Transversal competences (also known as cross-cutting or transferable) are distinguished by their ability to be applied in various situations, contexts, professions, roles, positions, and industries. For example, critical thinking skills, knowledge of a foreign language, or project management skills will be useful in research, industry, or transportation. Transversal competences are often understood as a combination of several professional skills: accounting is a professional skill, but managing a team of accountants is a transversal competence. If someone can manage a team of accountants, they have a solid foundation for managing a team of other specialists. Developing transversal competences facilitates retraining and acquiring new professional skills. Acquiring such competences provides greater employment opportunities and makes it easier to update professional knowledge. They are also believed to be relatively slower to automate, meaning that individuals performing tasks that require transversal competences will not be quickly replaced by artificial intelligence systems.

There are various classifications of transversal competences, depending on the project or strategy. They are often confused with key or soft competences. Transversal competences are a broader concept, encompassing certain key competences (e.g., IT competences), as well as soft competences (e.g., time management), and others (e.g., critical thinking). The most characteristic feature of this type of competence is that it can be applied across various areas of life, both professionally and privately, and across various industries.

You can collect and describe evidence of various competences in My Portfolio, including, of course, transversal competences. Evidence can include text and graphic files, work samples, and videos.

The Transversal Competences Framework, which distinguishes 12 transversal competences at 8 levels of complexity, will help you identify transversal competences.

In the work of a counsellor, it will be useful to identify, describe and document transversal competences using the Skills Audit Method (SAM).