Key competence is one of the core concepts applied in the adult education and lifelong learning. As a concept, it is understood and applied in rather different ways, what presents various challenges for its interpretation and usage in the policies and processes of adult education and lifelong learning. Therefore the goal of this paper is to overview and explain conceptual backgrounds and typologies of key competences. This goal is achieved by analysing theoretical approaches to key competences and their development and comparing different typologies of key competences.

Learning to learn remains important in the context of lifelong learning in personal, professional, and civic aspects: in the early, middle, and late adulthood. In the early adulthood, learning to learn is relevant to young adults when looking for a job; in the middle adulthood, learning to learn is relevant to adults maintaining the position in the workplace; and in the late adulthood, learning to learn for elderly is more associated with their social activities (Staniulevičienė, 2014). It means that learning to learn is important during all life, the process of learning to learn and the construction of it is the problematic field.