Research on participation and inequality in adult education and training shows ‘system characteristics’ (e.g. the organization of education; the organization of the labour market and established production modes within firms; quality of child care; the (perceived) costs of lifelong learning; and the indicators of economic development (Desjardins, 2017; Cabus et al., 2018)) play a key role in restricting access by young adults with low levels of education(Berman et al., 1998; Boyadjieva & Ilieva-Trichkova, 2017). Desjardins (2017) argues that unequal access to adult education and training (in the workplace) is often a reflection of unequal power relations within societies. These unequal power relations promote polarization in the workplace and routinized work, particularly for the low-educated. When low-educated employees engage in routinized work, then this impedes the take-up of novel methods of production, which leads to a decrease in employees’ value added in the production process. It therefore seems likely that unequal access to adult education and training in a polarized world (Autor et al., 2003; Goos et al., 2007, 2009), has a negative impact on society. This paper focuses on what advantages an inclusive policy on lifelong learning has for society as a whole. Structural barriers mean that opportunity (or desire) to participate is not equally distributed, yet some low-educated adults do so. From them we can learn how barriers can be lowered. Initiatives under the EU’s Youth Guarantee and Upskilling Pathway programmes are analysed across nine countries representing different welfare regimes and approaches to adult education. The nine countries under study are very different with regard to their welfare regimes (Rubenson & Desjardins, 2009), and, it seems, significantly different in their approaches to adult education and training. The differences include uneven levels of provision and varying participation rates. However, despite the countries’ different labour market institutions, and other dissimilar system characteristics, learners and staff demonstrate broad similarities in participation experiences. It appears that motivation to learn and confidence levels of participants are key to success, in whatever context these individuals engage in adult education and training. This supports arguments for individual support and customisation of provision for (young) adults.

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