The Soft Skills and Creativity Identification and Assessment Tool valorises the cognitive, behavioural and operational skills acquired through informal or non-formal learning, e.g. through volunteering. It also identifies the creativity potentials of the volunteer which are needed to cope with unpredictable and widespread changes such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tool supports the acquisition and strengthening of those skills of individuals, which are especially needed in the art sector and in the creative industry.
The Tool supports the user to recognise and validate his/her own individual soft skills and creativity potential and increase the awareness of their importance in the professional life. It provides new stimulus. It does not judge, but gathers remarks and points of view. Through this path, the person can learn about him/herself and can see him/herself with different eyes, especially in the light of employment chances in times of crisis.
The user passes through several steps. They comprises, among others, the following:
- Self-evaluation in order to support the user in his/her own self-analysis and self-description of abilities, knowledge and inclinations, focusing specifically on a selection of soft skills.
- Situational Judgement Test, to evaluate the volunteer’s behaviour and cognitive abilities concerning selected soft skills when the person is introduced with hypothetical, daily work-related situations.
- Creativity test(s), to measure specific cognitive processes such as thinking divergent, making associations, constructing and combining broad categories, or working on many ideas simultaneously. The Tool also measures non-cognitive aspects of creativity such as motivation and facilitatory personal properties like flexibility, tolerance for independence, or positive attitudes to differentness.
- Evaluation and assessment in a Skills and Creativity Map.
- Analysis and presentation of the results in a Portfolio.
