On 13 june, the Serre dei Giardini Margherita of Bologna have hosted the italian conference of Compete! COMPetences for Effective labour markeT Entry, dedicated to soft skills and the labour market.

The conference started with greetings from Serena Foracchia, director of Demetra Formazione. During her speech, the director underlined the complexity of the transition from education to the working world: “Often the world of education lags behind the needs of the labour market. […] We need to keep attention focused on this, dialogue with companies, seize the different opportunities that arise and constantly adapt our offer, in a medium and long-term perspective.”

Three sessions took place during the day, each one with a specific focus. At the beginning of the conference Laura Zambrini (Demetra Formazione) talked about the results achieved by the project COMPETE!. The first session, led by Demetra Formazione and SCS Consulting, allowed to discuss the role of multimedia in the learning process of soft skills, with a focus on serious game. Elena Pacetti and Alessandro Soriani, UNIBO professors, and Gabriele Marzano, of the Emilia-Romagna region, spoke on this topic.

The first part of the afternoon was dedicated to a training session on teamworking and to COMPETE Game experimentation, a game designed to support the development of soft skills in young graduates. Guided by Marica Vignozzi, psychologist and trainer, the young people test their soft skills through the videogame.

The final session, coordinated by SCS Consulting and Formula Servizi, allowed to explore the relationship between soft skills and the labour market, the importance of soft skills in recruitment processes and professional development paths.

The conference ended with a final aperitif.

The results of the COMPETE! project are available at competeproject.eu/outputs