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1. Introduction
In the rapidly changing domain of STEM, the demand for skills that would match the needs of modern society goes beyond traditional technical competencies, or hard skills.
What sets apart a worker of the future are skills that cannot be performed by Al?
These include emotional intelligence, resilience, positive attitude, mindfulness, self-management, etc. These skills are often not taught in schools and universities explicitly, rather some subjects may touch upon them implicitly.
Employers increasingly report STEM graduates are not job-ready & require soft skills & need a broader set of non-cognitive skills to cope with the demands of the digital transition.
Employers are unanimous on the importance of:
Self-management, purposefulness, perseverance
Critical thinking, problem- solving, system thinking
Communication, collaboration and teamwork
STEM graduates are often reported to lack 21st century skills by employers, which in turn prevents them from innovating, developing, and adapting in uncertain, volatile times.
Due to challenges faced by female STEM students, through comprehensive training and support, fostering 21 Century Skills (21CS), which focuses on skills would have a positive effect on retaining female STEM students in STEM Higher Education (HE). More aware HEI STEM teachers and non-female STEM students on the importance of non-cognitive skills (such as empathy) have the potential to act as a supporting mechanism for female students, thus influencing their retention in the systems
- Building an ecosystem for 21st century STEM education
Why an Ecosystem Approach?
Traditional education systems often operate in silos—schools teach, industries hire, governments regulate. In contrast, a STEM ecosystem interlinks these actors, creating a collaborative network where learning is continuous, applied, and forward-looking.
A European Consortium under the leadership of Riga Technical University developed the study “Building an ecosystem for 21st century STEM education”. The skill areas that require immediate attention and the highest priority when it comes to preparing STEM graduates for the job market are:
- Self-management, intention, perseverance
- Adaptability, resilience and stress resistance
- Creativity
- Curiosity and open-minded opportunities, curiosity, open-minded opportunities, curiosity and perseverance.
- Emotional intelligence and empathy
- Well-being, positive attitudes and full awareness
- A strategic plan on STEM education
The STEM Education Strategic Plan is a key initiative of the Union of Skills. The plan sets out measures to reverse the trend of declining performance in STEM skills at school, and encourage more students, especially girls and women, into STEM studies and careers. The Plan developed 3 key objectives:
Make STEM a strategic priority in EU’s education and skills policy.
Support increasing the number of STEM programmes that are future-proof.
Lift barriers by attracting more women to STEM studies and careers, inspire future innovators and attract STEM talent.
Lift Barriers aims to engage more girls and women in STEM with the support of mentors and role models.
https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/stem
Examples of actions include:
- Launch Girls go STEM to attract more girls to STEM subjects, by training 1 million girls and women by 2028 through different European initiatives to develop their technical and entrepreneurial skills in STEM domains.
- Launch STEM Futures to inspire students through STEM education success stories (for example, involving girls and women in STEM and organising a European STEM Week).
- Pilot a STEM Specialists Fellowship to attract top international STEM experts to EU higher education and research institutions.
The actions aim to empower higher education institutions to promote the participation of women in the STEM fields of study and create bridges of collaboration between students, the industry and academic experts
Future Directions of the 21st century STEM ecosystem must embrace:
- AI and automation literacy for all.
- Ethical frameworks guiding STEM innovations.
- Global problem-solving networks where students collaborate across countries.
- Lifelong learning models ensuring continuous re-skilling and adaptability.
4.Microcredit -New instrument for employment-relevant education, training and learning
In the ever-evolving landscape of education and professional development, microcredit has emerged as a transformative force, offering flexible pathways to acquire new skills and knowledge.
Microcredit can be considered a stand-alone credential, and some also offer academic credits that can be used towards a degree.
In short, microcredits certify learning outcomes from short-term learning experiences, such as a course or short training. They offer a flexible and targeted way to help people develop the knowledge, skills and competences they need for personal and professional development.
Microcredits are offered by a variety of providers: education and training institutions, social partners, employers and industry, civil society organizations, and national authorities. Given their flexibility, microcredits can be offered in many different formal, non-formal and informal learning environments.
Microcredit program offers the learners a highly focused curriculum, a flexible and targeted way to help them develop the knowledge, skills and competences they need in a professional environment. Microcredits can help employers identify job candidates with the right skills or provide the right type of focused training to their employees.
MICROCREDIT MONITOR is a newly launched platform dedicated to providing up-to-date information on microcredit in Europe.
4.1 The steps to earning micro credit:
- Learn online with expert instructors over several weeks
- Complete project-based assessments. Test your acquired skills with assessments and exercises graded by online tutors.
- Earn a professional credential. Complete the course through final assessments to earn a credential.
- Advance your career. Use your micro credential as proof of your specialized skills and further advance in your industry.
Short Courses with Practical Activities examples: Critical thinking; Introduction to digital media; Management conflicts; Impostor syndrom; Leadership; Patents; Work Ethics; Teamwork
- Conclusions
In the STEM education ecosystem and the need to develop new skills and abilities adapted to technological and environmental changes, microcredits are increasingly seen as a way of adding to, and/or reforming, existing qualifications systems, offering the potential use and accessibility for social inclusion of end-users, notably disadvantaged groups or individuals (learners and workers).
The increasing attention given to microcredits is demonstrated in the 2020 EU Skills Agenda, which sees developments in this area as directly supporting adult upskilling and reskilling policies. EU Member States are urged to facilitate the ongoing and emerging development of microcredits in formal, non-formal, and informal learning settings.
For young women preparing for a STEM or business career microcredits help them to earn in short time new soft abilities needed on the labour market beyond traditional technical competencies. New skills like management conflict, system thinking, emotional intelligence, empathy, equality, fairness, human dignity, stress resistance, stress tolerance, can be acquired through microcredits.
References
https://education.ec.europa.eu/focus-topics/stem