What do teachers think?
A Vice Director of one local school in Siem Reap province, spoke to our teams about the importance of soft skills being taught to young people.
Soft skills are personal attributes and skills that are critical for adolescent potential that sit alongside more traditional education like maths and science.
"I used what I had learned in the training
to solve school problems, it built my
confidence and increased my motivation."
“If a student can do an exercise, it doesn’t mean that they understand. When they truly understand, after having researched, analysed evidence, and synthesised ideas they can apply in real life.”
A fellow Director of another school adopting the program told us, “When I was a student, we only listened and wrote. Now I understand, that’s not enough. When I first attended the UNICEF training, I had never heard of soft skills. As I used what I had learned in the training to solve school problems, it built my confidence and increased my motivation.”
Soft skills are crucial, particularly in today's world, as they help children and young people develop both professional competencies for future work and social-emotional competencies to enrich their adult lives.
Despite the obvious significance of these skills, in Cambodia they are often neglected in traditional learning environments. By providing this program, students become more proactive, engaged and resilient adults with the skills to reach their full potential in a post-pandemic world.