In adult vocational training, learners must acquire both technical skills and soft skills, which are essential for their professional success (Soft skills concern interpersonal (social skills) and intrapersonal (emotional) skills that would enable adaptation to changing environments). However, traditional programs often focus on technical skills, creating an unbalance with the expectations of the labour market, where soft skills are increasingly promoted (WorldBank, UNESCO, and ILO, 2023; OECD, 2015). This unbalance poses significant challenges, as training institutions tend to prioritise technical skills, whereas have expectations not only for technical skills but also for soft skills (Tahiri and Qachar, 2024) Furthermore, the lack of consensus on definition of soft skills, their importance, the most effective methods for their development, and the underlying cognitive processes hinders their integration within training programs (Kechagias, 2011; Marin-Zapata et al., 2022; Touloumakos, 2020).

Traditionally, vocational training programs that develop soft skills generally use approach in which learners adjust their behaviour according to work situations, without explicit teaching. The aim of this approach is to enable them to develop soft skills by adapting naturally to the demands of the professional context. However, this approach has limitations in terms of efficiency, because the learning situations are difficult to evaluate and compare. In order to create professional training programs that are effective in transmitting soft skills, one lever may be to develop teaching approach that explicitly explains soft skills through the metacognitive processes that required for their development;

Indeed, scientific research suggests that metacognition, through processes such as reflexivity, self-awareness, and self-assessment, plays key role in development of soft skills (Cimatti, 2016; Mitsea et al., 2021). Indeed, soft skills are the result of an individual’s adaptation to a given situation (Binkley et al., 2010). In this process, metacognition allows the analysis of the environment and the conscious selection of behaviour to be adopted, which becomes a central factor in the development of these skills. In this context, metacognitive prompts, by promoting the development of learner’s metacognitive knowledge, can enhance acquisition of soft skills (Marle et al., 2023). These prompts enhance self-regulation, autonomy, and the management of future tasks (Cosegnili and Van Nieuwenhoven, 2016; Veenman et al., 2006). Nevertheless, research into the effects of metacognition on soft skills is very recent and has yet to be documented. Scientific literature shows that programs that promote both self-regulated learning (SRL) and metacognitive development, particularly through soft skills workshops that use metacognitive prompts (SSWmp), allow learners to become more autonomous, motivated, and able to manage their own learning effectively, as demonstrated by Feraco et al. (2023).

The study presented here explores the impact of a pedagogy focusing on metacognitive dimensions and self-regulated learning on the acquisition of technical and soft skills.

Firstly, two approaches to developing soft skills (social and emotional skills) were analysed. The first followed the traditional approach and delivered teaching based on work-related situations, the solving of which required the development of technical skills and soft skills. The second has, in additional to the traditional approach, workshops for explicit teaching based on metacognitive prompting. This comparison aimed to identify the impact of metacognitive prompts on the acquisition of soft skills.

We then analysed the impact of integrating pedagogy that promotes self-regulated learning (SRL) throughout the training program, using prompts to encourage self-regulation. Indeed, encouraging self-regulation is a predictor of improved performance, motivation, engagement and organisation in learning (Hemmler and Ifenthaler, 2024). Moreover, the study also used models of self-regulated learning (Panadero, 2017; Zimmerman, 2000). Consequently, we analysed the development of learners' self-regulation and their acquisition of knowledge and technical skills, compared to the traditional programs without prompts for self-regulated learning.

Participant and procedure A 175 adult learners in vocational training with an average age of 38.2 years (SD= 11,2) were invited and completed all experiment phases (pre- and posttest).Participants were randomly assigned to one of five training types across 14 training centres, divided into four groups based on the presence or absence of SSWmp and self-regulated learning prompts (SRL): SSWmp + SRL (N = 15), SSWmp without SRL (N = 40), no SSWmp + SRL (N = 9), and no SSWmp + no SRL (N = 111). On starting the training program, participants completed five individual questionnaires in a computer lab: Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Schraw and Dennison, 1994), Self-Regulated Learning Online (Broadbent et al., 2023), Emotional Competence (Mikolajczak et al., 2014), Social Skills (Ferris et al., 2001), and a theoretical test related to their specific training. The pretest phase took approximately 1 hour 40 minutes. The posttest phase took place during the last week of training, using the same measures as the pretest, as well as technical skills assessments. The study was approved by the research ethics committee. Soft skills Workshops metacognitive prompts These Workshops encourage learners to self-observe and become aware of their soft skill behaviours. To achieve this, each workshop includes a theoretical phase on the targeted soft skill (emotional and social skills), followed by a practical activity focusing on this soft skill where the trainer observes and collects data during the activity. After which, a debriefing session takes place where learners analyse their behaviours, encouraging self-awareness. Finally, a second practical activity is delivered to help learners apply and regulate their behaviours. This exercise invites learners to identify the soft skills to be developed, raising awareness of their strengths and weaknesses (metacognitive knowledge), define the steps necessary for their acquisition, and project themselves into the implementation of these steps (metacognitive process). The programme comprises four workshops of this type, each lasting around 7 hours, at intervals of approximately one month. Self-regulated learning prompts Self-regulated learning prompts is training who encourages learners to take responsibility for their learning by completing a project related to specific professional skills. This project serves as a concrete reference for acquiring the knowledge and skills required for their professional development. The trainer assists learners in setting short, medium, and long-term goals, while guiding them in acquiring professional skills through practical advice. The trainer supervises the progress and ensuring self-regulation strategies throughout the training program.

Our study examines the effects of self-regulated pedagogy and soft skills workshops with metacognitive prompts on cognitive, metacognitive and motivational development, as well as on the acquisition of technical and soft skills in 175 vocational learners. The results show a significant impact of SSWmp on metacognitive knowledge (p<0,05), with a strong positive correlation between increased metacognitive knowledge and soft skills (P<0.05). Learners who took part in these workshops showed a significant increase in their metacognitive knowledge, particularly with a focus on self-knowledge and metacognitive processes (p<0.05). In addition, there was a direct link between workshop participation and dimension of emotional competence. With regard to the self-regulation prompts (SRL), the learners did not show any significant differences in the results of the SRL-O questionnaire and in the gains in theoretical knowledge between the SRL programmes and the traditional programmes. However, as the assessments of technical skills are still being revised, we hypothesise that self-regulated pedagogy may have a positive impact on technical skills. An analysis of variance will be carried out to assess this effect, and the full results will be available before the summer of 2025. Regarding our 4 experimental conditions (SSWmp + SRL , SSWmp without SRL , no SSWmp + SRL, and no SSWmp + no SRL), no significant difference was observed on all our measures. However, the main findings on the role of metacognition in the acquisition of soft skills and self-regulated prompts open up the debate on the role of SRL and SSWmp in facilitating the acquisition of technical and soft skills.

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