“A total of 243 teachers were trained. The four-day interactive training program covered the basics of life skills theory. Says, Mahendrabhai, a teacher from Chhota Udepur, “I have started understanding my students better. The classroom has become a joyful place of learning. Students have become more participative, creative, and interactive. They have started developing healthy interpersonal relationships instead of quarreling with one another. The training equipped the teachers to acknowledge and develop the ten basic life skills of self-awareness, empathy, problem-solving, decision making, effective communication, interpersonal relations, creative thinking, critical thinking, coping with emotions, and coping with stress, among their students.

Virambhai, a teacher from Jhekda Primary School had this to say, “Had I not attended the training, I would have missed something good in my life. I always had the notion that children do not know anything. But I have been proved wrong. After the training, when I gave a word building exercise to the children, they worked in groups and came up with a large number of words. I was astonished at the creativity the children had and the different ways in which they could think.”
The students’ outlook towards the life skills approach is equally positive. Kajal a student of Motaponda School in Valsad says, “Our teacher has become more affectionate and caring. I wish this positive environment prevails all through.”
Vinod, Shailesh, Kavita and Suneeta also share these feelings and say, “this way school is fun and we can learn so many things from them, like how to be brave, solve problems and understand others etc.”

Life Skills training is already showing its impact by turning classrooms into child friendly spaces, where there are no barriers between the teachers and students. Whereas the training is helping the teachers to enhance their effectiveness in classroom transactions, it is also turning the children into independent thinkers, who have the capacities and competencies to learn and grow on their own terms.” UNICEF
Life skills are the skills we need to deal effectively with the challenges in everyday life, whether at school, at work or in our personal lives.
A definitive list is something educators, governments, and employers continue to discuss. But no matter if you call them life skills, 21st-century skills or soft skills, students who are able to understand and use these skills, along with their educational qualifications, will be better placed to take advantage of educational and employment opportunities.