The future of continuing education: soft skills are becoming more important

Hanover Region

The Hannover Employment Agency and the Hannover Region announced the winners of the "Training Program of the Future" innovation competition at a ceremony today. The competition, which was launched as part of the partnership with the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Jobmonitor, aims to promote educational innovations that meet the requirements of the changing world of work.

Since September 2023, the Hannover Region and the state capital of Munich have been cooperating with the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Jobmonitor. This tool uses big data analyses of over 63 million job advertisements to identify regional skills requirements. The data analysis has shown that soft skills such as communication skills (23 percent), critical thinking (18 percent), adaptability (15 percent) and digital skills (8.1 percent) are becoming increasingly important.

However, many companies have difficulties in expanding their in-company training, particularly in these areas. This was the result of a survey conducted by regiolab, the coordination office for in-company training in the Hannover Region. A lack of time and a lack of suitable offers were cited as the main reasons for this.

The innovation competition "Continuing education program of the future" was initiated to counteract this. The competition is aimed at all continuing education providers who want to enter into cooperation to develop new, flexible and comprehensive continuing education programs. These should include both specialist qualification modules and the teaching of interdisciplinary skills.

The following winning projects were each awarded 10,000 euros:

Next Level 360°
A project of Bildungsakademie Hannover GmbH with the support of gsm GmbH and Jobnet AG focuses on innovative onboarding and modular training programs. "Next Level 360°" offers practical, needs-based and adaptable further training for qualified specialists, career changers (including those without a degree) and managers from all sectors. In addition to project management and digital skills, modules on soft skills and green skills are also offered.

FutureFit
The "FutureFit" project run by Bildungsverein Hannover e.V. in cooperation with Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HsH Akademie) and the Bildungswerk der Vereinten Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft (ver.di) in Lower Saxony e.V. focuses on comprehensive health promotion that uses neurofeedback analyses to identify and specifically address individual stressors and performance blockages. The focus is on resilience, mindfulness, positive psychology, healthy corporate management, IT security, AI and data protection.

The award-winning projects help to promote and secure the individual development and performance of employees in the long term. The extensive funding opportunities and much more information can be found on the qualification portal of the Fachkräfteallianz Region Hannover atwww.hannover-qualifizierung.de.