Abstract:

For the individual’s and society’s survival and prosperity, individuals need to acquire a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes, perceived as the valid results of various types of the learning process. Those learning outcomes are intended to formulate citizens being able to meet the general and specific needs of different circumstances, together with various personal and social requirements. Defining and determining the learning outcomes has constituted the subject of different scientific studies and has also been discussed for several years in relevant literature. As a result, different approaches and typologies have emerged. This diversity and heterogeneity stems from the different concerns and goals of researchers and organizations, in their attempt to identify and classify various skills and competences. The European Union, while trying to clarify the landscape, provides different ways of defining and interpreting a range of qualifications in all areas of education and employment in the member states. So, the aim of the article is to present the evolution in the perception of skills and competences, where the emphasis was sometimes given to the individual and his/her personal development and sometimes on the society’s and economy’s requirements. It also aims to show that in recent years, through the implementation of systemic and holistic models, what is proposed is the integration of all those processes of genesis, evolution, change and cultivation of skills and competences. Thοse models, after the involvement of international organizations, tend to focus on the human being as a whole personality, whose abilities and capacities affect the society, the economy, politics, the natural environment and ultimately the world’s future and sustainability.

Keywords:

Skills, key competences, qualifications, lifelong learning, employability, sustainability.