Employability Skill Chart

Employability Skill
Initiative and Enterprise:
being creative; translating
new ideas into action;
adapting to new
situations, having skills
that contribute to
innovative outcomes

Examples
(SAO situation, action, outcome)
S- For a project in physics, the teacher requested that everyone create a
presentation that accurately described the effects of Newtons laws. Most
people chose to do traditional Powerpoint presentations, but I wanted to
make something that was both effective, visually appealing and involved the
audience, rather than a one-sided speech. I created a short-length video game
using the skills I had learnt in a technology class a while ago.
A- I created an interactive game (using Renpy software) for the class where
they could see what happens in various scenarios. They were also free to make
their own choices for guessing what would happen next, and getting a Game
Over or Continue if they got the answer wrong. I had to create all the sprites,
dialogue, backgrounds and sound effects by myself, using previous games and
movies I had seen for inspiration.

Communication: listening
and understanding;
sharing information;
understanding the needs
of customers, skills that
contribute to productive
and harmonious relations
between employees and
customers

O- The teacher gave me positive feedback, and my peers told me afterwards

that my presentation was memorable because it had visual appeal and
appropriate sound effects. I felt pleased with myself since I was able to involve
one of my passions into my learning and education.
S- At the start of the term, I came across a few new students that had come to
our school. There was one girl among them who seemed particularly lost in the
new environment. I took it upon myself to introduce myself and show her
around the school. During this time, I used this opportunity to ask her about
her reasons for coming to our school and to ask about what her old school was
like. She was rather closed off at first, but she eventually opened up to me
about how she came from Thailand and that this was her first time in
Australia.
A- Whenever I got the chance to, I would strike up a conversation with her and
try to learn more about her experiences. Id try to help her out whenever I
could as well. For example if she didnt understand a concept in class or didnt
know where certain offices and classrooms were then Id help her out by
pointing her in the right direction. In the cases where I couldnt help directly
(because I didnt do the subject or if I didnt know a teacher) then Id take her
around with me to ask other people.

Teamwork: working as an
individual and as a
member of a team;
coaching, mentoring and
giving feedback, skills that
contribute to productive
working relationships and
outcomes

O- By taking her around the school and introducing her to my friends, she was
able to make a comfortable transition into our school. She now frequently
hangs out with my friends and I and we sometimes talk about school or just
random topics.
S- In my literature class, we were assigned groups to research specific parts of
Irish history so that we could understand the historical and sociopolitical
context of Seamus Heaneys poetry. My group had to research the Home Rule
Bills, and its effects on Ireland at the time.
A- My classmate and I both knew that he was much more proficient in
historical knowledge than I was, so we agreed to assign him with most of the
historical research. However, I found that I was better at understanding the
sociopolitical effects. So, I did my research on how the Irish people were
affected by Home Rule, as well as the straining relationship between England
th
and Ireland in the 19 century. Over the weeks that we had to finish our
assignment, we used social media to send each other parts of our individual
research, to check for errors and to give feedback.
O- Our assignment was sent into the teacher on time and we both did an equal
amount of work. This made the workload a lot easier on us and I felt as though
the credit we received was fair, as compared to a situation where one person
does most of the work while the other does nothing.

Technology: having a
range of IT skills; being
willing to learn new IT
skills, skills that
contribute to the effective
execution of tasks

S- My Chinese classroom had obtained a Promethean smart board for general

class use. Unfortunately it had causes with calibration and input functions,
and my teacher couldnt write any characters or save any flipchart files. She
had asked the I.T staff for assistance in fixing the issue, but their advice didnt
seem to work. Although the board wasnt essential to teaching and learning,
we all knew that it would make learning much easier, since we could review
past files, lesson plans, grammar and vocabulary.
A- Using my knowledge of technology in general, I decided to have a look at
the issue. I knew that there wouldve been some sort of override for calibration
on the computer because I saw it being used previously in a different class. It
turns out that the school hadnt installed the ActivManager program required
to recalibrate the smart board directly from the computer. My classmate and I
attempted to recalibrate it manually, using the interactive pen and a button
on the surface of the board.

Problem-solving:
developing practical
solutions; solving
problems in teams;
resolving customer
concerns, skills that
contribute to productive
outcomes

Self-management: taking
responsibility; evaluating
and monitoring ones own
performance; having
personal vision and goals,
skills that contribute to
employee satisfaction and
growth

O- It worked. The teacher now uses the smart board every lesson, and
occasionally revisits past lessons from the flipchart files, therefore making it
easier for both her and the students to teach and learn respectively.
S- As an advisor to my friends, they tell me about their concerns and issues. In
the case of one unfortunate friend, he accidentally betrayed the secrets of
another, causing a snowball effect that swiftly got out of hand. Information
flies around quickly, and soon the one he betrayed heard of his actions.
Understandably, he was very upset with my friend, so much so that he
terminated their friendship.
A- My friend told me the story in confidence, and I promised that I would help
him. However, I made sure to tell him the severity of his actions and that
realistically it may not have been possible for them to be friends again. We
spent a long time discussing ways to resolve the break in their friendship and I
eventually came to an adequate solution. I told him to request forgiveness and
to promise not to reveal anyones secrets to anyone else ever again since the
consequences could be catastrophic. I also suggested that my friend leave his
acquaintance alone for a while so that they would have time to process the
situation and to think about if they could forgive him.
O- It took a long time, but they eventually became friends again. I felt a sense
of accomplishment as I discovered I had the power to mend friendships. I also
learnt that sometimes the best thing to do is nothing; to just wait and let
people reflect on their lives by themselves.
S- At the start of Year 12, I made a personal goal to try and get into the
university that I wanted, with an appropriate margin for error in case the cutoffs became more difficult. I knew that it would be hard, but it would be worth
it in the end. My current progress is a vast improvement from last year;
however, Id still like to reach my fullest potential so that I dont have any
regrets with my final results.
A- In order to manage myself, I made an effort to manage my progress using
the schools progress reports and my own approximate calculations of subject
averages. Every time I get an assessment result back, I make an estimation of
how much my overall grade has changed. I have to take into account the
weightage of the assessment, how well I did and how I fared against the rest of
my year group. By using these approximations, Im able to understand what
concepts I need to work on most and what I need to do to improve my grades.
O- I feel better about myself so far, but I know I can do better. Its still early in
the year and I want to be prepared for the upcoming exams as well as the final
WACE exams. By actively monitoring my progress, I can evaluate my
strengths, weakness and places where I can improve myself.

Planning and organizing:

managing time and
priorities; collecting,
analyzing and organizing
information, skills that
contribute to long-term
and short-term strategic
planning

Learning: being open to

new ideas and techniques,
having enthusiasm for
ongoing learning, skills
that contribute to ongoing
improvement and
expansion in employee
and company operations
and outcomes

S- In the course of Year 12, I have to split up my time into rest, studying and
relaxing. However, I also have to dedicate some of my time to driving as I
received my learners permit and it expires in two years. Im aiming to do at
least 50 hours of driving before attempting my first PDA, which I intend on
taking in July 2015.
A- I created a fortnightly schedule in which I wrote the approximate times
when I should go driving. I tried to divide these times into various parts of the
day (sunset, sunrise, nighttime etc.) so I would gain more experience in
different driving conditions. These times were fitted in between other allotted
time slots dedicated to studying and special events. I made it so that driving
didnt take too much time from studying, and also had free time slots in case
initial plans didnt pan out the way they were intended to.
O- Ive managed to do approximately 15 hours so far, and I intend to do more.
Sticking to my schedule, I believe I can achieve the 50 hours I need before the
July holidays. The 15 or so hours Ive done so far havent greatly impacted my
studying time, and my physical health is still in peak condition. If I keep it up,
Ill be able to study and revise for tests whilst also improving my driving skills
without succumbing to complete physical exhaustion.
S- Over the summer holidays, I learnt numerous new words and the origins of
their meaning. This was to increase my vocabulary so I could use more
sophisticated language in my written work. However, I found myself being
fascinated by the study of words (etymology), so I decided to delve deeper into
the meaning and origins of words that were commonly used.
A- I did a lot of research, and found a few downloadable resources online to
learn about the origins of words and how words changed over the years in
varied locations. Using a PDF file of the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology, I
learnt about the origin of many words and found a few surprises in the links
between seemingly unrelated words. Whenever I get free time, I look for words
that I find interesting in the normal dictionary. Then Id look for it in the
etymology dictionary to learn about its history and changes in use or meaning.
O- I feel as though my vocabulary has vastly improved, and that I can
understand the use of certain words in literary or historical texts a little better.
I discovered that the words used within any text could have even more
significance when one recognizes the words origin point and the hidden
connotations behind the traditional usage of the word.