What Are Employability Skills?

Employability skills are those that are particularly sought by employers as they make for effective employees, with skills useful in any role.

There are several definitions of employability skills, but they include:

  • Self-management
  • Teamwork
  • Business and customer awareness
  • Problem solving
  • Communication and literacy
  • Application of numeracy
  • Application of Information technology
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Underpinning all skills – a positive attitude.

WHAT IS EMPLOYABILITY?

Employability has been defined as "the capability of getting and keeping satisfactory work".

WHAT ARE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS?

Employability skills have been defined as:

"A set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and to be successful in their chosen occupations". Peter Knight & Mantz Yorke (HEFCE/DfES ESECT group).

“A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace – to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy.” CBI

You may also see these skills referred to as transferable skills (because skills developed in one area of your life can be transferred to other areas) or personal skills. In the context of your career planning and development, they are called career management skills.

Other factors that help to make people employable include:
  • knowledge and abilities relating to a particular job;
  • the ability to identify suitable job opportunities;
  • self-presentation (on applications and at interviews);
  • external factors such as the job market and personal circumstances.

QUALIFICATIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH

Skills - the key to getting a job

You can't rely on your qualifications alone to automatically open doors after you leave school. They will certainly unlock doors - in other words it will make you eligible to apply for jobs that specify your qualifications. Howver, it is likely that you will be competing for jobs with a number of other people who are equally well-qualified academically.

Once your qualifications have unlocked the door, you'll need the right mix of skills, abilities and personal qualities in order to turn the handle and give the door the push that will open it to you.

NOTHING IS CERTAIN

The world of work is in a state of continual change: your career today may involve moving between a number of different job functions and employers, and those jobs and employers are themselves likely to change and develop during the time you are employed in them. Employers are therefore seeking employees who are enterprising, resourceful and adaptable and who, as well as their qualifications, possess a range of skills which can be used in a wide variety of settings as well as in their careers. These are known as employability skills.

THINK AHEAD

This does not mean that your qualifications are irrelevant to employers but in parallel with your studies, you should aim to develop skills that will be of help to you in your future career as such skills are sought by all kinds of employers. The skills you should be developing are the skills that reflect your own personality, interests and abilities - as these are the qualities that will influence your eventual choice of career.

WHAT SKILLS DO EMPLOYERS EXPECT?

Employers look for a range of skills in applicants, many of which are common to a number of different career areas. Those most frequently mentioned are communication, teamworking, leadership, initiative, problem-solving, flexibility and enthusiasm.

Many skills overlap with one another. Leadership, for example, encompasses a number of other skills including cooperating with others, planning & organising, making decisions and verbal communication. Verbal communication itself involves various means of communication, some of which you may find easier than others - talking over the phone, making a presentation to a group or explaining something to a person with a more limited understanding of the topic. By improving one skill, you may also improve in a number of others.

WHAT ARE THE TOP TEN EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS?

In various surveys carried out, the 10 most important skills that employers want are:

1. VERBAL COMMUNICATION – able to express yourself clearly and confidently in speech

2. TEAM WORK – able to work confidently within a group

3. COMMERCIAL AWARENESS – understanding of the commercial realities affecting an

organisation

4. ANALYSING AND INVESTIGATING – gather information systematically to establish facts

and principles; problem-solving

5. INITIATIVE/SELF-MOTIVATION – able to act on initiative; identify opportunities and be

proactive in putting forward ideas and solutions

6. DRIVE – determination to get things done and to be constantly looking for better ways

to do things

7. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION – able to express yourself clearly in writing

8. PLANNING AND ORGANISATION – able to plan activities and carry them through

effectively

9. FLEXIBILITY – able to adapt successfully to changing situations and environments

10. TIME MANAGEMENT – able to manage time effectively, prioritise tasks and work to deadlines.