Much former research on participation in education and training points to the least educated being also the least likely to participate in education and training as adults. According to a Eurobarometer-survey from 2003 (Chisholm, Larson, & Mosseux, 2004), this is a problem shared throughout Europe. The survey showed that though almost all respondents considered lifelong learning important. In spite of this, two thirds of the respondents had not taken part in any learning activity during the last year. The survey also once-again showed that the least educated were less likely to take part in adult education and training than were those with a longer education. Among those who left school at age 15 or younger, thus, 87 percent had not taken part in any education and training during the last twelve months, compared to less than 60 percent of those who left full time education at age 20 or older.Based on semi-structured qualitative interviews with unskilled workers from three Danish enterprises, the paper looks at the importance of the culture among unskilled workers when it comes to participation in education and training. In total, twenty-five workers were interviewed. Based on the interviews, the workers could be grouped in four different categories: 1) Those who were under no circumstances interested in taking part in education and training, 2) those who were interested in taking part in education and training, only if it were directly relevant in relation to their job or for another job at the same company, 3) those who were interested in education and training only because of the chance to get a break, and 4) those who were interested in education and training because they found it interesting to learn new things. Though all the interviewed worked as unskilled workers, they were not all low-skilled. Some in fact turned out to have either a vocational education or a post-secondary education of some kind. Though the relationship between educational background and the interest in taking part in education and training as adult can in no way be described as a deterministic relationship, there is a tendency that those with post- secondary education are more likely to belong to group 4, while those with no education and training beyond compulsory level are more likely to belong to group 1 (Larson, 2004). By use of Bourdieus constructs of habitus and capital, and the results of the interviews at the three enterprises, the paper looks for an explanation to why low- skilled workers are less likely to show an interest in taking part in education and training than are others. References:Chisholm, L., Larson, A., & Mosseux, A.-F. (2004). Lifelong learning: citizens' views in close-up. Findings from a dedicated Eurobarometer survey. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.Larson, A. (2004). Psykosociale forhold i arbejdslivet og kortuddannede/ufaglærtes interesse for uddannelse (Psycho-social relations in working life and unskilled/low-educated workers interest in taking part in education and training). Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. Copenhagen: Danish University of Education