Professional development and improvement in the quality of adult learning staff has been recognized as a priority at a European level. However, at European and national levels there is no clear view on the standard competences needed to fulfill the professional tasks in adult learning. In some European countries competence profiles and standards for adult learning staff have been developed and implemented, while in others standards are lacking. Overall, there is a need for more comprehensive research on this issue with a view to identifying competence needs for those working in the adult learning sector. This article is intended to bridge this gap and describe existing European practices in order to reach a deeper understanding of the conceptual elements as well as to identify a set of key competences for adult learning professionals. This article focuses on the use of a specific methodology for identifying these competences. It is partly based on the outcomes of a study carried out by an international research group in the period 2009-2010 under the guidance of Research voor Beleid under contract of the European Commission (DG Education and Culture). (Contains 2 figures and 5 notes.)