Transversal Competencies are competencies that are transferable between jobs. They are what used to be described as “experience”. Some people have labelled them ‘soft skills’ or ’emotional intelligence’.

They are not job or sector-specific skills.

The acquisition and measurement of Transversal Competencies mean that you can move from a career in marketing in the building sector to a job in counselling in Africa. I agree that is obviously a radical move!

However, the non-job specific competencies in communication, grit, understanding diversity, teamwork, using information from diverse sources etc., may also be key competencies in this new context.

What are Transversal Competencies?

• Critical and Innovative Thinking
  • Critical Thinking
  • Innovative Thinking
  • Creativity
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Resourcefulness
  • Application Skills
  • Reflective Thinking
  • Presentation Skills
  • Reasoned Decision-Making
  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Organisational Skills
• Interpersonal Skills
  • Teamwork
  • Collaboration
  • Initiative
  • Sociability
  • Collegiality
  • Self-Discipline
  • Enthusiasm
  • Perseverance
  • Self-Motivation
  • Compassion
  • Integrity
  • Commitment
  • Awareness
  • Tolerance
  • Openness
• Global Citizenship
  • Respect for Diversity
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Civic Participation
• Physical and Psychological Health
  • Respect for the Environment
  • Healthy Lifestyle
  • Physical Fitness
  • Empathy
  • Self-Respect

Why is this relevant?

It is relevant because the world is evolving very fast, so formal learning and training are not meeting the needs of people who need to quickly re-skill in their working lives due to the changes initiated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

People are, therefore, turning to informal learning to acquire the skills and competencies they need. However, because we still prioritise CVs and formal certification in terms of job applications, with these valuable, job-qualifying skills and competencies not being recognised as a result and, therefore, cannot be measured. So, they do not help job seekers or employers find each other.

In the changing job market, with as much as 50% of the newly created jobs in the next ten years (McKinsey) not even known yet, we get a phenomenon called The Skills Gap.

In simple terms, this is the imbalance between labour supplied and labour demanded, expressed as skills and competencies.

The Skills Gap is recognised by the OECD, UNESCO, the UN and most governments. It causes huge economic and commercial damage and much unnecessary human misery. It is now estimated to total at least $10 trillion in the next ten years.

How can a different type of measurement solve this problem?

At the moment we only measure a fraction of a person’s formal learning and none of their informal competencies. 80% of learning is not formal and this means we are losing perhaps 90% of the data.

If we were able to capture the complete picture of someone’s competencies and relate it to the job market, we would have a solution to The Skills Gap, would we not?

If we could say what a person could actually as opposed to what they have done in the past; would we have a better idea of their capability today?

If we could predict how a person would react in the future or what their past formal learning meant in terms of ‘I can do’ statements; might we find reasons to interview them?

This is a complex problem and one that requires new concepts to understand learning, competency assessment and data matching.

We need a fluid granular assessment model, which adapts to needs intelligently with artificial intelligence and eventually in the blockchain. We need to change the way we measure learning and the way we look at job descriptions. We need to measure things that we have never been able to measure, quantitatively.

But, if we could do all this on a global scale for a small cost, we could make a huge impact, wouldn’t we? This type of measurement of competencies is also the key to an education revolution.

What is the Solution?

At Vivagogy we have developed the answers to these questions and with new types of measurements at a micro-atomic level that enable the kind of granular assessment needed.

We are developing a way to measure data in a fluidly intelligent way at a micro-atomic level which we call fluidDatamodelling. This can be delivered free because of an innovative business model online and accessible on everybody’s cell phone. By automating the assessment of skills and competencies, and making them a trusted source for individuals and employers, we can solve The Skills Gap. If you imagine that LinkedIn does very little in terms of measurements but still has more than 562 million users – you can see the potential.

Business Solutions

The product outcomes are solutions for the following problems in business:

• The Skills Gap
• Accurate Recruitment
• Staff Churn Solution
• Modern Performance Development
• Individual Learning Paths
• Measuring Informal Learning
• Measuring Company Culture
• Assessing and Selection with CVs

Our ultimate goal is to deliver our solution in a Blockchain Competency Index which creates a Global Skills or Competency Index. In this way, we will be able to solve a major business problem of how to put the major expenditure on the P&L for staff development on to The Balance Sheet as an asset. This innovation would change the global valuation of companies within two years.

Education Solutions

The product outcomes are solutions for the following problems in education:

• Teacher workload
• Student motivation
• Measuring Informal Learning
• Producing learning content
• Career Guidance
• Measuring Transversal Competencies
• Curriculum Assessment

We believe it will be the key to creating an Education Revolution because of the new EU law and the adoption of Transversal Competencies in more than half the world will force formal learning to adopt the new standards – but it has no way of assessing them!

Transversal Competencies are a new global human currency, which are going to be embedded in curricula all over the world in the near future!