Competences are crucial in finding a job. Developing them is the best investment in our future. Competences are usually divided into soft and hard skills. Novo mesto AEC is implementing the international SoftSkills4EU project, which faces the challenge of effective assessment and proving soft skills. The project is aimed at employees, the unemployed (with emphasis on supporting migrants) and employers.
Which soft skills are most wanted?
Project research proved that the most desirable soft skills among employees, job seekers and employers are:
- Social skills,
- Personal skills,
- Organisational skills,
- Co-operative skills,
- Creative thinking skills.
The main outcome of the project is a platform that will be useful for enhancing and assessing key soft skills needed in the work environment. The platform will be available soon and will allow its users to acquire Open Badges, which confirm the validation of soft skills.
Project partners from Slovenia, the Netherlands, Italy, and Croatia have developed 5 modules. Each contains rich, interactive material and tasks designed to test knowledge prepared on the basis of published material.
SoftSills4EU partners, together with experts from various organizations providing education, counselling and representatives of companies working in the field of recruitment, have successfully completed international training for career counsellors (SoftSkills mentors) for the use of the e-tool and awarding the badges. The participants learned how to manage the Moodle platform, which will be useful for strengthening and evaluating the key soft majorities required in the work environment. The training was held on November 18-22 at the Emphasys Center in Nicosia, Cyprus.
SoftSkills mentors will also help test the platform through which we can improve the materials and the badge system. The project closes in September 2020, with a closing international conference in the Netherlands.
Agnieszka Natalia Mravinec (agnieszkaNatalia.Mravinec@ric-nm.si), Novo mesto AEC
