Year: 2025 | Month: December | Volume: 12 | Issue: 12 | Pages: 534-542
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20251257
The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Enhancing Soft Skills for Adult Learners in Vocational Education and Training (VET) Programs in Europe
Lars Arnold Ritter
PhD Student, Department National and International Security, Unibit Sofia
Corresponding Author: Lars Arnold Ritter
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the effectiveness of emotional intelligence (EI) in supporting the growth of soft skills in adult learners in vocational education and training (VET) programs in Europe. Emotional intelligence, which involves perceiving, understanding, and controlling the emotions, is quite useful in developing desired competencies in the workplace including effective communication, empathy, collaboration, and resolving conflicts. These interpersonal skills are becoming more and more desired because of the growing need to recruit people that can work in fast-paced, highly-collaborative settings. As the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital learning tools in the educational environment is rapidly growing, the possibilities to customize the development of emotional intelligence become an opportunity, and it can be made available to more adult learners. This paper will critically discuss the relationship between EI and soft skills, and specifically on the place of VET programs within the adult education system in Europe. It holds that by including emotional intelligence training in these programs not only increases the employability of the learners but also facilitates personal growth, resilience and flexibility that are essential in succeeding in the work environment of the contemporary world. The paper identifies the opportunities of AI-based learning tools to promote customized emotional intelligence growth by analyzing the current trends in VET and prospective changes. Such tools can give individualized feedback, which allows adult learners to become emotionally regulated, socially aware, and manage relationships. The paper concludes by highlighting the relevance of integrating emotional intelligence training within VET curricula, to enhance adult learners with the competencies necessary to handle the dynamics of the sophisticated working environments and achieve professional and personal flourishing in the long term.
Keywords: Emotional intelligence, adult learning, Vocational education and training, soft skills, artificial intelligence, Europe.
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