Hi everybody,
I would like to start a discussion on the title of this group - if we talk about "basic skills and key competences" - which skills and competences do we mean? E.g. I could think about basic skills and competences for driving a truck, but in general?
RandolphAccording to the EC policy documents, European citizens are ought to increase their "basic skills" in the fields of literacy, mathematics, science and technology. However, those skills are understood in a quite broad sense. For example, literacy can mean basic cultural techniques, such as reading or writing. But, it becomes increasingly associated with various everday practices, such as management of one's own finances, which is reflected in the term "financial literacy".
A few weeks ago I've been to a project workshop in Portugal, where project leaders presented their projects in the area of skills development. One of these projects aims to support citizens in the development of "financial literacy". As part of the work program they had conducted a needs analysis, during which a broad range of stakeholders (consumer associations, policy makers, business leaders, trade unions, banks) were asked about the relevance of different topics related to this "basic" skill. The results were...According to the EC policy documents, European citizens are ought to increase their "basic skills" in the fields of literacy, mathematics, science and technology. However, those skills are understood in a quite broad sense. For example, literacy can mean basic cultural techniques, such as reading or writing. But, it becomes increasingly associated with various everday practices, such as management of one's own finances, which is reflected in the term "financial literacy".
A few weeks ago I've been to a project workshop in Portugal, where project leaders presented their projects in the area of skills development. One of these projects aims to support citizens in the development of "financial literacy". As part of the work program they had conducted a needs analysis, during which a broad range of stakeholders (consumer associations, policy makers, business leaders, trade unions, banks) were asked about the relevance of different topics related to this "basic" skill. The results were quite interesting, because it showed that the need for "financial literacy" to a large extent by the interviewees was perceived as of little relevance. That was quite surprising to everyone, since OECD recently had announced "financial literacy" as a key skill of citizens in times of economic and financial crises. The project consortium decided to further investigate this unexpected outcome.
However, the answers given by the respondents of the banking sector, to me explained a lot. They had been asked about the relevance of financial literacy for banks. And the answer was as simple as astounding. From the viewpoint of bank managers, excessive indebtedness is not a problem of skills gaps, and it can't be solved through training people. It is a self-regulated process, ending up with bankruptcy.Afficher plusIl y a 9 ans
A few weeks ago I've been to a project workshop in Portugal, where project leaders presented their projects in the area of skills development. One of these projects aims to support citizens in the development of "financial literacy". As part of the work program they had conducted a needs analysis, during which a broad range of stakeholders (consumer associations, policy makers, business leaders, trade unions, banks) were asked about the relevance of different topics related to this "basic" skill. The results were... Afficher plus Il y a 9 ans