1. THIS CLASS IS YOUR JOB!
Pretend that when you arrive in this classroom, you are actually arriving to work on a real job. In this unit, as you learn some of the things employers expect from workers, I hope it will help you to be the best employee once you begin working in the real world.

2. Introduction to employability skills

3. What is employability?
Employability has been defined as “the capability for gaining and maintaining employment.”

4. What are employability skills?
Employability skills are the skills you have developed inside and outside of school that you can transfer to the workplace
Knowledge and abilities relating to a particular job
The ability to identify suitable job opportunities and self presentation for applications and interviews. You can’t rely on your academics alone to automatically open doors for you after school
Many students already have the employability skills companies are looking for – but they don’t realise it!
Knowledge and abilities relating to a particular job.
Every job will need knowledge and skills necessary to successfully perform in the role. You will need to think about your skills and demonstrate evidence of how you have the require skills.
The ability to identify suitable job opportunities.
When you see descriptions of jobs that interest you, pay close attention to the skills the employer wants.
Self-presentation for applications and interviews.
Once you’ve identified the job you want, you need to be able to demonstrate employability skills and present them in different ways. This could include: CV, interview technique, experiences of how you have developed new skills.
Academics
It will certainly unlock doors – in other words it will make you eligible to apply for jobs that specify certain academic requirements. But, however, good your academics are it is likely you will be competing for the job with a high number of other candidates who are equally as academically qualified.
Once your academics have unlocked the door, you need the right skills, attributes and knowledge to successfully secure the job.
In parallel with your academics, you should aim to develop key skills that will help you in your future career. The skills you should consider developing are those that reflect your own abilities, personality and interests, as these will aide your choice of career.
External factors such as the job market and personal circumstances.
External factors such as supply and demand in the labour market. Your personal circumstances can affect your ability to seek opportunities i.e. Individual life, financial constraints, caring responsibilities, ability to relocate – be realistic!

5. Employability skills are also known as:
Key behaviours
Competencies
Soft skills
Transferrable skills
Personal skills
Generic skills
Basic skills
Employability skills can also be known as transferrable skills (because skills developed in one area of your life can be transferred to other areas), or competencies or personal skills.
In the context of your development and career planning, they are called career management skills.

6. Coaching Time Management Motivation
Commercial Awareness Driven Team Player
Leader Good Communicator Honesty
Good sportsmanship Positive personal image
Problem-Solving Flexibility Literacy
Reliable Numeracy Committed
Resilient Disciplined Patience Loyalty
Ambitious Respectful Self-Aware
Goal-Orientated Prioritising Wants to learn
Networks and Builds Relationships Guides Others
Talk through some of the ones that flash up on the screen and why they are important
These skills are all transferable, which means that they are useful in a wide range of jobs and are not specific to just one job or field. So even if you don't have a lot of job-specific skills, you may already have transferable skills that you can use to sell yourself to employers.

7. What are the top skills that employers want?
Written communication
Verbal communication
Flexibility
Commercial awareness
Teamwork
Planning and organising
Investigating and analysing
Drive
Numeracy
Self awareness
Computing
Professionalism
Talk through some of the skills employers are looking for…
Written Communication - Able to express yourself clearly in writing.
Verbal Communication – Able to express your ideas clearly and confidently in speech.
Flexibility - Adapt successfully to changing situations and environments.
Commercial Awareness – General knowledge of business, business experiences or work experience, and, specifically, an understanding of the sector.
Teamwork - Work confidently within a group.
Planning and Organising - Able to plan activities and carry them through effectively.
Investigating, Analysing – Gather information systematically to establish facts and principles.
Drive – Determination to get things done. Constantly look for better ways of doing things.
Initiative / Self management – Able to act on imitative, identify opportunities and proactive in putting forward ideas and solutions.
Time Management – Manage time effectively, prioritising tasks and able to work to deadlines.
Numeracy- Able to carry out arithmetic operations/understand data.
Self Awareness – Awareness of achievements, abilities and areas of development.
Professionalism – Pays care and attention to quality of their work.

8. SWOT - Activity
A SWOT analysis is useful for identifying areas for development
You can analyse your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that you face
This helps you focus on your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available to you
Explain what a SWOT analysis is..

9. SWOT Analysis Strengths Opportunities Threats
Date
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
I communicate well within in a team.
I am completely committed to my studies.
Weaknesses
Presenting makes me feel very nervous.
I focus too much on the detail and sometimes this effects how I manage my time.
I’m doing a presentation as part of an assignment. This will help to start to build my confidence public speaking.
Apply for a part time job. This will help develop my customer service skills.
Opportunities
Stronger candidates applying for the job
Threats
Show the students the example SWOT analysis.
Optional activity
Ask students to consider their current skill level and complete the SWOT template after the session. You may have already started the process if you have a record of achievement / progress report.
Strengths
What advantages do you have that others don't have (for example, skills, certifications, or education)?
What do you do better than anyone else?
What personal resources can you access?
What do other people see as your strengths?
Which of your achievements are you most proud of?
What values do you believe in that others fail to exhibit?
Consider this from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. And don't be modest or shy – be as objective as you can. And if you have any difficulty with this, write down a list of your personal characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths
Think about your strengths in relation to the people around you. For example, if you're a great mathematician and the people around you are also great at math, then this is not likely to be a strength in your current role – it may be a necessity.
Weaknesses
What tasks do you usually avoid because you don't feel confident doing them?
What will the people around you see as your weaknesses?
Are you completely confident in your education and skills training? If not, where are you weakest?
What are your negative behaviours (for example, are you often late, are you disorganised, do you have a short temper, or are you poor at handling stress?)
Again, consider this from your own perspective, and from the point of view of the people around you. Do other people see weaknesses that you don't see? Be realistic – it's best to face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible
Opportunities
What opportunities have you considered?
What could you improve in your weaknesses area?
How can you take advantage of the strengths you have?
What changes do you need to make to in your life to improve?
Threats
What obstacles do you currently face with your studies?
Are any of your peers competing with you for projects or roles?
Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?
Performing this analysis will often provide key information – it can point out what needs to be done and put problems into perspective.
September 2011

10. The outcome you want from the SWOT analysis:
Date
The outcome you want from the SWOT analysis:
Strengths
What strengths you should consider making stronger to further enhance your ability to pursue your goals
Weaknesses
What weaknesses you need to improve on, or manage, so that they don’t impede your goal setting
What opportunities are best for you to pursue
What internal strengths you can use to enhance your pursuit of these opportunities
Opportunities
What threats you need to eliminate/ minimise
What internal strengths you can use to overcome these threats
Threats
Encourage students to complete the SWOT exercise.
A personal SWOT analysis is a look at you and your life. It will help you identify where you need to improve, and more importantly allows you to identify your internal strengths that you can capitalise on to seize your opportunities and deal with any external threats.
For this reason, it is an important step in personal goal setting – a step that shouldn’t be overlooked.
September 2011

11. Sports clubs / Team Sports / Societies
Positions of responsibility, motivation, relationships
Think of teams you play in or clubs you are in involved with. You may have developed skills such as:
Teamwork
Communication
Time management / organisation
Leadership
Think of sports clubs, teams or any societies you may have been involved in, or are currently involved in. Being part of a team e.g. Football, netball, cricket shows that you:
Are actively part of team, showing you can work as part of team. You will have learnt a great deal about teamwork from these experiences.
Being part of a team can also develop your communication skills- communication is a key part of a successful team. This is no different in sport or at work!
You have made a commitment to play matches / attend training regularly, showing you are able to manage your time. You may also help out in organising training sessions, or transport to matches which has developed your organisational skills.
You may have also developed your leadership skills- this may apply if you have a position of responsibility e.g. Captain or not. Think of an example where things weren’t going well- you may have taken on responsibility, motivated others and helped your team.

12. Work Experience
Work experience, even part time work at a restaurant, as a customer assistant as a shop, in a call centre or at a hairdressers would have helped you develop a number of skills employers look for:
Communication
Problem solving
Teamwork
Time management
Planning and organising
Any work experience you may have done, be it paid or voluntary would have helped you develop skills. For example you may have:
Developed your communication skills, whether they are verbal or written. Working on a restaurant as a waiter, in a shop or in a call centre for example requires communication with customers- taking orders, helping with queries.
You may have developed your problem solving skills. Think about a challenging situation you may have been in at work (or if not at work, more generally, in school etc). How did you deal with the situation? For example, a customer may have been unhappy with the quality of the food or wanted to return an item they bought. No matter how big or small the problem, you may have helped deal with the situation and ultimately developed your problem solving skills.
At work being able to work in a team is very important. If you have been part of a team while at work, think of examples of when you may have developed your teamwork skills. For example, did one of your colleagues call in sick at late notice leaving you short staffed?
Having had experience of working you would have developed your time management skills, both in making the commitment to get to work on time for example and to manage your time during the day. You may have been given a deadline to meet or a target to achieve by a certain time.
This also links to planning and organising- planning the activities you need to do to meet your deadlines.

13. Ask yourself some questions…
What skills are required for the position?
Do I have these skills?
How have I developed the skills that are required?
What do I need to do in the future to develop these skills?
If I’m interested in the profession I want to join , what do I know about the profession commercially?
Is this the career for you? Then start to research how you might apply…
Run through each point drawing on what you have discussed throughout the session.

14. What employers look for?
Can you do the job?
Are you motivated?
Do you fit with the organisation?
What employers look for in a job candidate
Can you do the job?
Do you have the necessary abilities, skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications?
How soon can you become productive? Are you a fast learner?
Are you able to work unsupervised, use your initiative and work confidently under pressure?
Will your work be accurate and high-quality?
Are you organised and able to achieve goals?
Are you motivated?
Are you motivated, and do your goals benefit the company?
Will you work for the best interests of the organisation?
Are you dependable (i.e. reliable and trustworthy)?
Do you fit with the organisation?
Do you have a good attitude?
Does your presentation and appearance represent the company well?
Are you a team player? Do you get on well with others? (The employer wants someone who won't create problems among other workers.)
It is your responsibility to provide employers with the best information to help them make a quality hiring decision. If you consider all the needs listed above, you will increase your chances of getting a job offer.

15. What to do when at school
Get actively involved in school life
Develop personal skills
Build up your work experience
Find out about the careers open to you
Research careers that interest you
Prepare and keep your CV up-to-date
Practice filling out application forms
Get actively involved in school life – The best thing you can do at school to make yourself attractive to employers is to enjoy your time! Employers will look at your academics, but also for students who have been proactive and got involved in sport, volunteering, etc.
Develop personal skills – Students who get involved in sport or volunteering have more opportunity to use and develop new skills like communication, organisational and other similar skills.
Build up your work experience – All work experience is relevant as it helps you develop confidence and those much needed employability skills!
Find out about the careers open to you – Choosing a career involves more than just finding out what is possible for you to do. You also need to think about what you want from your career, your skills and abilities.
Research careers that interest you – The website is a good starting point. Shall we add NAS, ICAEW etc?
Attend employer / career talks – They are a good way of starting you career planning.
Prepare and keep your CV updated – Start to prepare your CV, you will have new things to put on your CV, if you get involved! This will save you effort and time in the future and help you start thinking seriously about job applications.
Practice filling our application forms – Most employers require you to complete an application form demonstrating the competencies they are looking for. If you start to practise and think about your employability skills now, it will save you time when it comes to apply for a ‘real ‘job.

16. Reflection Activity
Reflect on what things you have done and achieved that make you a good employee of the future.
Write down 3 things you have done that you can put on your CV.
After this session, complete the SWOT analysis and try to identify 3 things that you will do going forward to develop.
Encourage students to reflect on all you have talked about and consider the areas they need to develop.

17. Summary - Top Tips
Find out about the careers open to you and the skills you need
Assess your own employability skill level
Start to develop personal skills – get involved!
Explain this is the end of the session and remind the students of what they need to do next.
Find out about the careers open to you
Do your research – speak to your career advisor, visit employer website and National Apprenticeship website for opportunities. Research the skills and abilities you need for the role.
Assess your own employability skill level
Consider how employable you are. Complete a SWOT analysis of your own skill level and look for opportunities to improve any areas of development.
Start to develop personal skills
Students who get involved in extracurricular activities have lots of opportunities to use and develop skills which are valuable for your CV.