This document summarizes a project aimed at developing an assessment system for social skills among unemployed individuals. The project involves partners from six European countries who will develop exercises to assess unemployed individuals' knowledge, skills, and competencies. They will evaluate CVs, provide assessments and feedback. The project will test participants in each country on their informally acquired social skills and include the assessment tools and results on a project website. The outcomes will help unemployed individuals showcase their skills in a formal way and improve their opportunities. A network of organizations will provide feedback to evaluate the assessment system.

1. The PARTNERSHIP:
SWEDEN – Project coordinator
Folkuniversitetet - FU
www.folkuniversitetet.se
GREECE
Institute of Entrepreneurship Development - IED
www.entre.gr
AUSTRIA
BEST Institut für berufsbezogene Weiterbildung und
Personaltraining GmbH
www.Best.at
SOCIAL SKILLS can be described as the
ability to, in relation to others, act in such
a way that both their own goal and the
goals of others will be achieved. This
should be in conjunction to social norms,
values, or expectations without being
viewed negatively by others. For the
individual to function in society requires
some degree of social competence. All
people have some form of it, but different
people have their social competences in
different areas. A group requires different
skills than required between individuals.
It does not necessarily mean that an
individual who is outgoing in a group
have high social competences in all
situations. Social competence is not a
personality characteristic, but it is a skill
(Mannberg, 2001).
Assessment of
Social Skills for
better possibilities
for employment
Contact: Ingmarie Rohdin
Föreningsgatan 1
291 33 Kristianstad Sweden
Phone: +46 (0) 44 207640
Ingmarie.Rohdin@folkuniversitetet.se
www.Folkuniversitetet.se
BULGARIA
Business Foundation for Education – BFE
www.fbo.bg
ROMANIA
Centrul de Resurse pentru Educaţie şi Formare
Profesională – CREFOP
www.crefop.ro
CZECH REPUBLIC
AKSES
www.akses.cz
This project has been funded with support from the
European Commission.
Project N: 2012-1-SE1-LEO05-11645
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of
the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
PARTNERSHIP
THE OUTCOMES
With the increasing unemployment and employers’
demands from the labour force, it is
The consortium of partners from six Europeans countries
includes institutions which have previous experience in
the implementation of similar projects, which will be
capitalized in the current project.
The project will lead to the
development of a database with
necessary exercises for assessment of
knowledge, skills and competencies
that unemployed have and that not
have been highlighted before. Further,
the project will develop a system
of assessment mainly around these
steps: CV evaluation, assessment and
feedback.
an important issue to provide more
opportunities and support to unemployed
people.
The project aims towards the development of an
assessment system for teachers/trainers, and other
professionals, working with unemployed people, and
in particular with the aim to evaluate and accredit
non-formal and informal education and training
(knowledge, skills and competencies they have
acquired through their experience).
RATIONALE
In the past years, social skills are more and more
important to employers across Europe.
Despite the development, obtaining a formal education
and training in the field has not yet been developed
to its full capacity and potential, leaving a majority of
unemployed in the field without any formal education
or training or recognition of their knowledge, skills and
competencies.
For this reason, project will give the opportunity to
assess the knowledge, skills and competencies they
have obtained informally in the everyday life, in the
work place, through volunteer work or hobbies. The
project will help the unemployed people not only to
develop their skills and their opportunities, but also to
show their present skills in a “formalized” format.
The participants in the pilot process,
in each of the participating countries
will be tested on their knowledge,
skills and competencies which they
have acquired informally through
their work and other activities.
Further, the website of the project
will contain project information and
a database that will be developed
including a manual and tools for
trainers/teachers.
A network of organizations, i.e.
Public Employment Service, other
adult educators, guidance centers
and NGOs, will be established to get
feedback on the outcomes.