Learning with Joy! - Basic Skills for Adults in Folk High Schools is a collaborative project involving four folk high schools located in different parts of Finland. The project is led by Kalajoen Kristillinen Opisto (Kalajoki) with co-participants Haapaveden Opisto (Haapavesi), Etelä-Pohjanmaan Opisto (Ilmajoki), and Linnasmäen opisto (Turku). The primary objective of the project is to enhance the readiness of vulnerable adults for further studies and employment by developing and piloting basic skills training suitable for folk high schools. Participants can earn national basic skills badges for adults. The project focuses on developing pedagogy that fosters motivation to study and the joy of learning. The training is free of charge for participants, and the aim is to integrate these trainings into the regular curricula of folk high schools and reach a secure funding so that they can continue after the project period. The project also establishes procedures for managing skill badges and transferring completed credits to the KOSKI database. Many folk high schools offer adult basic skills training as full-time studies, such as basic education for adults and literacy and writing courses for immigrants in liberal adult education. While these programs reach part of the project's target group, they exclude the majority, such as native Finns with weak basic skills who have a basic education certificate but whose secondary education was interrupted or whose skills have become outdated, for instance, due to long-term unemployment. ESR+ funding allows for the experimentation of free training for students in various formats: short or long courses, full-time or part-time, in educational institutions or outreach settings like workshops or organization facilities within the geographic limits of the folk high schools' licenses. For the target group, it is crucial to find teaching methods and work practices that support the awakening of motivation to study and the joy of learning. The three-year project period allows for the testing and evaluation of different teaching methods. The project starts concurrently with the commencement of the employment regions under the TE Services 2024 reform. Cooperation between folk high schools and employment regions can be established from the beginning, and the opportunities for liberal adult education to provide basic skills training for adults will immediately become part of the new employment regions' toolkit for activating those in the weakest position in the labor market. The trainings organized by the project will also support the integration services of wellbeing regions and municipalities by providing new options for client guidance. Within the project network, the focus is on exchanging best practices, curriculum development, and pedagogical advancement. The project will create general curricula for all folk high schools to use in trainings related to the Learning Skills and Text Skills badge programs and pilot trainings for other skill badges. The project will also produce learning materials suitable for these trainings.