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Employability Skills


Employability Skills replacing Key Competency information from 2006 In May 2005, the approach to incorporate Employability Skills within Training Package qualifications and units of competency was endorsed. As a result, from 2006 Employability Skills will progressively replace Key Competency information in Training Packages. Background to Employability Skills Employability Skills are also sometimes referred to as generic skills, capabilities or Key Competencies. The Employability Skills discussed here build on the Mayer Committee’s Key Competencies, which were developed in 1992 and attempted to describe generic competencies for effective participation in work. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), produced the Employability Skills for the Future report in 2002 in consultation with other peak employer bodies and with funding provided by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA). Officially released by Dr Nelson (Minister for Education, Science and Training) on 23 May 2002 , copies of the report are available from the DEST website at:

http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/ty/publications/employability_skills/index.htm .

The report indicated that business and industry now require a broader range of skills than the Mayer Key Competencies Framework and featured an Employability Skills Framework identifying eight Employability Skills[1]:

  • communication
  • teamwork
  • problem solving
  • initiative and enterprise
  • planning and organising
  • self-management
  • learning
  • technology.

The report demonstrated how Employability Skills can be further described for particular occupational and industry contexts by sets of facets. The facets listed in the report are the aspects of the Employability Skills that the sample of employers surveyed identified as being important work skills. These facets were seen by employers as being dependent both in their nature and priority on an enterprise’s business activity.

Employability Skills Framework The following table contains the Employability Skills facets identified in the report Employability Skills for the Future.

Skill Facets

Aspects of the skill that employers identify as important. The nature and application of these facets will vary depending on industry and job type.

Communication that contributes to productive and harmonious relations across employees and customers

  • listening and understanding
  • speaking clearly and directly
  • writing to the needs of the audience
  • negotiating responsively
  • reading independently
  • empathising
  • using numeracy effectively
  • understanding the needs of internal and external customers
  • persuading effectively
  • establishing and using networks
  • being assertive
  • sharing information
  • speaking and writing in languages other than English

Teamwork that contributes to productive working relationships and outcomes

  • working across different ages irrespective of gender, race, religion or political persuasion
  • working as an individual and as a member of a team
  • knowing how to define a role as part of the team
  • applying teamwork to a range of situations e.g. futures planning and crisis problem solving
  • identifying the strengths of team members
  • coaching and mentoring skills, including giving feedback

Problem solving that contributes to productive outcomes

  • developing creative, innovative and practical solutions
  • showing independence and initiative in identifying and solving problems
  • solving problems in teams
  • applying a range of strategies to problem solving
  • using mathematics, including budgeting and financial management to solve problems
  • applying problem-solving strategies across a range of areas
  • testing assumptions, taking into account the context of data and circumstances
  • resolving customer concerns in relation to complex project issues

Initiative and enterprise that contribute to innovative outcomes

  • adapting to new situations
  • developing a strategic, creative and long-term vision
  • being creative
  • identifying opportunities not obvious to others
  • translating ideas into action
  • generating a range of options
  • initiating innovative solutions

Planning and organising that contribute to long and short-term strategic planning

  • managing time and priorities – setting time lines, coordinating tasks for self and with others
  • being resourceful
  • taking initiative and making decisions
  • adapting resource allocations to cope with contingencies
  • establishing clear project goals and deliverables
  • allocating people and other resources to tasks
  • planning the use of resources, including time management
  • participating in continuous improvement and planning processes
  • developing a vision and a proactive plan to accompany it
  • predicting – weighing up risk, evaluating alternatives and applying evaluation criteria
  • collecting, analysing and organising information
  • understanding basic business systems and their relationships

Self-management that contributes to employee satisfaction and growth

  • having a personal vision and goals
  • evaluating and monitoring own performance
  • having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visions
  • articulating own ideas and visions
  • taking responsibility

Learning that contributes to ongoing improvement and expansion in employee and company operations and outcomes

  • managing own learning
  • contributing to the learning community at the workplace
  • using a range of mediums to learn – mentoring, peer support and networking, IT and courses
  • applying learning to technical issues (e.g. learning about products) and people issues (e.g. interpersonal and cultural aspects of work)
  • having enthusiasm for ongoing learning
  • being willing to learn in any setting – on and off the job
  • being open to new ideas and techniques
  • being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills
  • acknowledging the need to learn in order to accommodate change

Technology that contributes to the effective carrying out of tasks

  • having a range of basic IT skills
  • applying IT as a management tool
  • using IT to organise data
  • being willing to learn new IT skills
  • having the OHS knowledge to apply technology
  • having the appropriate physical capacity

Employability Skills Summary

An Employability Skills Summary exists for each qualification. Summaries provide a lens through which to view Employability Skills at the qualification level and capture the key aspects or facets of the Employability Skills that are important to the job roles covered by the qualification. Summaries are designed to assist trainers and assessors to identify and include important industry application of Employability Skills in learning and assessment strategies. The following is important information for trainers and assessors about Employability Skills Summaries.
  • Employability Skills Summaries provide examples of how each skill is applicable to the job roles covered by the qualification.
  • Employability Skills Summaries contain general information about industry context which is further explained as measurable outcomes of performance in the units of competency in each qualification.
  • The detail in each Employability Skills Summary will vary depending on the range of job roles covered by the qualification in question.
  • Employability Skills Summaries are not exhaustive lists of qualification requirements or checklists of performance (which are separate assessment tools that should be designed by trainers and assessors after analysis at the unit level).
  • Employability Skills Summaries contain information that may also assist in building learners’ understanding of industry and workplace expectations.

[1] Personal attributes that contribute to employability were also identified in the report but are not part of the Employability Skills Framework.