Over 99% of ICT firms in Europe are SMEs, of which about 90% are micro-sized companies with 1-9 employees. It's hard to overemphasize their importance to the sector and economy in general, but at the same time there is much to be done to improve competitiveness and sustainability of these micro-businesses. While most of them possess strong technical or so-called hard skills, the soft skills are much less developed. Research shows that in ICT micro-companies internal communication of personnel with fellow staff and external customers is inadequate, co-thinking is lacking, and former sole traders that become employers need to learn how to behave in their new role and how to manage the talent of their staff for the benefit of the business. According to both European and national evidence, a range of soft skills will become increasingly important for both ICT specialists and the rest of the sector’s workforce. The main non-IT skills demanded in this sector include business skills (creativity, innovation, customer service, sales), project management, communication and foreign language skills (Source: CEDEFOP, EU Skills Panorama Analytical Highlight, 2012). The SKILLS+ project aims to improve the competitiveness of micro-enterprises in ICT sector by introducing a soft skills development programme, and to encourage sustainable development of these companies. The objectives of SKILLS+ include needs analysis; sharing best practices and methodologies for the development of soft skills; adaptation of existing development programmes and materials and complementing them with new materials to create a new, tailored, multilingual programme specifically and directly aimed at "people skills" development in micro-sized ICT firms; developing an e-learning platform; testing and evaluation; creation of local and international networking and cooperation opportunities for the target group and stakeholders; dissemination and preparation of appropriate mechanisms/processes for further exploitation of project results. The SKILLS+ e-learning platform will focus on the soft skills most needed by people in micro-companies of ICT sector (based on desk research and needs analysis to be performed) and will include different types of learning resources and tools - the more "traditional" reading resources will be supported by real-world, decision-making scenarios exercises, which based on recent research keep learners engaged and motivated. Another innovative concept to be employed is the so-called single-concept learning or “thin slicing”. Considering the short attention spans so common today, single concept or bite-size learning focuses on one behavior change, one narrow concept and one slim goal at a time. Thin slicing is about isolating a single learning concept and, with very limited information, delivering a powerful impact. The SKILLS+ learning programme will thus be made of small e-learning "snacks" that demonstrate how specific skill works in different situations. This will make e-learning more attractive and accessible for the target group. Then the learning experience will be integrated into a blended learning intervention (e.g. a mix of managerial coaching and instructor-led training), which will provide multiple paths for participants to get the message. The project will be implemented by a consortium of 6 partners from 5 European countries spanning from North to South of Europe (Romania, Spain, Cyprus, Netherlands, Norway). It includes organisations involved in training, consulting, research, business incubation, association activities, thus allowing to combine different views and experiences and achieve the expected impact of the project. The main outcomes will be the SKILLS+ Development Programme, learning resources and e-learning platform in Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Dutch, Norwegian and English, which will be tested and validated in all project countries. The project will also produce a number of resources and tools that will be used for dissemination (project website, e-leaflets, newsletters) and will help to promote the project and exploit its results. The primary target group of the project are employers and employees of micro-enterprises in ICT sector. The project will help to significantly increase their access to training and will improve their competences in the area of soft skills. At least 75 persons will participate in pilot training; at least 1000 will be informed about the SKILLS+ and the e-learning platform with open learning resources available free of charge. It will contribute to competitiveness and development of this type of businesses in partner countries. The results and outputs of the project will also allow the partners of the consortium to open up new areas for training and support services. It is expected that after the completion of the project the results could also be "exported" to the other geographical areas of Europe.
According to both European and national evidence, a range of soft skills will become increasingly important for both ICT specialists and the rest of the sector’s workforce. The main non-IT skills demanded in ICT sector include business skills (creativity, innovation, customer service, sales), project management, communication and foreign language skills (Source: CEDEFOP, EU Skills Panorama Analytical Highlight, 2012). The project partners using the above statement as a basis for their wok, had on one hand analysed European Level Research and on the other carried out local research in attempt to identify the most important/ necessary soft skills in the ICT sector of their regions. Analysis of secondary sources (national/ regional reports, studies, etc.) and fieldwork showed that there is a wide range of soft skills that the employers and staff of ICT micro-companies should possess in order to be successful. There is no doubt that all soft skills are useful and desirable in any company; at the same time there are some differences in partner regions in prioritizing all the different skills. Assuming that the findings of desk research and expert interviews are equally important, the most important soft skills to be developed in the ICT micro-companies in partner regions are: Communication, Problem solving, Teamwork, Learning mindset, Creativity, Leadership, Strategic thinking, Customer service, Innovation and Risk management The SKILLS+ project aimed to improve the competitiveness of micro-enterprises in ICT sector by introducing a soft skills development programme covering the above described areas, thus encouraging sustainable development of these companies. The objectives of SKILLS+ included needs analysis; sharing best practices and methodologies for the development of soft skills; adaptation of existing development programmes and materials and complementing them with new materials to create a new, tailored, multilingual programme specifically and directly aimed at the soft skills that are most needed in micro-sized ICT firms; developing an online learning space; testing and evaluation; creation of local and international networking and cooperation opportunities for the target group and stakeholders; dissemination and preparation of appropriate mechanisms/processes for further exploitation of project results. The SKILLS+ Learning Space (e-learning platform) focuses on the soft skills most needed by people in micro-companies of ICT sector and includes different types of learning resources and tools - the more "traditional" reading resources are supported by educational videos carefully selected to support the theoretical presentation, practical advice on applying the lessons learnt to the learners’ own environment, self assessment questions, references and further suggested study materials. The innovative concept employed within the Skills+ Learning Space is the so-called single-concept learning or “thin slicing”. Considering the short attention spans so common today, single concept or bite-size learning focuses on one behavior change, one narrow concept and one slim goal at a time. Thin slicing is about isolating a single learning concept and, with very limited information, delivering a powerful impact. The SKILLS+ learning programme is therefore made of small e-learning "snacks" that demonstrate how specific skill works in different situations. Then the learning experience has been integrated into a blended learning intervention, involving the project partners' trainer experts as facilitators in the learning process. The project has been implemented by a consortium of 6 partners from 5 European countries spanning from North to South of Europe (Romania, Spain, Cyprus, Netherlands, Norway). It includes organisations involved in training, consulting, research, business incubation, association activities, thus allowing to combine different views and experiences and achieve the expected impact of the project. The main outcomes are the SKILLS+ Development Programme, Learning Resources and Online Learning Platform in Romanian, Spanish, Greek, Dutch, Norwegian and English, which has been tested and validated in all project countries. The project has also produced a number of resources and tools that were used for dissemination (project website, e-leaflets, newsletters, social media sites), to promote the project and exploit its results. The primary target group of the project were employers and employees of micro-enterprises in ICT sector. The project has increased their access to training and has improved their competences in the area of soft skills. 124 persons participated in pilot training; and over 10.000 unique visitors have accessed the project webpage and open learning resources in the learning platform, which are available free of charge. 28 ICT and consultancy businesses joined the project as associated partners, their contact be