WORKLIFE GUIDANCE TOOLBOX
Case: Validation of employability and basic skills
This is a tool and a method to evaluate employability and basic skills generally needed in work / all jobs. The definition of employability is: “The competences, (skills attitudes, and behaviors) you need to enter, stay in, and progress in the world of work and in daily and personal activities”.
Source: ETSC – The Education and Training Service Centre, Iceland
Learning outcomes
At the end of the exercise participants will be able to:
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Identify the current status of competences linked to employability and basic skills typically required in jobs
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Compare one’s identified employability skills with requirements of specific jobs
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Identify opportunities/ways for strengthening the elements/ features that are important for meeting requirements at work
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Prepare for development on the labor market.
About the case
The ETSC established a working group of stakeholders from the working life which had the role of identifying important employability skills. The results were 11 general factors / competencies and 4 basic skills factors. The criteria for the employability skills were put on proficiency levels linked to the National Qualification Framework (see also European Qualification Framework). The criteria (and sub-criteria) for all the competencies are described on four proficiency levels, 1a, 1b, 2 and 3, the same as the NQF qualification framework comparable to EQF levels 1 to 4.
The purpose of validating employability skills
Identifying and validating employability skills is an efficient process for identifying the strengths of the individual and work on the development of skills, which may need enhancement. The individual can choose which skills to focus on following the results. Through that he/she will be better prepared for the labor market.
The process is based on an extensive guided portfolio work which focuses on the general employability competences and basic skills. It can be conducted in groups where group work, discussions and exercises are used for introducing the concept of employability.
The identification of competences and discussions on the criteria can assist the individual in understanding where competence development is needed. The results can thus empower him/her towards doing better in the current job; get a new position in the workplace; transfer to a new job or participate in training/education.
Being able to know own skills can help the individual to take next steps in his/her career development f.ex. when:
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Deciding what kind of work he/she wants to do
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Deciding which areas of study or training it should be
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Writing a CV (e.g. when applying for a job)
Results of the evaluation/validation are always the property of the respective person involved and each individual decides whether and how to use the results (it is of high importance that the results and how it’s used will always be the decision of the individual).
The benefits of the employer
To identify the general competences which are important for certain work and use them to build up skills and competences within the workplace. Also valuable when recruiting, e.g. when preparing a description for a job advertisements and during job interviews.
For educational/training providers
To emphasize which competencies are important as basis for learning in preparation for participation on the labor market and assist individuals (students) to understand how the various skills development is associated with different aspects of work.
