It is well documented that greater cooperation is needed between employers & VET providers in order to provide a more relevant supply of skills to, & within, the labour market. There is also clear evidence to suggest a gap between the VET curricula & labour market needs with regard to ‘soft skill’ requirements. The challenge & therefore the rationale for this project is to address both demand side needs (employers) & supply side needs (VET providers & adults at risk in, or excluded from, the labour market) in terms of soft skills. It is customary to assess & develop the vocational skills of learners. However insufficient attention is paid to the soft skills that employers state are critical in gaining/retaining work. This assertion is substantiated by evidence of the limited range of mechanisms used in VET to diagnose & match soft skills to labour market needs.The project aims to address these problems in 8 EU states by:Adapting & transferring an innovative diagnostic tool that integrates the assessment of adults’ soft skills, learning & work style preferences, then matches these to employers’ work opportunitiesTesting the validity of the diagnostic, its wider application & opportunities for exploitationRaising the understanding in VET of the importance of soft skills in employers’ recruitment & development decisionsImproving the employability of adults in the target groups by developing greater awareness of their soft skills, learning & work style preferencesInforming improved training, recruitment & career progression for our target groupsOur Consortium has been specifically chosen to provide a balance from across the VET/employer divide. We are seeking to draw supply side & demand side partners together to bring their differing perspectives to bear on improving VET programmes to better meet employer requirements. Our partners will provide the opportunity to test the efficacy of the diagnostic tool in a real world environment with both adults & employers, so providing empirical evidence of its value.The project will:Be a test-bed for the existing web based job-matching diagnostic, leading to an enhanced product with transnational applicationResult in a greater understanding of the importance of soft skills in employers’ recruitment decisions & whether this varies from country to countryProvide findings to inform the nature and extent of soft skills in VET programmesProvide new insights into the extent to which different soft skills are valued by employers in different EU countriesTest the transferability of the diagnostic tool & job-matching to other countries & labour marketsThe main impact will be enhanced VET provision for employability & workforce development that is more responsive to the needs of employers & adults in the target groups. Impact will be achieved through a greater understanding of soft skills & work preferences articulated & interpreted via an innovative diagnostic tool available in 8 EU languages.