The goal of the project was to contribute to society-wide efforts to increase the level of social and emotional skills of secondary vocational school students and, by applying them in employment, to eliminate differences in work results, status at work, incomes, but also in efforts to improve the quality of management and create emotionally intelligent workplaces. In the discussion at the round tables, we tried to get information directly from the school environment about the conditions and practices that support or complicate the development of these skills. Furthermore, we assessed the relevance, appropriateness and adequacy of the concept of social and emotional skills of adolescents presented in the OECD study on the conditions and current state of vocational education and training at secondary vocational schools of transport. We were looking for answers to the nature and structure of the presented social and emotional skills, their development, formation, possibilities of comparison with other environments and cultures, and their importance and significance for our schools involved in the project. For this purpose, we analyzed data obtained in a survey on social and emotional skills among parents and students.
Social and emotional skills have long been the focus of public policy makers, researchers and education experts. Currently, they constitute the main skills in the workplace and help to cushion the negative effects of an uncertain future. From the point of view of employers, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly affected inclusion in the workplace due to various impacts on the work performance of employees with different levels of education and skills. These impacts on women and men are also different and need to be addressed. We have therefore decided to start increasing the social and emotional skills of our potential employees, already in the process of their vocational education and training as students at secondary vocational schools of transport. This intention is also supported by the ongoing OECD study on social and emotional skills of students, the published results of which were the basis for round tables composed of experts nominated by partner organizations involved in the project. We needed to roundtable the experts, address the current state of data gaps, analyze the target data obtained in the cross-group survey, and formulate recommendations.