Introduction

Societies are increasingly diverse in many respects (cultures, abilities, social groups, sexualities, political opinions, identities, education, training, literacy levels etc.). This results in a greater need to learn to navigate diversity and to create inclusive and cohesive societal systems, through informal, formal, and non-formal educational activities. Europe’s vision is to provide the necessary support to tackle the challenges people might face in this process.

Moreover, the number of people who suffer from a disability that constrains their ability to work, exceeds the number of jobseekers in most EU Member States (Eurostat 2011). Although there is some evidence that the prevalence of health problems improved (or at least stagnated) in most EU Member States until 2008, this trend turned during the global financial crisis, and in several Member States, the recent rise was especially marked among youth (OECD 2015).

As the next programming period is coming up, here are some critical remarks and suggestions about points that need to be considered: There is a lack of references to intellectual/multiple/severe disability. Union should address the problem of which undermines the quality of the services provided, and in some cases also their availability should be the most important outcome measure. Users should be asked for their personal feedback.

Ready Women training curriculum is divided into six different modules, and this module 4 is specifically addresses the theme of the accompanying strategy for discover and to utilise the soft skills for the women with disabilities.

In this regard it is good to underline the role of soft skills. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts in his or her relationships with others. They characterize the emotional intelligence of a person. The soft skills determine if a person is, for instance good in strategic thinking or negotiation or decision making.

At this matter the skills pillar of ESCO^[1] distinguishes between I) concepts related to skills / competences and II) concepts related to knowledge, indicating their type. However, no distinction is made between skills and competences. Each of these concepts includes a preferential term and a set of non-preferential terms for each of the 27 languages ​​of ESCO. It is also accompanied by an explanation provided in the form of a description. The skills pillar of ESCO contains 13 485 concepts structured in a hierarchy that contains four sub-classifications.

• Each sub-classification concerns different types of concepts related to knowledge and skills / competences: 
  • knowledge
  • skills
  • attitudes and values
  • language skills and knowledge.
• In addition to the hierarchy, subsets of skills are accessible using:
  • a hierarchy of transversal skills
  • a collection of languages
  • a collection of digital skills.

The ESCO skill hierarchy is undergoing a continuous improvement process.

The development and strengthening of soft skills are important and essential for women in general and specially in women with disabilities to become and remain an active part of the society.

Regarding job search and labour market, Soft skills are the difference between adequate candidates and ideal candidates. In most competitive job markets, recruitment criteria are not limited to technical ability and specialist knowledge.

[1] European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations