In 2012, 124,5 million people (24,8 % of the population) in the EU-28 were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 24,3% in 2011 and 23,7% in 2008 (Eurostat newsrelease 184/2013 5.12.2013).Access to employment is regarded as the best way out of poverty and social exclusion. According to the report from the European Commission: “New skills and jobs in Europe: Pathways towards full employment” the current labour market is a reflexion of the link between unemployment and qualifications. In 2010, in Spain, over 25% of those with low education were unemployed compared to around 10% unemployment among those with high education (European Labour Force Survey database 12.3.2011). In this context, the Up-skilling Europe project aimed at improving the employability of adults at risk of social exclusion across Europe through a process of developing and updating skills. As such, six organisations from six European countries joined forces to develop, transfer and implement a set of innovative educational and training methods, tools, and materials based on the principles of Active Learning and tailored to the specific needs of adults at risk of social exclusion. The project was executed by a cross-sectoral partnership, involving local public authorities, adult education providers and social sector organisations; and structured in the following phases: PHASE 1: Development of innovative educational and training methods, tools and materialsThe educational and training methods, tools and materials were developed in the form of toolkits. Five toolkits were developed as follows to provide adults at risk of social exclusion with a set of basic and transversal skills which will improve their employability. 1. Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurship education. 2. Toolkit for ICT training.3. Toolkit for English teaching. 4. Toolkit for Lifelong Learning.5. Toolkit for Learning Mobility.The five toolkits include a set of innovative educational and training methods, tools and materials based on the principles of Active Learning and are tailored to the special needs of adults at risk of social exclusion. In order to foster the recognition of the toolkits’ learning outcomes at local, national and European level, the toolkits were developed within the European reference framework of the eight key competences for lifelong learning. Additionally, the partnership developed an innovative tool for the recognition and validation of the learning outcomes gained with these toolkits, the SkillPass. The SkillPass was developed and implemented following the same methodology applied by the European Commission for one of the most successful tools for the recognition of non-formal learning in Europe, the YouthPass. In addition to the SkillPass, other European tools for the recognition of learning outcomes, such as Europass Mobility, were implemented throughout the project. PHASE 2: Development of training skills A short-term joint staff training event was organised to develop among the project partners’ teachers and trainers the necessary training skills for the use of the toolkits. PHASE 3: Validation of the educational and training methods, tools and materials The toolkits were first, validated by the teachers and trainers from the project partners during the short-term joint staff training event. And second, by adults at risk of social exclusion in order to ensure they met the needs of the target group and delivered the desired learning outcomes. The second validation was carried out in three pilots located in Frattamaggiore (south Italy), Krakow (south Poland) and Alcalá de Guadaíra (south Spain). These locations correspond to the project partners targeting the biggest number of adults at risk of social exclusion. PHASE 4: Deployment of the educational and training methods, tools and materialsUsing the feedback from the validation activities, the project partners made the necessary adjustments on the toolkits prior to their final deployment. The toolkits are available in six European languages (English, Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish) on the project website (www.upskillingeurope.eu) for free use and re-purposing by any interested party as OER (Open Educational Resources). PHASE 5: Dissemination and exploitation of the project resultsEach project partner organised a multiplier event in order to introduce to other organisations and individuals to the use of the toolkits. In addition to the multiplier events, the project partners also carried out a wide range of dissemination activities (publication of press releases, brochures, video, etc.) to ensure the widespread impact of the toolkits across Europe. The Up-skilling Europe project is a stepping stone towards a fully inclusive European society where every European citizen has access to high quality education and employment.