EU Soft skills

Overall capacity building objective:

The overall capacity that the EU soft skills course aims to build is to foster the identified soft skills by the needs assessment for the targeted ICT subject matter experts (SMEs) and micro-firm groups.

Target audience (s):

ICT personnel, managers and trainers should be trained to incorporate ICT skills in their work settings - organizations and micro firm groups. 

Educators from schools will be the reference people in the educational centers and will be spreading the knowledge and methodologies. These educators must be also trained via a train-the-trainers course that will help them contribute to building the capacity of ICT skills.

The virtual learning content can be reorganized to fit specific needs or organizations or repurposed for additional audiences.

Summary learning outcomes (LOs):

After studying this course to meet the overall capacity building objective, participants will be able to:

• develop relationships that will be based on trust, respect, and mutual understanding in the workplace;
• apply successful customer service methods;
• evaluate situations and correct mistakes;
• gain higher levels of adaptability and flexibility in work settings;
• demonstrate leadership qualities;
• develop strategies to mitigate risks and overcome problems;
• monitor and plan processes using technology;
• take initiative to innovate.

Modality:

This course involves a combination of self-directed, self-paced online modules in bite-sized size and with the form of micro-credentials which cover the core concepts. Weekly virtual workshops may be incorporated in which learners will conduct problem-based learning tasks in small groups. At the end of the course participants complete an individual assignment which involves applying the skills learned in the course to their own professional and cultural contexts.

Duration:

The learners will be approximately required to study 15 hours, spread over a five-week period.

Assessment:

1. formative assessment: instant quizzes that provide ongoing feedback to the learner on their progress, the results of which are not included in the final grade for the course. Reflective assignments are also included;
2. summative assessment: assignments that define the final grade for the course; they assess the depth of learning through real-life scenarios and simulations; reflection assessments evaluate higher order skills such as analysing, evaluating and creating.

Certificate:

Badges will be available to the learners after the completion of each module.

After the completion of this course, the learners will be able to:

1. identify the components of the notion of soft skills;
2. determine the importance of soft skills in workforce;
3. use soft skills to handle real-life scenarios at work;
4. apply problem-solving skills in a creative manner;
5. enhance the ability of emotional intelligence in facing work situations;
6. improve their self-management and resiliency in managing conflicts;
7. familiarize with communication theories and effective communication in workplace;
8. apply good communication practices for building trust in groups;
9. demonstrate empathy in group collaboration.

Soft skills definition and attributes

This course is based on the acquisition of soft skills as they are defined in Collins English Dictionary: “desirable qualities for certain forms of employment that do not depend on acquired knowledge: they include common sense, the ability to deal with people, and a positive flexible attitude” (Harper Collins, n.d). Acquired knowledge refers to the person’s ability to perform specific tasks and activities, the hard or technical skills. In contrast with hard skills, soft skills can be performed in diverse conditions, in any context and under any circumstance, since they refer to human interactions either in personal life or workplace.

Pedagogical strategies

• Role playing and simulation-based learning: an active experiential learning process by which the learner cultivates knowledge of real word processes through artificial representation.
• Problem/ project-based learning:a student-centered pedagogy in which students learn through the experience of problem solving.
• Reflection learning: reflective practice is 'learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice' (Finlay, 2008) and follows a cycle of processes that needs to be repeated; reflection learning encourages learners to take responsibility for their learning and engage in the learning process.
• Game-based learning: training and educational tools for motivating and engaging learners, and reaching hard-to-reach learner groups; interesting narratives, interface responsiveness, dynamic feedback mechanisms, and maintaining the illusion of choice or control (“agency”) are some of the techniques used in gamified learning; the sense of achievement, the personalization of the context, the micro interactions with animated characters and the countdown that creates a sense of urgency, create a setting of real story and at the same time of adventure that helps the learner delve into the learning experience; the end-goal and the rewards such as badges contribute to the metacognitive awareness; quiz games, role-play games, strategy games, and word games can be used in this course.