SKILLS+ – Soft skills development programme for micro-companies in ICT sector Erasmus Project

Project Title

SKILLS+ – Soft skills development programme for micro-companies in ICT sector

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

According to both European and national evidence, a range of soft skills will become increasingly important for both ICT specialists and the rest of the sector’s workforce. The main non-IT skills demanded in ICT sector include business skills (creativity, innovation, customer service, sales), project management, communication and foreign language skills (Source: CEDEFOP, EU Skills Panorama Analytical Highlight, 2012).

The project partners using the above statement as a basis for their wok, had on one hand analysed European Level Research and on the other carried out local research in attempt to identify the
most important/ necessary soft skills in the ICT sector of their regions. Analysis of secondary sources (national/ regional reports, studies, etc.) and fieldwork showed that there is a wide range of soft skills that the employers and staff of ICT micro-companies should possess in order to be successful. There is no doubt that all soft skills are useful and desirable in any company; at the same time there are some differences in partner regions in prioritizing all the different skills. Assuming that the findings of desk research and expert interviews are equally important, the most important soft skills to be developed in the ICT micro-companies in partner regions are:
Communication, Problem solving, Teamwork, Learning mindset, Creativity, Leadership, Strategic thinking, Customer service, Innovation and Risk management

The SKILLS+ project aimed to improve the competitiveness of micro-enterprises in ICT sector by introducing a soft skills development programme covering the above described areas, thus encouraging sustainable development of these companies.

The objectives of SKILLS+ included needs analysis; sharing best practices and methodologies for the development of soft skills; adaptation of existing development programmes and materials and complementing them with new materials to create a new, tailored, multilingual programme specifically and directly aimed at the soft skills that are most needed in micro-sized ICT firms; developing an online learning space; testing and evaluation; creation of local and international networking and cooperation opportunities for the target group and stakeholders; dissemination and preparation of appropriate mechanisms/processes for further exploitation of project results.

The SKILLS+ Learning Space (e-learning platform) focuses on the soft skills most needed by people in micro-companies of ICT sector and includes different types of learning resources and tools – the more “traditional” reading resources are supported by educational videos carefully selected to support the theoretical presentation, practical advice on applying the lessons learnt to the learners’ own environment, self assessment questions, references and further suggested study materials.

The innovative concept employed within the Skills+ Learning Space is the so-called single-concept learning or “thin slicing”. Considering the short attention spans so common today, single concept or bite-size learning focuses on one behavior change, one narrow concept and one slim goal at a time. Thin slicing is about isolating a single learning concept and, with very limited information, delivering a powerful impact. The SKILLS+ learning programme is therefore made of small e-learning “snacks” that demonstrate how specific skill works in different situations. Then the learning experience has been integrated into a blended learning intervention, involving the project partners’ trainer experts as facilitators in the learning process.

The project has been implemented by a consortium of 6 partners from 5 European countries spanning from North to South of Europe (Romania, Spain, Cyprus, Netherlands, Norway). It includes organisations involved in training, consulting, research, business incubation, association activities, thus allowing to combine different views and experiences and achieve the expected impact of the project. The main outcomes are the SKILLS+ Development Programme, Learning Resources and Online Learning Platform in Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Dutch, Norwegian and English, which has been tested and validated in all project countries. The project has also produced a number of resources and tools that were used for dissemination (project website, e-leaflets, newsletters, social media sites), to promote the project and exploit its results.

The primary target group of the project were employers and employees of micro-enterprises in ICT sector. The project has increased their access to training and has improved their competences in the area of soft skills. 124 persons participated in pilot training; and over 10.000 unique visitors have accessed the project webpage and open learning resources in the learning platform, which are available free of charge. 28 ICT and consultancy businesses joined the project as associated partners, their contact be

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 133315 Eur

Project Coordinator

Fundatia Centrul Educational Spektrum & Country: RO

Project Partners

• FUNDACION TECNOLOGIA SOCIAL
• CSÍKI VÁLLALKOZÓK EGYESÜLETE – ASOCIATIA iNTREPRINZATORILOR DIN CIUC
• EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY (ECWT) FORENING
• X-PANEL LTD
• STICHTING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FRIESLAND