21st Century Skills

21st century skills are the skills, abilities and learning dispositions identified by educators, business leaders, academics and governmental agencies as requirements for success in 21st century society and workplaces, part of an international movement to prepare students for a rapidly changing digital economy. As Western economies shifted from industrial to service-based work, demand grew for applied or soft skills, people skills, and flexibility and adaptability rather than the manual manipulation of equipment. These skills are commonly grouped into three areas: learning and innovation skills such as critical thinking and collaboration, digital literacy skills such as information and media literacy, and career and life skills such as initiative, self-direction and cross-cultural interaction. Many of them are also identified as key qualities of the progressive education movement that began in the late nineteenth century.