Do you know what it takes to get a job?
Is it training? Experience? Contacts?
If you think all those things are important you're getting
warm. These days employers are asking for more, much more from
the people they hire - they want to know if you are the type
of person who will fit into the organization and will grow with
the job. In other words, they are looking for employability
skills.
Employability skills are basic work skills that you have used
and will use in almost every work situation.
They are needed to help you get work, keep work and progress
in your work.
A recent survey in British Columbia asked small and medium
sized business leaders what skills they looked for in employees.
Here is what they said:
Skill |
Description |
knowing the business |
Act with "common sense" in the work context. This means acting in a way that is sensitive
and responsive to customer expectations and needs, dealing effectively with customers; talking and
writing in a way that is relevant to the organisation through knowledge of the business and its activities; identifying with the company. |
exploiting information technology |
Be willing to learn new uses of information technology. |
behaving appropriately |
Act ethically and with integrity; be productive, co-operative, accountable, responsible, flexible and positive (especially about change). |
speaking and listening |
Receive, comprehend and interpret complex instructions; talk with, provide to and seek and clarify information from co-workers, customers, clients and those in authority, in person and by telephone. |
writing |
writing clearly and to the point, consistently conforming to grammatical conventions and using correct spelling. |
maintaining personal standards |
Be concerned with personal well being; maintain standards of hygiene and dress, which conform to an organisation’s expectations. |
handling numbers |
Extract and record numerical data and carry out calculations with high levels of accuracy, involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and the use of percentages. |
responding to problems |
Be alert at work and be able to identify, investigate,and evaluate potential and actual problems; be able to report them concisely and clearly orally and in writing. |
continually learning |
Take responsibility for own learning, learn through working with others, from manuals and from mistakes. |
planning |
Manage the use of time; master, plan and undertake a number of activities, which are inter-related or overlap in time. |
working in teams |
Work within and contribute to the effectiveness of a team, respecting differences; take responsibility and be willing to make decisions. |
using equipment |
Set up and operate equipment that can require selection from options or different settings. |
reading |
Read to extract information and to interpret instructions from short notes and prose. |
