TVETipedia Glossary

Skills that are typically considered as not specifically related to a particular job, task, academic discipline or area of knowledge and that can be used in a wide variety of situations and work settings (for example, organizational skills).
Source: UNESCO IBE 2013, Global

Transversal skills are those typically considered as not specifically related to a particular job, task, academic discipline or area of knowledge but as skills that can be used in a wide variety of situations and work settings (IBE 2013). These skills are increasingly in high demand for learners to successfully adapt to changes and to lead meaningful and productive lives. Examples include:

• Critical and innovative thinking
• Inter-personal skills (e.g. presentation and communication
skills, organizational skills, teamwork, etc.)
• Intra-personal skills (e.g. self-discipline, enthusiasm, perseverance, self-motivation, etc.)
• Global citizenship (e.g. tolerance, openness, respect for
diversity, intercultural understanding, etc.)
• Media and information literacy such as the ability to locate and access information, as well as to analyse and evaluate media content (UNESCO 2014c)
Source: UNESCO (Bangkok) 2014, Asia Pacific

Definition of ‘transversal competencies’ has six domains: 1) critical and innovative thinking, 2) interpersonal skills, 3) intrapersonal skills, 4) global citizenship, 5) media and Information literacy, and 6) others. The domain ‘others’ was created as a way for researchers to include competencies, such as physical health or religious values, that may not fall into one of the other.
Source: UNESCO Bangkok 2016, Asia-pacific