Specialist Sue showcases soft skills
Sue Dann, Employment Solutions Manager
at Working Links in the South West , travelled to Lodz in Poland
and Vigo in northern Spain. This was to deliver workshops on
the importance and benefits of ‘soft skills’ in the
workplace.
Sue travelled to Poland and Spain as part of a
delegation from the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, which is
participating in the EU-funded CECE (Competent Entrepreneur
Competitive Employee) initiative to develop various training
programmes.
The showcase highlighted how employers quite
often place importance on people’s competencies rather than their
qualifications. In the UK, Working Links already provides training
on organisation, motivation, customer service, time management and
enterprise, including help with self-employment if necessary.
Sue said, “This was a really exciting project
to be partnering with trainers from across Europe delivering
different training modules to students and fellow participants.
Feedback from European regions about the needs of the jobseeker and
of the employer has been very similar, even though there were
cultural differences in terms of the workplace and training
delivery.”
A 2008 report from the Forum of Private
Business identified that interpersonal skills and a willingness to
learn were the attributes and skills most sought after by
employers.
These European links are the latest steps in
the overseas work of Working Links. The organisation, which has
helped almost 130,000 people back into work over the last ten
years, is currently working on a consultancy project in the United
Arab Emirates and has acted as advisers to the Singaporean
Government in the past.