In the accession countries, the term "soft skills" is still an unknown quantity. : To hold one's own in globalised markets, social skills are of crucial importance - and this is something which so far been barely realised in the accession countries. The "Soft Skills" project has developed an awareness course for employment office counsellors in the accession countries and it offers training curricula which, in addition to a technical qualification, deliver key qualifications. An intended side-effect of the project is closer networking between partners in the current and prospective EU Member States. This project started in 2000 and lasted 24 months.