Using soft skills

in non-formal Demonstration lesson:

education the basics
Course practicalities

• Welcome

• Timing of the session

• Special arrangements
Timing

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

9-12 Session
AM 1
2-5
PM
Special arrangements
1. Notes will be handed out after each session

2.Reading materials: see bibliography

Introductory
lesson

Classroom =
the outside world
Where are you
from?

What have you

already done
today?
 SOFT SKILLS

Personal
Habits Qualities

Attitudes
& Social
Grace

good employee/member
who is compatible to work with
 HARD SKILLS

Trade skills

Subject matter
expertise

e.g. accounting, typing, operating machinery, etc.

A good driver combines soft and hard skills
Soft or hard?
SOFT HARD
Operating a computer 
Motivating colleagues 
Being able to plan your work 
Being flexible 
Mastering a second language 
Being able to drive fork lift truck 
Dealing with conflicts appropriately 
• Growing attention to the soft skills:
no person is working in isolation.

• As non-formal education
addresses gaps in employability
skills, soft skills are essential!
TRADITIONAL VERSUS ALTERNATIVE
 Demonstration 1 Demonstration 2

Trainer = in control Trainer = coach

Learner = packed with experience

Learner = empty container
from before

Learner = passive Learner = actively engaged

Focus = being able to do

Focus = knowing more
something
TRADITIONAL ALTERNATIVE
APPROACH APPROACH
Major assumptions in traditional
training methodology

• Acquisition of subject knowledge by learners will

automatically lead to action, or change in behaviour.
• The facilitator ‘owns’ the knowledge and can therefore
transmit or impart it as ‘instructor’.
• Learning depends essentially on the facilitators’ teaching
capacity and the learners’ learning capacity.
• Training is the responsibility of the facilitator and the
training institution.
• Knowledge, and training, are value-neutral and ‘objective’.
Major assumptions in alternative
approach to training

• People cannot be developed; they can develop

themselves.
• Acquired knowledge does not automatically lead to action
or changed behaviour, people first need to be convinced
about the importance of change.
• Learners themselves are a rich source of information and
knowledge about the real world.
• The collective is a powerful tool for learning and change.
• Training and knowledge can never be neutral.
PARTICIPATORY TRAINING
BASED ON THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH

• Not just a set of techniques

• Aims at creating an experience of personal and collective

change

• Encourages people to question what they have always

accepted

• Recognises and validates authentic and accurate people’s

knowledge
LIMITATIONS
OF PARTICIPATORY TRAINING

• It can not change structures and systems of society.

• It gives the learner the option to accept or reject any

option or change.
HOW DO WE LEARN?
FIVE KEY PRINCIPLES
FOR ADULT LEARNING
 KEY PRINCIPLE 1
Adults come to the learning situation with a well-defined
self-concept, and their learning can be facilitated by
helping them to build up their self-concept.
 KEY PRINCIPLE 2
Adult learning is an emotional experience, both in the
sense that certain emotions are associated with
learning, and that learning occurs through feeling as
much as thinking or acting.
 KEY PRINCIPLE 3

Adults choose whether to learn or not.

 KEY PRINCIPLE 4
Adults learn what they think is relevant
to their lives and their problems.
 KEY PRINCIPLE 5
Adults learn based on experience.
THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE

Applying Experiencing

Generalising Publishing

Processing
 The happy kingdom
versus
The unhappy kingdom
The ideal learning environment and
how to create, build, sustain and
nurture it.
1. Valuing learners and their experiences
2. Sharing personal experiences
3. Openness
4. Challenging
5. Safety
6. Support
7. Feedback
In order to create such an ideal learning
environment, some things need to be taken care of:

1. Relevancy of the subject matter and learning

methods
2. Constantly involving the learners
3. Take away any cause of stress or anxiety
4. The trainer’s behaviour
 The conditions for learning
An environment of active people
A climate of respect
A climate of acceptance
An atmosphere of trust
A climate of self-discovery
A non-threatening climate
A climate of openness
An emphasis on the uniquely personal nature of learning
A climate in which differences are thought to be good and desirable
A climate which recognises the right of individuals to make mistakes
An atmosphere that tolerates ambiguity
An emphasis on co-operative evaluation and self-evaluation