Project title: Job Matching Diagnostics for Assessing Soft Skills and Work Role Preferences – DAISS
Programme: Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Projects
Project summary: The project will test, transfer and pilot an innovative diagnostic tool that self assesses the ‘soft’ skills and work style preferences of individuals, along with the requirements of employers. This web-enabled tool then uses these outputs, together with hard skill requirements, to match individuals to an employer’s job vacancy.It is well documented that greater cooperation is needed between employers and VET providers in order to provide a more relevant supply of skills to, and within, the labour market. There is also clear evidence to suggest a gap between the VET curricula and labour market needs with regard to ‘soft skill’ requirements. The challenge and therefore the rationale for this project is to address both demand side needs (employers) and supply side needs (VET providers and adults at risk in, or excluded from, the labour market) in terms of soft skills. It is customary to assess and develop the vocational skills of learners. However insufficient attention is paid to the soft skills that employers state are critical in gaining/retaining work. This assertion is substantiated by evidence of the limited range of mechanisms used in VET to diagnose and match soft skills to labour market needs.
Project Aims
The project aims to address these problems in 8 EU states by:– Adapting and transferring an innovative diagnostic tool that integrates the assessment of adults’ soft skills, learning and work style preferences, then matching these to employers’ work opportunities. – Testing the validity of the diagnostic, its wider application and opportunities for exploitation. – Raising the understanding in VET of the importance of soft skills in employers’ recruitment and development decisions.– Improving the employability of adults in the target groups by developing greater awareness of their soft skills, learning and work style preferences.– Informing improved training, recruitment and career progression for our target groups.
The project will: – Be a test-bed for the existing web based job-matching diagnostic, leading to an enhanced product with transnational application.– Result in a greater understanding of the importance of soft skills in employers’ recruitment decisions and whether this varies from country to country.– Provide findings to inform the nature and extent of soft skills in VET programmes.– Provide new insights into the extent to which different soft skills are valued by employers in different EU countries.– Test the transferability of the diagnostic tool and job-matching to other countries and labour markets. The main impact will be enhanced VET provision for employability and workforce development that is more responsive to the needs of employers and adults in the target groups. Impact will be achieved through a greater understanding of soft skills and work preferences articulated and interpreted via an innovative diagnostic tool available in 8 EU languages.
Project partners: – Apricot Training Management (UK) – project coordinator;– VondiConsulting (Austria);– Industry Watch Group (Bulgaria);– Hellenic Regional Development Center (Greece);– IPA SA Research Institute (Romania);– Agenzia per lo Sviluppo dell’Empolese Valdelsa spa (Italy);– Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (Portugal);– FORSAS (Italy);– VsI Socialiniu inovaciju centras (Lithuania).
Project duration: 2011 – 2013 Project website: http://daiss-project.eu/
Methodology How the DAISS Project Works
The DAISS project is about identifying and assessing ‘soft skills’ for the workplace. It has been designed to increase the understanding of the role of ‘soft skills’ in employment – for both employers and job seekers. Through an innovative diagnostic tool, employers will be assisted to produce a detailed person specification for a work role. The tool gathers and analyses participant responses and then uses an innovative ‘matching’ component to align employer requirements with the ‘soft skills’, learning styles and work preferences of adults seeking work. The ultimate goal is to produce a best fit solution for both employers and job seekers. The project will produce a number of positive outcomes such as: employer driven improvements in ‘soft skills’ in vocational training and development, a raised awareness of the importance of ‘soft skills’ amongst the unemployed, more informed decisions in career progression for those in work. Originally developed and piloted in the UK, the diagnostic and its transfer will facilitate learning and feedback between countries so that knowledge and experience are shared between partners and inform further development and enhancement of the product. The transfer will be enabled through translation, adaptation (based on the finding of local Needs Analyses) and training in the use and interpretation of the Diagnostic. It will also involve the engagement of VET trainers, employers and job seekers to participate in the piloting process.