"For three years our team at eGovlab, DSV, have been developing a multi-functional system for the youth population in EU, to support them in finding relevant training for the right job. Our system will empower and support the users with a self-assessment tool that will help them to understand their knowledge strength and weaknesses. Within this new project, for the next two years, our focus will be on non-cognitive skills. Developing a prototype for matching users’ knowledge gap with education providers, but also matching their strength with possible employers. The outcome will be tested by a number of EU countries, as project pilots”, says Pooyeh Mobini, the project coordinator at eGovlab, DSV, Stockholm University.

Non-cognitive abilities are about the attitudes, behaviors and social-emotional aspects of individuals. For example, motivation, collaborative ability, self-discipline or "how to behave," writes the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). New research shows that students with a higher degree of self-esteem, inner motivation and critical thinking are better placed to pass their courses and achieve academic success.

The results of the self-assessment tool will trigger the main features of the system. It will match the results and fetch the relevant online courses (MOOCS and OERS), enable the ePortfolio to register evidences of the aquired skills and also enable the employer to search by specific competence and skill.

Seven partners in Europe will be coordinated from eGovlab at DSV. The project "Open Knowledge Technologies: mapping and validating knowledge" builds on eSkills Match a previous project focused on ICT jobs (Information, Communication and Technology jobs). Funder is the European Commission (GD CONNECT) and the two year project will begin in June 2018.