Activities developing soft skills and improving employability chances of young people in Europe

EU Employment Priorities The EU headline target, on the basis of which Member States will set their national targets, is of aiming to bring by 2020 to 75% the employment rate for women and men aged 20-64 including through the greater participation of youth, older workers and low skilled workers and the better integration of legal migrants.

Member States should promote productivity and employability through an adequate supply of knowledge and skills to match current and future demand in the labour market. Quality initial education and attractive vocational training must be complemented with effective incentives for lifelong learning and second-chance opportunities.

In cooperation with social partners and business, Member States should improve access to training, strengthen education and career guidance combined with systematic information on new job openings and opportunities, promotion of entrepreneurship and enhanced anticipation of skill needs

To support young people and in particular those not in employment, education or training (NEETs), Member States in cooperation with the social partners, should enact schemes to help recent graduates find initial employment or further education and training opportunities, including apprenticeships, and intervene rapidly when young people become unemployed.

What’s the current situation in the EU job market? Statistics

EURES

Soft Skills Technical skills may get you an interview, but soft skills will get you the job. Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterize a person‘s relationship with other people. In the workplace, soft skills are considered a complement to hard skills, which refer to a person's knowledge and occupational skills.

Here are the top six soft skills in demand for today's job market: 1. Communication skills 2. Computer and technical literacy 3. Interpersonal skills 4. Adaptability 5. Team work 6. Problem solving

In international teams we discussed our career priorities

We carried out SWOT analyses of various business ventures

We were creative and came up with Rugs of Ideas for youth employability

We prepared a Reversed Triangle of youth employment

We analysed pros and cons of employing a careers adviser at school

We played some Management Science games

We discussed benefits and drawbacks of working for a big corporation …

…and working for a family business

We played team building games

Some results of our cooperation