Explore our selected skills
Skills
Browse selected practical, transferable skills A–Z, search for a topic, or filter by practical theme.
The ten practical themes are UnionOfSkills.com’s way of organising skills for browsing, not an official EU list. This selection does not cover every skill in the wider Union of Skills agenda.
35 skills shown. Search includes theme names.
Communication
Active listening
Pay attention to another person’s meaning and check that you have understood it.
Learning to learn
Adaptability
Adjust an approach when circumstances, requirements or information change.
Participation & citizenship
Civic participation
Contribute meaningfully to decisions, initiatives or collective action affecting shared concerns or communities.
Communication
Clear communication
Express information and ideas in a way suited to the audience, purpose and context.
Collaboration & teamwork
Collaborative working
Coordinate contributions, responsibilities and decisions towards a shared outcome.
Communication
Constructive dialogue
Explore different views respectfully, using reasons and questions to keep an exchange useful.
Creativity
Creative expression
Express ideas, experiences or meaning through creative forms.
Creativity
Creative thinking
Generate, combine and develop ideas or possibilities.
Digital literacy
Critical & responsible use of AI
Use AI with human judgement: check its outputs and limitations, and decide when its use is appropriate.
Digital literacy
Digital content creation
Create, edit and adapt digital content for a purpose and audience.
Digital literacy
Digital safety & privacy
Protect personal information, devices, accounts and wellbeing when using digital technologies.
Digital literacy
Effective use of digital tools
Select and use digital tools appropriately for a task or need.
Inclusion & diversity
Empathy & perspective-taking
Seek to understand another person's experience, feelings or viewpoint and take it into account.
Entrepreneurship
Ethical & sustainable thinking
Consider ethical, social and environmental consequences when developing ideas or taking action.
Entrepreneurship
Financial & economic literacy
Understand costs, income and resource limits, and use them to weigh choices when making decisions or developing an idea.
Learning to learn
Giving & using feedback
Give useful feedback and use feedback received to improve an approach or outcome.
Inclusion & diversity
Inclusive participation
Recognise and respond to barriers that affect people's opportunities to participate meaningfully.
Critical thinking
Information evaluation
Judge whether information and its sources are relevant, reliable and credible.
Inclusion & diversity
Intercultural competence
Interact thoughtfully across cultural differences and recognise that norms and perspectives may vary.
Entrepreneurship
Managing uncertainty & risk
Make considered choices when outcomes are uncertain and potential consequences need to be weighed.
Critical thinking
Media literacy
Understand how media messages are made, presented and shared, and how this can shape their meaning.
Collaboration & teamwork
Negotiation & resolving disagreements
Work through differing needs or positions to reach a workable way forward.
Entrepreneurship
Planning & organising
Turn an intention into manageable steps, responsibilities and resources.
Problem-solving
Problem framing
Understand and define a problem before trying to solve it.
Critical thinking
Reasoned decision-making
Compare options and make a choice using evidence, priorities, likely consequences and practical limits.
Critical thinking
Reasoning with evidence
Use evidence to support, challenge or revise a conclusion.
Inclusion & diversity
Recognising bias
Notice how assumptions, stereotypes or bias may shape information, judgement and behaviour.
Learning to learn
Reflective learning
Review experience or evidence to understand learning and improve future approaches.
Digital literacy
Responsible digital participation
Interact, share and participate responsibly in digital spaces.
Learning to learn
Self-directed learning
Identify what needs to be learned and take an active role in planning how to learn it.
Learning to learn
Self-management
Organise priorities, commitments, time and one’s own approach responsibly.
Entrepreneurship
Spotting opportunities
Recognise needs, problems or possibilities where action could create value for others.
Problem-solving
Systems thinking
Understand how parts of a situation depend on one another and how changes can have wider effects.
Entrepreneurship
Taking initiative
Move from intention towards action without waiting for every step to be provided.
Problem-solving
Testing & improving solutions
Try a possible solution, observe what happens and use the result to improve it.
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