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Introduction to employability skills. What is employability?. Employability has been defined as “the capability for gaining and maintaining employment.”. What are employability skills?.
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What is employability? Employability has been defined as “the capability for gaining and maintaining employment.”
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!
Employability skills are also known as: • Key behaviours • Competencies • Soft skills • Transferrable skills • Personal skills • Generic skills • Basic skills
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
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
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
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
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
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…
What employers look for? • Can you do the job? • Are you motivated? • Do you fit with the organisation?
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
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.
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!