pilot a Basic Skills Support Scheme in 2026.
- Item 2
Draw up guidelines for policymakers in 2025 as a preparatory step for the Support Scheme.
- Item 3
Pilot the first European School Alliances through the Erasmus+ programme in 2026. This will boost strategic European cooperation in school education, serving as testbeds for innovative teaching methods, curricula and competence frameworks, particularly for basic skills. The Alliances will support participating schools in becoming learning organisations for effective basic skills teaching, including in cooperation with local authorities.
- Item 4
Develop guidelines for curriculum development in early childhood education and care, which support the acquisition of basic skills early on and facilitate early detection and intervention of developmental delays.
- Item 5
Develop guidelines and best practices on advancing the assessment of digital skills in education in 2026 to help compare standards of digital skills assessments in schools across the EU.
- Item 6
Pilot innovative approaches for personalised learning pathways in basic skills development through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, building on 2026 Erasmus+ policy experimentations, to support top-performing and underachieving learners.