What are Soft Skills?
According to the UNESCO, the Soft Skills (also known as Non-Cognitive Skills) are”patterns of thought, feelings and behaviours” (Borghans et al., 2008) that are socially determined and can be developed throughout the lifetime to produce value. Soft Skills can comprise personality traits, motivations and attitudes and are vitally important for the employability and adaptability of European citizens.
Do you know what different Soft Skills mean?
SkillsMatch project has identified 36 key Soft Skills that are needed for a successful participation in the society and recquired to get a good job. These Soft Skills can be classified in four different categories: self-image and vision of the world; context and performance related; social interaction and methodological, intuitive and lateral thinking.

Accountability
Perform one’s tasks in a self-disciplined, reliable and goal-oriented manner.

Patience
Have patience by dealing with unexpected delays or other waiting periods without becoming annoyed or anxious.

Self-control
Manage own feelings, needs and wants appropriately for the benefit of participants, clients or co-workers.

Entrepreneurship
Act upon ideas and opportunities to transform them, over time, into cultural, financial or social value for others.

Goal orientation
Demonstrate strong ambition to successfully complete tasks; define strategies and plans effective for achieving the pursued objectives.

Motivation
Ability to do what needs to be done, without influence from other people or situations.

Self-management
Develop one’s own ways of doing things, motivating oneself with little or no supervision.

Resilience
A proactive and determined attitude to remain a thriving enterprise or activity despite the anticipated and unanticipated challenges.

Initiative
Take initiative to come up with improvements.

Tenacity
Stick to one’s tasks in spite of fatigue or frustration.

Customer focus
Take actions which support business activities by considering client needs and satisfaction.

Diligence
Accomplish a task with concern for all the areas involved, no matter how small. Perform tasks conscientiously and effectively, taking into account all their aspects, no matter how detailed they are.

Respect privacy
Be aware of high level provisions of GDPR; recognise the right to keep personal information private; respect, protect personal data.

Personal development
Has the ability of using different channels of perception, learning styles, strategies and methods to acquire knowledge, skills and competences.

Positive attitude
Display great effort driven by an interest or enjoyment in work itself, in the absence of external pressures.

Reliability
Act within one’s work role to advance the goals and vision of the organisation.

Efficiency
Achieve objectives using minimum amount of time, effort or cost.

Respect the environment
Apply principles, policies and regulations aimed at environmental sustainability in the workplace.

Adaptability
Alter one’s attitude or behaviour to accommodate modifications in the workplace.

Coaching
Guide or teach others by providing relevant knowledge and support. Offer suggestions about the best course of action.

Networking
Keep track of the people in your personal professional network and stay up to date on their activities.

Ethical behaviour
Carry out workplace activities according to accepted principles of right and wrong, including fairness, transparency and impartiality.

Negotiation
Communicate with others with the intention of reaching a common understanding or to resolve a point of difference.

Leadership
Guide and direct others towards a common goal, often in a group or team.

Motivate others
Get to know what drives and stimulates individuals to achieve goals and personal growth.

Communication
Engage with others, mainly face-to-face, in a wide range of situations, using strategies appropriate to context and purpose.

Respect for diversity
Have an active role in promoting social justice and confronting discrimination in the workplace based on cultural identity.

Teamwork
Work confidently within a group with each doing their part in the service of the whole.

Conflict resolution
Practices concerning the resolution of conflicts or disputes in an organisation or institution.

Creativity
Generate new ideas or combine existing ones to develop innovative, novel solutions.

Organisation
Plan the time sequence of our own events, programmes and activities, as well as the work of others.

Decision making
Make a choice from several alternative possibilities.

Manage quality
Realise possible improvements for processes to increase productivity, improve efficiency, increase quality and streamline procedures.

Strategic thinking
Apply generation and effective application of business insights and possible opportunities.

Problem-solving
Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.

Critical thinking
Use cognitive abilities to make decisions and to move logically from one idea to another.
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El proyecto SkillsMatch esta cofinanciado por la Dirección General de la Comisión Europea para Redes de Comunicación, Contenido y Tecnología (DG CONNECT), Unidad de Tecnologías Interactivas, en virtud del acuerdo de subvención n. LC-00822001 (OKT2017).
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