Employability skills
In March 2002, a survey of employers lead to the definition of employability skills that are required to gain employment and to progress within an enterprise.
Communication skills as demonstrated by:
- Listening and understanding
- Speaking clearly and directly
- Writing to the needs of the audience
- Negotiating responsively
- Reading independantly
- Empathising
- Using numeracy effectively
- Persuading effectively
- Establishing and using networks
- Being assertive
- Sharing information
- Speaking and writing in languages other than English
top of pageTeamwork skills as demonstrated by:
- Working with people of different ages, gender, race, religion or political persuasion
- Applying teamwork skills to a range of situations, E.g. Future planning, crisis problem solving
- Identifying the strengths of team members
- coaching, mentoring and giving feedback.
Problem-solving skills as demonstrated by:
- Developing creative, innovative solutions
- Developing practical solutions
- Solving problems in teams
- Showing independence and initiative in identifying and solving problems
- Using mathematics including budgeting and financial management to solve problems
- Applying a range of problem-solving strategies across a range of areas
- Testing assumptions taking the context of data and circumstances into account
- Resolving customer concerns in relation to complex project issues
Initiative and enterprise as demonstrated by:
- Adapting to new situations
- Being creative
- Developing a strategic, creative, long-term vision
- Identifying opportunities not obvious to others
- Translating ideas into action
- Initiating innovative solutions
Planning and organising as demonstrated by:
- Managing time and priorities – setting timelines, coordinating tasks for self and with others
- Establishing clear project goals and deliverables
- Allocating people and other resources to tasks
- Planning the use of resources including time management
- Participating in continuous improvement and planning processes
- Predicting – weigh up risk, evaluating alternatives and applying criteria
- Collecting, analysing and organising information
- Understanding basic business systems and their relationship
Self-management as demonstrated by:
- Having a personal vision and goals
- Evaluating and monitoring own performance
- Having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and vision
- Articulating own ideas and vision
- Taking responsibility
Learning skills as demonstrated by:
- Managing own learning
- Being open to new ideas and techniques
- Contributing to the learning community at the workplace
- Using a range of mediums to learn – mentoring, peers support, networking, information technology (IT), courses
- Applying learning to technical issues and people issues
- Having enthusiasm for ongoing learning
- Being willing to learn in any setting – on and off the job
- Being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills
Technology skills as demonstrated by:
- Applying IT as a management tool
- Using IT to organise data
- Being willing to learn new IT skills
- Having a range of basic IT skills
- Having the occupational health and safety knowledge to apply technology
- Having the appropriate physical capacity
Click here (2.5MB | PDF) for the full Employability Skills document.
For more information on what employers are looking for and key competencies, refer to Wise Up for Work.
Information on the Graduate Attributes.