Life skills programs are designed to teach a broad set of social and behavioural skills—also referred to as “soft” or “non-cognitive” skills—that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands of everyday life.

We know that early childhood is a critical time for the brain, when connections are being made that become the foundation for a child’s future health, learning, and behavior. To grow into well-functioning adults, it is critical that youth learn key Life skills.

What is Life Skills?

Life skills include critical and creative thinking, decision-making, effective communication, as well as skills for developing healthy relationships and a positive self-concepts. Life skills help people make responsible and informed choices and can promote healthy lifestyles as well as career skills. According to WHO, life skills may be defined as “abilities for adaptive and positive behavior, that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life… Every school should enable children and adolescents at all levels to learn critical health and life skills.”

UNESCO and WHO list the ten core life skill strategies and techniques as: problem solving, critical thinking, effective communication skills, decision-making, creative thinking, interpersonal relationship skills, self- awareness building skills, empathy, and coping with stress and emotions.

The importance of life skills

In a constantly changing environment, having life skills is an essential part of being able to meet the challenges of everyday life. The dramatic changes in global economies over the past five years have been matched with the transformation in technology and these are all impacting on education, the workplace and our home life. To cope with the increasing pace and change of modern life, students need new life skills such as the ability to deal with stress and frustration. Today’s students will have many new jobs over the course of their lives, with associated pressures and the need for flexibility. 

Benefits for the individual

In everyday life, the development of life skills helps students to: 

• Find new ways of thinking and problem solving

• Recognise the impact of their actions and teaches them to take responsibility for what they do rather than blame others

• Build confidence both in spoken skills and for group collaboration and cooperation

• Analyse options, make decisions and understand why they make certain choices outside the classroom

• Develop a greater sense of self-awareness and appreciation for others

Benefits for employment

While students work hard to get good grades, many still struggle to gain employment. According to research employers are looking not just for academic success but key employability skills including:

• The ability to self-manage, solve problems and understand the business environment 

• Working well as part of a team

• Time and people management  

• Agility and adaptability to different roles and flexible working environments

• The potential to lead by influence

Training for students & young professionals

At SSEC, we have developed Life Skills curricula and training approaches—to assist supportive educational & occupational programs to more effectively integrate and teach life skills to students & young professionals in both formal schools and non-formal settings.

All youth need to develop a set of core life skills to manage school, work, outside interests, and social relationships successfully. From the perspective of brain development, these skills include planning, focus, self-control, awareness, and flexibility—also known as “executive function” and “self-regulation” skills. No one is born with these skills, but everyone can learn them through practice.

Youth who are prepared for adulthood are comfortable demonstrating fundamental life skills such as communication, cultural competence, conflict resolution, and the ability to cope. Youth programs can help young people develop self-efficacy -- a belief in their own capacity to succeed -- by providing opportunities to learn and practice these skills in real-life settings.

Thus, at  SSEC, we have a specially tailored Life Skills curriculum for students, which includes communication skills, personality development, aptitude and finishing school skills training, which is interlaced in their regular course work. The program provides group and individual life skills and job development instruction and support.

This helps in improving their employability quotient to a great extent, as companies who come to campuses to employ students look for these attributes in new recruits, more than their prowess in their domain skills. Hence the students’ transition from the campus to the corporate / business world becomes very smooth and seamless.