Education and Career Guidance (ECG)

Helping our students realise their dreamsJun 2014 Issue (Secondary)

Transferable SkillsBuilding up our students’ capacities to

thrive in the world of work

What are Transferable Skills?• Skills acquired during any activity in life, that can be

applied at a later stage in new situations i.e. they can be transferred.

• We can acquire these skills through all sorts of activities e.g. classes, projects, voluntary work, hobbies, CCAs.

• They make us employable and assist us in all parts of our lives.

Why Are Transferable Skills Important?

• We need to cultivate skills that go beyond the skills necessary for a specific job.

• Identify our skills and articulate how they can be used in any occupation.

• In resumes and during interviews, portray our skills and experience as applicable to the job we seek.

• An employer requires us to have these skills in order to be successful in our jobs.

Why do Employers look for?• Once we have a desired skill, employers know we

potentially have the capacity to transfer it into their organisation and to develop it further i.e. Skill Progression.

• In our CVs and at Interviews, employers look for concrete evidence that we have the skills they are looking for i.e. Skill Match

Transferable Skill Cycle

SKILL ACQUISITION

Acquired via sports, employment,

projects, voluntary work, hobbies

SKILL TRANSFER

Skills acquired in any situation

applied to new situation

SKILL PROGRESSION

Skills can be developed & improved

in new situation

SKILL MATCH

Employer looks for concrete

evidence in CV and at Interview

What are the Transferable Skills

for Most Career Choices ?

Communication

• Speaking effectively • Writing concisely• Listening attentively • Expressing ideas • Facilitating group discussion • Providing appropriate

feedback• Negotiating

• Perceiving nonverbal messages • Persuading • Reporting information • Describing feelings • Interviewing • Editing

The skillful expression, transmission and interpretation of knowledge and ideas

Research and Planning

• Forecasting, predicting • Creating ideas • Identifying problems • Imagining alternatives • Identifying resources • Gathering information • Solving problems

• Setting goals • Extracting important

information • Defining needs • Analyzing • Developing evaluation

strategies

The search for specific knowledge and the ability to conceptualize future needs and solutions for meeting those needs.

Human Relations

• Developing rapport • Being Sensitive • Listening • Conveying feelings • Providing support for others • Motivating • Sharing credit

The use of interpersonal skills for resolving conflict, relating to and helping people.

• Counseling • Cooperating • Delegating with respect • Representing others • Perceiving feelings, situations • Asserting

Organization, Management and Leadership

• Coaching • Counseling • Promoting change • Selling ideas or products • Decision making with others • Managing conflict

• Initiating new ideas • Handling details • Coordinating tasks • Managing groups • Delegating responsibility • Teaching

The ability to supervise, direct and guide individuals and groups in the completion of tasks and fulfillment of goals.

Work Survival.

• Implementing decisions • Cooperating • Following policies • Being punctual • Managing time • Attending to detail • Meeting goals • Enlisting help • Accepting responsibility • Setting and meeting deadlines • Organizing • Making decisions

• Entrepreneurial skills… These skills include the capacity to be a self-starter, the ability to manage projects, and a talent for marketing oneself.

• Confidence • Critical thinking and problem-

solving skills • Flexibility • Ability to acquire new technical,

analytical, computer or foreign-language skills quickly

• Creative problem-solving talents

The day-to-day skills that assist in promoting effective production and work satisfaction.

Read Slides 7-12 again

Think about the career you would like in the future and which Transferrable Skills you will need in order to

be successful? Why?

If you are not sure about your future career, which three Transferrable Skills do you believe will be most

helpful to have and why?

Take Time to Reflect

How can I develop Transferable Skills?

• Identify the Transferrable Skills you would like to work on developing and improving now?

• Identify ways you could develop these skills now: e.g. Through CCAs, group memberships, volunteer positions, work attachments, part-time jobs.

Start by building up some of these skills today…

Teamwork Skills

• Everyone needs to make a team work well by:– Contributing ideas openly– Staying focused– Feeling safe enough to ask questions– Actively seek information and opinions– Following directions– Proactively solving problems

Communication Skills• Listening/verbal/written skills are:

– Asking/giving directions– Deliver a speech– Advising a close friend– Discussing your future plans– Contributing your ideas to a group– Making an important phone call

• Are you able to communicate well with others? • Do you feel confident in your ability to communicate

your thoughts? Why?

Leadership Skills• You have this skill if you are able to lead, inspire and

develop others• These skills would help you do things like:

– Organise a school event such as the annual prom night

– Be captain of a sports team– Organize group members for a project– Be a Team Supervisor and/or Manager

Acknowledgements Contents in these sides adapted from http://www.ucc.ie/en/careers-work/students/before/

Suggestions/ Feedback

Should you have any suggestions or feedback, please contact our ECG Guidance Officer,

Lee Jun Feng at:

Lee_jun_feng@moe.gov.sg

Thank you!