Using soft skills in working with young people

When we talk about the basics of working with young people, it is inevitable that we always think about two things: the development of that young person and the process they will go through.

It is often forgotten that these processes are much more important than the product itself. In Kulturanova, the importance of those processes that occur during our activities and programs is nurtured. They ultimately lead to the development of young people, both professionally and on a personal level.

There are very important soft skills that should be possessed by those who work with them, in order to transfer them to the participants later. Our two coordinators went through a one-year course for youth workers, in order to improve this knowledge and then transfer it to their practical work.

They point to the importance of the following soft skills: communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership skills.

At a time where digital technologies have taken precedence, young people are communicating less and less live. Although very internet literate, they often lack skills in face-to-face conversations. Our coordinators work to develop these skills through workshops, activities, volunteerism and our programs. After teaching young people about assertive communication, public speaking and practical examples and exercises, we are working on their development. Together we go through verbal and non-verbal communication and through forms of digital storytelling, in order to transfer their skills to the digital world that is very close to them. This set of skills has always proven to be significant, important and useful. By gradually developing these skills, young people become aware of themselves and break down some barriers that they had, which prevented them from further development.

In addition, education on teamwork, team roles and leadership skills is something we apply not only to the young people, but also in our work with colleagues and associates. We are constantly returning to improving our soft skills, through experiences, new collaborations and future plans. It has been shown that their application (of soft skills), achieves better results, both internally and externally.

We will also mention critical thinking. We develop and encourage this skill in order to realize the importance of an objective and comprehensive view of facts, phenomena and people. This is very important because it encourages so-called thinking from a different angle, from a different position and from different roles. Often, this kind of thinking helps us in the organization to reach the best possible solution.

The importance of developing soft skills is invaluable. This big role is played by the NGO sector, which has the opportunity to give this knowledge to young people. And they, in the end, lead to the development of a young person who is ready for different situations in life with different people and teams.