How can I help my child develop the essential skills they need for life, study and work?
What are the essential skills?
There are eight skills that have been identified by schools and employers as being essential to almost any job.
Why are these skills so important?
Employers and universities are increasingly interested in the skills a young person brings to a workplace, alongside their qualifications.
Recent research by Skills Builder Partnership and the Centre for Education and Youth has shown:
- That essential skills support academic outcomes, particularly through the focus on self-management skills of Aiming High and Staying Positive, as well as communication skills of Listening and Speaking.
- That essential skills support positive employment outcomes, including higher wages.
- That essential skills support social and emotional wellbeing, as well as preventing negative behaviours.
How you can use Careerpilot to help your child develop the essential skills
Encourage your young person to complete the Careerpilot Skills Profile to help identify the different skills they have built so far through activities they have already done in life, learning and perhaps part time work. The Careerpilot Skills Profile includes the eight essential skills alongside other employability skills.
They can add any activities to their Skills Profile to build a bank of evidence of where they have developed and practiced their skills. When they come to apply for a course or a job, they can use the Skills Profile - 'Use my skills to apply' and then see all their saved examples and use these to get started on their applications or personal statement.
How you can help your child build their skills even further
There are lots of different opportunities for young people to develop their essential skills both in and outside of school. As a parent or carer, you can play a role in this by encouraging and supporting your young person to get involved in different activities where they can work and communicate with others, creating and sharing ideas. This could be through extra curricular activities in school, such as sports or arts groups, or through their hobbies, interests or part time work outside of school.
You can also use activities on the Skills Builder Homezone to help build skills at home.
