Assigned by the ILO Ockham IPS have produced a backgriund document as input for for a meeting of the ILO training centre on skills anticipation in adult learning organised on September 12–14 September 2013. During this meeting Ockham IPS also faiclitated a workshop on skills anticipation, with around 60 participants. This paper first shortly discuss some European wide trends and the importance of investing in skills anticipatory systems. Subsequently, it discusses evidence collected in 12 EU MS, showing the diversity of EU practices in Belgium, Denmark France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK (England). These countries were carefully selected respecting geographical spread, representing a diversity of (C)VET systems, governance models and adult learning systems. In the end of the document a typology of systems is presented and general conclusions and lessons are drawn.