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Targeted approach to developing soft skills in ICT sector

An innovative training tool being developed at the University of Canterbury will help software developers brush up on their communication, teamwork and social skills.

University of Canterbury (UC’s) Prof Tanja Mitrovic, Associate Professor Sanna Malinen, and Associate Professor Matthias Galster are collaborating on new ways to transform New Zealand’s ICT workforce using digital personalized interactive training.

“The training emphasis for software professionals is usually on technical issues, with little provision made for training on how to communicate effectively with clients, managers or colleagues. But poor communication during software development can mean that project objectives are misunderstood, leading to unsatisfactory results,” Associate Professor Galster says.

Teaching people how to develop their ‘soft’ interpersonal skills is difficult and often people working in information and communications technology (ICT) end up learning them through experience or expensive ad hoc training.

“Our goal is to make such training much more cost and time efficient by providing a new interactive platform to meet this need, delivering personalised, interactive AI-based learning of soft skills. We want to make this platform as accessible as possible so anyone can use it,” Associate Professor Galster says.

Geared towards professional development in the ICT sector, rather than classroom education, the new interactive training platform is being developed in partnership with local software companies.

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