Employability
Lifelong Learning provide opportunities and support for all students to develop qualities that equip them to succeed in a national and global employment arena.
It's common for individuals to change careers and work for several employers across different industries throughout their lifetime. Changing careers can lead to flexible work patterns and better opportunities with increased salaries. However, to succeed in many industries, you'll need a set of transferable or employability skills. These skills aren't centred around any career path or industry in particular. Instead, they are useful in any job. Employers also search for employees with these skills to work in high-level positions.
What are employability skills?
Employability skills, or transferable skills, are the core skills and traits required to succeed in any job. They are the soft skills that make you desirable to an organisation regardless of your previous training or professional experience. Employability skills increase your verbal communication, work readiness and teamwork ability.
Why are employability skills important?
Employability skills are important because, while not often listed in job descriptions, most employers look for them when interviewing applicants. Having employability skills can help you stand out from other candidates applying for the same position. It's important to list employability skills that are most relevant to the role to improve your chances of getting hired.
Here are some of the most important employability skills:
- Communication
Communication, through any medium, is an essential part of work. You should be able to deliver and understand messages clearly to and from your employer. This will help you accomplish tasks faster and improve productivity and cooperation with fellow employees. Excellent communication skills will also help improve your efficiency in the workplace.
Studying Lifelong Learning courses will unconsciously improve your communication skills in terms of writing, speaking, listening and presenting.
- Motivation
Being motivated means having the ability to take action independently and continually progress towards your goals. Motivated individuals are proactive and rarely allow challenges to keep them from making progress.
Your motivation should fuel your desire to succeed and inspire you to continuously improve your capabilities through learning and professional development opportunities. Your company will benefit from your initiative and attain a competitive edge in the industry through the innovation you affect.
- Teamwork
Teamwork skills enable you to work amicably alongside your colleagues to achieve a common objective. These skills are essential since they better enable a company to reach its set goals. Working and learning with others on our Lifelong Learning courses will help you to work as part of a team and teach you how to work on your own initiative.
- Reliability
Reliability means that you are trustworthy and your employer can depend on your word and capabilities. Trust is earned by consistently completing assigned tasks on time and delivering satisfactory work results. Our courses are assessed via written assignments which allow you to showcase your learning as well as your dependability and ability to work towards a deadline.
- Ability to learn on the job and follow instructions
Strong learning skills are essential to quickly understanding concepts and new methods of accomplishing a task, continually improving your skills and effectively adapting to change. Learning
with us will teach you how to familiarise yourself with the new approaches and methodologies of each course and its content.
- Analytical skills
Analytical skills are the ability to deconstruct information into processable pieces to draw conclusions. This often involves using logical reasoning, creativity, research, communication and critical thinking skills. By studying our Lifelong Learning courses, you will unconsciously learn and use these skills as part of your learning.
Employees who possess these skills can help an organisation solve problems, improve efficiency and increase productivity.
How to use your employability skills
The first step to being able to properly market your employability skills to employers is identifying them. You should also identify the employability skills employers in your industry are seeking. When writing your resume, include examples of situations where you've used your employability skills. It can also be helpful to mention how these skills can help you carry out your new role effectively.