Supporting reference

Reference

Terms, official sources and the choices behind our interpretation.

Glossary

Union of Skills
The European Commission’s broad strategy for skills, learning and talent.
Practical theme
One of UnionOfSkills.com’s ten groups for browsing connected skills, rather than an official EU category.
Competence
A combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes that helps someone act in a particular situation.
Related skill
A connection between skills, offered for further exploration.
Upskilling and reskilling
Updating existing skills or learning skills for changed roles and circumstances.
Participation conditions
The access, support and say in decisions that people need to take part meaningfully.
Lifelong learning
Learning throughout life, in education, work and everyday settings.
Transferable skills
Skills that can be used across different activities, roles and settings.

Sources

Original material from European institutions supports our policy and framework explanations.

About our sources

We use official EU sources to explain the strategy and frameworks. UnionOfSkills.com’s practical themes, selected skills and their organisation are our interpretation.

Framework relationships offer orientation for exploring skills. They do not claim official equivalence, certification or an EU hierarchy.

Methodology

Official strategy, practical interpretation.

The four official strategy strands describe European policy. Our 10 practical themes make selected transferable skills easier to find. They are not an official EU classification or a complete inventory of European skills needs.

Why 10 practical themes?

The themes provide approachable starting points, from communication and collaboration to learning and turning ideas into action. They help visitors browse connected skills through familiar concerns.

Why 35 selected skills?

Our selection brings together learning, communication, judgement, participation and putting ideas into practice. Concise definitions and everyday examples make these broad ideas easier to explore. The selection is not a complete list of skills people need.

Connections across themes

Each skill has a shared page and a main theme for browsing. It may also connect with other themes and related skills. These connections suggest further exploration; they do not make skills interchangeable.

A youth lens

Youth & Skills introduces selected skills through learning, participation, digital life and turning ideas into action. It is an editorial youth lens, not a separate classification or an assessment of young people’s needs.

Framework connections

A direct connection identifies a closely related skill or idea. A supporting connection provides a partial or contextual reference. Both are editorial judgements to help visitors explore the frameworks, rather than claims that a skill is equivalent to a full official competence.

Examples for understanding

Everyday examples show what a skill can look like and where people may have opportunities to practise. They support reflection rather than assessment or certification.

Framework / index

Explore skills through their framework connections. This is an editorial cross-reference, not an official EU skill list or hierarchy. Direct connections identify close concepts; supporting connections offer partial or contextual orientation.

LifeComp

Official LifeComp framework

Connected skills

Our ten practical themes

Browse all skills