Identifying Cross-Cutting Non-Cognitive Skills for Positive Youth Development

This study was designed to gain a deep understanding of the skills that youth, employers, and educators think are important for education and employment. The study answers two central research questions: Which soft skills do youth think are most important for education and employment? What is the type and extent of the gap between the skills that youth, educators, and employers value? The researchers planned to uncover which skills (type of gap) were valued by youth, employers and educators, as well as how different (extent of gap) those soft skill values were. Implementing the study in three locations—Honduras, the Philippines, and Rwanda—allowed researchers to make cross-cultural comparisons to document the influence of context on youth’s soft skills and employer/ educator ideals.

Executive Summary