New Education should be based on Soft Skills

The Regional Meeting of the New Education Forum 2017 was held on 23 May in Turin at the UniManagement Training Center of Unicredit, sponsor of the initiative. The seminar entitled "Enhancing the European Labour Market" was held in the beautiful multimedia room Agorà. The seminar has developed the various aspects of training of young Europeans with particular emphasis on the relevance of Vocational Education not intended as second choice, alternative for those who are unable to support a high school or technical education. As a primary answer to some of today's job market needs. But above all as a concrete opportunity for young people to enter the labour market. EPA representing the parents responsible for the education of their children was represented by Claudio Masotti, Vice President.

There were three working tables that animated the day's work:

-          Promoting vocational learning and training (VET)  

-          Raising awareness of soft skills significance in the education process

-          Development of quick learning pathways

Stakeholders in education present included MEPs, industry representatives, public institutions including INAPP (National Institute for Public Policy Analysis) and Assocam Camerana School, a training agency of the Industrial Union, Amma and Chamber of Commerce in Turin, a significant reality of the local training system.

As a parent's voice, the impetus of Soft Skills, the new currency, was developed. One of the many Soft Skills has been highlighted quite rare to find, however very important to have, especially in these times of uncertainty of economic development: thinking outside the box or thinking laterally.

We must encourage young generations and reward them when they are good at thinking outside the box, able to explore fields nobody else has gone before, able to see what the others do not see. We need all stakeholders of the education system, politics and civil society willing to support and define, in a subsidiary way, a new education pathway model. We need a quick transition to a new school system for a holistic approach to education.

A new set of Soft Skills or Non-Cognitive Skills needs to be included in the education pathway that equally leverages on formal, non-formal and informal education. The desirable inclusive, multicultural approach, needs to go beyond the skills, knowledge and attitudes sets of the current definition. There is a need to redefine creativity based on direct experience and practical knowledge.

Claudio Masotti