Transferable skills activity

This short two minute animation introduces what a core transferable skill is, eight of the core transferable skills employers are looking for and why they are so valuable in the workplace. The skills featured are:

1. Problem solving
2. Listening and speaking (Communication)
3. Aiming high (Proactivity)
4. Adaptability
5. Leadership
6. Creativity
7. Staying positive (Resilience) 

To extend the activity you could use the reflection questions below to discuss the film with your students and further support them to understand what makes certain skills transferable. It may help to write a list of the eight skills on a whiteboard: 

1. What makes a skill transferable?
2. Name a couple of core transferable skills which you already use, and where you use them?
3. What about any you might like to develop?
4. Can you think of something you’re already doing or could become involved in that might provide you with an opportunity to develop these skills?  Example answers: Debating, sports team, clubs (theatre, STEM), part time work, personal projects, school activities with teachers/peers
5. Can you name a few different job roles that need each of the core transferable skills? Example answers: Farmer – Staying positive (Resilience) when dealing with the impact of challenging weather, Teacher – Creativity to make lessons visual and engaging for students, Mental health nurse – Listening skills to understand how the patient is feeling and an Ambulance dispatcher – Problem solving skills to come up with solutions under pressure

Next steps

To explore the role of core transferable skills in the workplace further why not ask your students to complete our Exploring job sectors and preparing for work activity, which takes a deeper look at how young people can develop their own skills and introduces a range of roles across different sectors in film case studies.