The main objective of the paper was to address the relevance of adult vocational skills-upgrading strategies for low-skilled workers. The research was based on an identification of core elements such as time, cost and access which define and impact on formulation and implementation of adult vocational skills-upgrading strategies. The literature review has identified potential challenges for low-skilled workers brought by skill-biased technological changes and labour market conditions, which define the correlation between low-skilled workers, employers and training opportunities. By illustrating adult vocational skills-upgrading strategies in Denmark and South Korea the paper concludes that elements such as time, cost and access have direct implications for low-skilled workers' skills acquisition and their integration into the labour market. (Contains 1 figure.)