TRANSFERABLE SKILLS AUDIT

Name: Mathew Gradwell Course: Btec Business Level 3 Year: 2 Date: 15th October 2018

Section 1

Consider the skills listed below and rate how important you think each skill is for employment and how competent you are in this skill.
Consider how each of these skills may enhance your performance, and allow you to develop and advance further. You may wish to discuss
these with your advisor of studies. Alternatively, you may wish to ask a friend or family member, and to compare and discuss your separate
findings.

Once you have rated yourself, multiply the number in the column marked ‘Competence’ with that in the column ‘Job Importance’. So, for
example, if you feel that you are not very proficient in verbal and written communication (i.e. you have rated your competence at 4), but that
these skills are very important for employment (i.e. you have rated it at 5), then your overall total score would be 5 X 4 = 20.

Section 2
This section will provide you with examples of the types of evidence you can provide to demonstrate your level of competence with each skill.

Competence – How competent are you Job Importance – How important do you
in this skill? think this skill is in Employment?
1. Highly proficient 1. Unnecessary
2. Fairly proficient 2. Not very important
3. Adequate 3. Helpful
4. Not very proficient 4. Fairly important
5. Unskilled 5. Essential
 SKILL COMPETENCE JOB COMPETENCE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF
IMPORTANCE X COMPETENCE
JOB
IMPORTANCE
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
COMMUNICATION
Written:
12 I would say that I am adequate at expressing myself
Ability to express self well in writing through writing. I have had to do this many times in the
past, examples been, on my Cv, on my job application
and on my personal statement for university.
Verbal:
Informal – ability to network easily 6 I am pretty good and making relations with people in the
with other people past. I have had to do this at work and at my work
placement where I am speaking to clients and customers.
Formal – ability to express yourself 20 I would say that I need to improve my formal
clearly and concisely to a group of presentation in front of a range of people. I haven’t had
people much experience in presenting ideas in front of formal
audiences. I will need increase this skill as a big part of
becoming a business consultant
Non-verbal:
Listening – ability to attend actively to 15 I am adequate at listening to other views as I have
others’ views and ideas and understand worked at the Co Op where I deal with customers almost
their point of view every day. I also have discussions with people about real
world issues where listening is a key aspect.
Body Language – ability to match body 16 When I am speaking to people, I don’t change my body
language appropriately to what is being language usually which makes me not very proficient. I
said verbally am improving this by working part time in my job where
I need to make sure my body language is well suited and
positive when speaking to customers.
WORKING WITH OTHERS
Cooperation
Ability to collaborate effectively within 12 I have had a vary of experiences of being in a team.
a team When I am in a team, I have worked both very hard and
not efficiently when in a team. I need to make sure that I
know my role in the team and how I can effectively
 contribute.
Negotiation
Ability to reach a mutually satisfactory 12 I am not experienced in negotiation as I haven’t ever had
outcome through compromise to do it bar once when I was doing my charity raffle
ticket sale. Luckily it isn’t important in being a
consultant as I will have set prices which clients will
have to pay. I have also never had to negotiate a price as
the Co Op has set prices which we sell our products.
Sensitivity
Ability to respond appropriately to 6 Due to working at the Co Op, I have spoke to a whole
individual differences, e.g., age, gender, range of customers. Depending on the person, I speak
etc. differently to the customer too. For example, I have to be
very formal when working at my work placement and
talking to customers and clients.
Leadership
Ability to encourage and motivate 9 I was the lead in a charity project where I had to
others motivate my team and encourage them to sell more for
charity. I have also helped people at my work experience
and guided them when trying to complete certain tasks.
SKILL COMPETENCE JOB COMPETENCE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF
IMPORTANCE X COMPETENCE
JOB
IMPORTANCE
Ability to supervise or direct work of 16 Although I have lead a charity project, I don’t have
others much experience when it comes to supervising people.
When I was leading the project, I was more delegating
tasks rather than supervising them. If I want to become a
management consultant, I will need to learn to become a
leader.
Ability to evaluate competing priorities 8 Being able to manage time effectively is essential and I
to plan ahead have shown I can do this in my business course at
college. There have been times where I have had 2 or 3
assignments set over a 2 week period. Here I have had to
make a plan for myself and show that I know how to
prioritise tasks when necessary.
APPLICATION OF NUMBER
Calculations
Ability to use a calculator or PC to
make calculations
Interpretation
Ability to interpret descriptive statistics,
e.g. ratios percentages, means, standard
deviations
Ability to interpret inferential statistics,
e.g., confidence intervals, statistical
significance, effect size
Application
Ability to organise and present
numerical data in an appropriate manner
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
File Management Techniques
Ability to create, store and retrieve files
Word Processing (e.g. MS Word)
Ability to use a word processing (WP)
package to produce a variety of formats
of documents
3 Due to taking my Core Maths qualification, I have learnt
many valuable techniques which can be used on a
calculator. I have also used excel to make calculations
when doing my accounting units in my college course.
9 I studied statistics for a year in AS Maths, as well as
currently doing my Core maths course. In these courses I
have learnt techniques on how to calculate standard
deviation, ratios and the mean. I have also had to use
maths when on my work experience with Deloitte.
12 Similar to when talking about calculations, I have done
statistics and also Core Maths where I have had to come
up with solutions and also looked at how they might
affect people. Preparing a project development plan in
my business course has also shown how I plan and look
for solutions.
9 Organising numerical data has been important in my
creative brief unit in my business course. In this unit, we
had to prepare a budget for our creative brief making
sure we presented the data correctly. I have also had to
present numerical data in Core Maths when in a project.
8 My file management has been very important in my
business course as I have had many files to manage at
once. I know how to use multiple file systems such as
google drive and windows and know how to create easy
to follow files.
8 Having used word extensively in the past, I know how to
create different forms of documents for different uses.
For example, I created my CV on word and have
transferred it into many different formats such as a

Spreadsheets (e.g., MS Excel)
Ability to use a spreadsheet to record
and manipulate different sets of data
SKILL
Databases (e.g., MS Access)
Ability to retrieve information from a
database
Ability to create a database
Presentations (e.g., MS PowerPoint)
Ability to create and display a
PowerPoint presentation
Information and Communication
Ability to send and receive e-mail
Ability to send and receive attachments
by e-mail
google document, a web link and a PDF.
12 Excel is a program I have a decent grasp of and have
used it for many tasks in the past. For example, I have
used excel on my work experience at Deloitte and also at
my work placement at Airedale Enterprise Services.
COMPETENCE JOB COMPETENCE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF
IMPORTANCE X COMPETENCE
JOB
IMPORTANCE
6 Retrieving information from a database is very
important. I have to do this at the Co Op when a
customer enquires about a product or price and whether
we have it in store.
10 I don't have much experience with creating a database as
I have never been tasked with it. However, I have a
feeling I could do it if I was given the correct
instructions. Luckily, in my future job role, I won’t have
to create any huge IT databases.
12 I have done in class presentations in my lessons in
school. I have also helped create a powerpoint in my
core math lessons for a project.
10 I use email frequently in college, at my placement and
sometimes at work. I have sent emails in different forms
too such as emails to friends which are informal and also
formal emails. An example being my initial email which
helped me get my work placement.
10 Sending attachments by email is important and I have
had to do it frequently when emailing important
information. For example, at my placement I had to
email people in the local community information about a

Ability to use an internet browser, e.g.,
Internet Explorer, Netscape, AOL
Ability to download files from the
Internet and transfer to WP
Ability to use a search engine, e.g.
Altavista, Google
PROBLEM SOLVING
Creativity
Ability to generate new ideas or
conceive existing ideas in a new way
Organisation and Planning
Ability to set down a systematic
sequence of activities and carry them
through in an effective manner
Research
Ability to gather information in a
systematic way to establish certain facts
or principles
halloween party. To do this I had to make sure I sent
every person the correct information.
8 In my own time, I frequently use the internet and have
used many different browsers such as Google Chrome,
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. I also use
browsers for my college course and know how to use
most of the features associated with them.
9 I have downloaded files before which have been
complex to download but I am not that experienced with
it. However, when I have downloaded them, I have been
fine.
8 I use google all the time. In my free time, at work, at my
placement and have a great understanding of how to use
it.
20 Even though I have come up with some solutions in the
past, such as coming up with ideas in my charity project,
I still feel that I lack the overall creativity to become a
consultant at this moment in time and it is something I
want to work on.
12 I am good at making plans and carrying them out. This
has been shown in my charity project when I came up
with an idea on how to sell raffle tickets and we carried
it out effectively.
12 During one of my units in my first year, we conducted
an event. In this event, I made a questionnaire to ask to
delegates who attended the event. This shows I have
experience in gathering important information.
 SKILL
Analysis
Ability to understand and summarise
information
Initiative
Ability to initiate, take decisions and act
resourcefully
IMPROVING OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE
Self Management
Self awareness – ability to identify and
reflect on own strengths and weaknesses
in relation to:
● Personal Development
● Educational Development
● Career Development
Effective learning – ability to learn
from a range of situations and apply
learning in a variety of contexts
Reasoning skills – ability to defend
argument using logical and systematic
thinking based on sound evidence
COMPETENCE JOB COMPETENCE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF
IMPORTANCE X COMPETENCE
JOB
IMPORTANCE
8 Having done my first year of my business course, I
achieved 9 distinctions out of 9 and a lot of the work I
had to do was summarising information. I have had to
read many different briefs for tasks which I have
completed and relayed this information correctly.
12 During my placement at Airedale Enterprise services
and my job at the Co Op, I have had to use my own
initiative. More often at the Co Op, I have to take
initiative with customers and deal with any requests they
have.
8 An example of identifying my strengths and weaknesses
is what I am doing now, my skills analysis and audit. By
doing these development checks on myself, I can easily
identify my skill gaps and it gives me a good chance to
look at how to overall improve myself. I also critically
analyse myself all the time and think about how I can
improve in certain situations.
12 Due to my previous work experience in industry, I have
learnt how to operate in different environments. For
example, at my work placement, I have to be a lot more
professional at my placement than at my job at the co op
for example. They are also different roles so I learn how
to for example, provide customer service at the Co Op
more than at AES.
9 When I was in high school, I took part in many debates
around a range of subjects. For example, in one of my
English lessons I had to debate with fellow classmates
 on issues such as abortion.
Reflection – ability to reflect on and 8 Like mentioned previously, I always analyse my actions
critique own performance in a certain situation and look at what I could have done
better. I have done this in the past by making a analysis
on my performance. For example, I think about how I
performed on a certain piece of coursework or day at my
job.

SKILL COMPETENCE JOB COMPETENCE EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF

IMPORTANCE X COMPETENCE
JOB
IMPORTANCE
Study Skills
Ability to manage and prioritise time to 10 During my college course, I have shown fantastic time
meet deadlines management, balancing my placement, my job and
college work to give myself the best chance for success.
Ability to identify relevant sources of 10 Again, during my coursework for my level 3 business
information, including people and course, I have used Harvard referencing and am good at
reference material finding relevant material.
Ability to use a library to find books and 4 I have taken books out and looked at relevant physical
journal articles materials for my business course. For example, I
frequently use the business book which is dedicated to
the course.
Ability to take notes, organise them, and 12 I have had to revise for exams in the past and to do this I
integrate them with other sources of had to use organised note taking. I have also been
information efficient in organising my notes for my business course.
Ability to reference materials using an 9 I have started using Harvard referencing in my business
appropriate system, e.g., Harvard or course and now know the correct way to reference any
Vancouver books or websites I use for my research.
Identify your learning needs
Now pick three of the highest scoring skills from the above audit (by multiplying your scores as shown above) that you need to develop further.
List these below in order of priority.

Skill Area Action Plan for Development and where you can access these
Management Consultants need to be creative in their solutions for a business and having the creativity to come up
1. Creativity with these solutions is the main area I lack in. I have learnt some methods in my shadowing of consultants at my
placement with Airedale Enterprise Services and will continue to do so in the next 8 months of my placement.
This will continemy overall development and give more creativity in my consultancy. Another plan for my
development is through my university degree. International business, my chosen degree, offers a 12 month
placement at a business in my 3rd year. This will be a great opportunity to build on my current creativeness and
also any development which happens during my first 2 years of university. The course I want to do has 10% of the
graded criteria based on practical assessment too, which is most likely a teamwork exercise where creativity is
necessary.

2. Verbal
Communication - Formal
My ultimate goal is to become a consultant and one of the main duties in the role is to relay information to clients.
This would probably in the form of a presentation. Although I have done presentations in the past, I feel that the
way I present myself in them isn’t as good as it could be. I am currently improving my verbal skills by taking my
placement at Airedale Enterprise Services, where we deal with clients all the time. I am also speaking to customers
all the time at work which is helping my ability to communicate. International business, my desired university
course, also has many presentation tasks involved, my next step in development. After university, I plan to start a
role as an assistant consultant where I will learn many techniques to improve my verbal skills.

3. Ability to supervise
or direct work of others.
I haven’t had many opportunities to supervise over people or tasks, therefore making me inexperienced. My plan
to develop will depend on the tasks I am given at college, work or my placement. For example, if a new employee
starts a job at the Co Op, if they need supervision on a task, I will gladly step up and help them. My main plan for
development will come over time, and after university. When I start work as an assistant consultant, I will pick up
many skills and requirements of a good manager and team leader, as I am doing at work now, and apply these to
myself when I am older and more experienced.

Section 2: Providing Evidence you have the Skills

COMMUNICATION
Communication may be formal or informal, personal or impersonal, creative or factual. Messages may be delivered verbally, in writing or non-
verbally. There are many areas where examples of each communication approach may have been successfully applied, at university, at work, at
home, etc

Written - Ability to express self well in writing Ability to express self well in writing

My main evidence for expressing myself well in writing is through my college course. So far, on my business level 3 course, I have achieved 10
distinctions out of the 10 I have attempted. This is an example of how I have presented research and information well, where I have had to be
concise and informative, making sure I cover certain criteria. Another way in which I have expressed myself well is in my CV. I used this CV to
get my current job at the Co Op and if I did not express myself well, I wouldn’t have even been considered for the role, let alone get an
interview.
Written - Ability to express self well in writing
Verbal:
Informal – ability to network easily with other people

I have networked a lot with people in the past at college, school, work and my work placement. I have always had a good group of friends too
which I spend a lot of time socialising with. I feel that this is important as it has given me confidence to network better and more easily.

Formal – ability to express self clearly and concisely to a group of people

I have had experience with interviews as I had to go through one to get my job at the Co Op. However, I am still very inexperienced at
presentations and also going to school clubs. I’ve also never been part of a committee through university or college so I feel that giving myself a
4 for my overall competence is fair.

Non-verbal:

My listening skills are very good as evidenced by my grades at Shipley College. I usually make notes in class too which help me with my
assignments and make sure that I am able to do the assignment/task at hand. I have also passed my driving test which required a lot of listening
and concentration, making sure I was best prepared for my driving test.

Body Language – ability to match body language appropriately to what is being said verbally

I use my hands when explaining my point in interviews and also eye contact which are very important when wanting someone to understand
your point. However, this is mostly used in presentations, something which I am inexperienced in doing. I also make sure that I smile when
working at my placement and job as it is a sign of better customer service.

WORKING WITH OTHERS

Working with others is a skill highly valued by employers. Suitable evidence for this skill need not be limited to work experience. You should
think of all aspects of your work, studies and social life.

Cooperation - Ability to collaborate effectively within a team

Having worked at the Co Op, I have cooperated with my colleagues to complete tasks at hand. For example, offloading cages of stock we always
come up with solutions on how to do this in the best way. I have also worked in my charity project to come up with the most effective solution of
maximising sales. I achieved a certificate for completing my work experience at Deloitte which I was awarded with from this.

Negotiation - Ability to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome through compromise

I have had to negotiate prices in my charity project I did at high school. When selling multiple tickets to one person, I had to come up with prices
as students tried to negotiate a lower price. However, outside that I haven’t been in a situation where I have had to negotiate a price with
someone. The only other negotiation which is probably irrelevant is when I was younger and I used to trade cards with my friends at school.

Sensitivity- Ability to respond appropriately to individual differences, e.g., age, gender, etc.

Due to my role at the Co Op and my placement, I deal with many customers, of different ages and genders. I have developed this skill by
speaking to the customers and helping with their requests. I also have a brother and sister who are 1 years old. Spending time and helping my
parents look after them has given me experience on how to deal with babies, a totally different scenario to work where most of my customers are
older.

Leadership - Ability to encourage and motivate others

I have only had one experience of being a leader and that was during my charity project where I raised money for a charity called wild hearts.
Other than that, I haven’t had much experience other than babysitting my siblings, which is why I feel that grading myself as not very proficient
at leadership is a fair assessment. Although, I have taken a role at my placement, which is a social media manager. So I have some responsibility
when I am at Airedale Enterprise Services.

APPLICATION OF NUMBER
Calculations - Ability to use a calculator or PC to make calculations
Interpretation - - Ability to interpret descriptive statistics, e.g. ratios percentages, means, standard deviations
- Ability to interpret inferential statistics, e.g., confidence intervals, statistical significance, effect size
Application -Ability to organize and present numerical data in an appropriate manner

i achieved a B in GCSE Maths, and was close to an A. To do this I had to learn how to effectively a calculator. I have laos studied AS maths for
a year and learnt many methods on how to achieve the correct answer.. I am also currently doing Core Maths where I use frequency tables ll the
time, this had taught me many different methods of using a calculator and I would mark myself as fairly proficient.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
File Management Techniques - Ability to create, store and retrieve files
Recently, at my placement, I was tasked with the goal of creating a network of files for the Keighley Big Local. I used sub folders within folders
where all information about the Big Local will be stored. I also have an organised file system on my google drive for college.

Word Processing - Ability to use a word processing package to produce a variety of formats of documents

As part of my level 3 business course, I have created flyers, brochures, leaflets and reports on different business topics such as the business
environment, accounting, marketing and promotion. to do this I have used Excel, Word, Publisher and Powerpoint.

Spreadsheets - Ability to use a spreadsheet to record and manipulate different sets of data

I use spreadsheets all the time in my business course. Manly in my accounting units, However, I have used them at my work placement too. I
know how to use certain formulas too thanks to my college course.

Databases - Ability to retrieve information from a database/ Ability to create a database

I can access databases all the time and frequently do at my placement. As I work on a project called the Keighley Big Local, I need to share
information with my work colleagues. This means that I need to retrieve work from databases and create my own work information.

Presentations - Ability to create and display a PowerPoint presentation

I have created powerpoint presentations at high school, for subjects such as English and Business. I have also created them for my business
course as part of submitted assignments and as part of in class presentations. Side by side with this, I have created them for Core Maths, most
notably for a Hotel Project.

Information and Communication - Ability to send and receive email

I use email all the time. With friends, colleagues, tutors and employers. I have used many types of email too, outlook, outlook online and gmail
are the most notable.
Ability to send and receive attachments as email

I have sent full projects, assignments, files and videos as attachments over email. I have also put my CV on my application for my job and my
placement. Also, using google classroom, I have forwarded coursework to my tutors.

Ability to use an internet browser e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape, AOL

Internet Browsers are pieces of software which I am very familiar with. During High school, the main browsers I used were internet explorer and
mozilla firefox. Since then, with goggles release of chrome, I have become very familiar with it and use it to do all of my research for my college
work and my university application.

Ability to download files from the internet and transfer to WP

Downloading files and converting them to different file types is very important for my course. I have also downloaded exam papers when
revising for my GCSES. I did this for all of my subjects, most notably science as I took my first GCSE a year early. I have also filled in
applications for the Co Op and other roles online.

Ability to use a search engine e.g. Altavista, Google

My research skills are evident with my grades on my course so far. To do this, I have to make sure the terms I am searching in google are
relevant. My coursework requires lots of research to achieve the top grades, something which I am currently doing.

PROBLEM SOLVING
Creativity - Ability to generate new ideas or conceive existing ideas in a new way

Creativity is my biggest skill gap as discussed earlier. As for my coursework, I haven’t had to creatively think about it as I have always had the
same mindset towards my coursework, and it has worked well so far.

Organisation and Planning - Ability to set down a systematic sequence of activities and carry them through in an effective manner
I always organise nights out with my friends which shows my organisational skills. I am also currently keeping a work log as part of my
placement which helps me and my college understand how it is benefitting me.

Research - Ability to gather information in a systematic way to establish certain facts or principles

To apply for university, I have conducted hours of research to see which uni course is right for me and my skill set. Once I have found this out, I
gathered it and thought about which university would be right for me. I have also gathered information for assignments in a systematic way and
have had thousands of words in preparation for the assignment. A lot of this is relevant and can be used word for word in the assignment too.

Analysis - Ability to understand and summarise information (Detailed examination of structure and content)
Every assignment I do, I have to analyse certain things. I always give summaries on my research too in my essays. I read news articles all the
time where I get relevant information about the subject which I can use in my essays.

Initiative - Ability to initiate, take decisions and act resourcefully

I use my initiative all the time at work and my placement. For example, when running my website and social media, I added my own page
detailing the contents of the local keighley news, something which I received praise for from my manager.

IMPROVE OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE

Self Management

Self-awareness – ability to identify and reflect on own strengths and weaknesses in relation to:

I have done a SWOT analysis on myself and done a skills analysis and audit on my current skill set. I always analyse my decisions I made on
certain tasks and assignments. I am very well aware of where I can improve and where my skill gaps are in my education, personal skills and
career developments.

Effective learning – ability to learn from a range of situations and apply learning in a variety of contexts
I have developed skills such as teamwork when playing video games or football with my friends. This is very useful as at university I will do
many presentations and team exercises. Having worked in a team I know what I can offer and when people aren’t performing as well as they
should be.

Reasoning skills – ability to defend argument using logical and systematic thinking based on sound evidence

I debate all the time with my friends and with other people over world events, interests such as football and music. I always try and backup my
points with evidence and know how to defend myself when someone argues with me.

Reflection – ability to reflect on and critique own performance

When I get feedback from an assignment, I always try and apply it to my next assignment to make sure I cover everything that is asked of me. I
also think about my learning and how I can further my development, which is exactly what I did when I got a job at the Co Op in Baildon.

Study Skills - Ability to manage and prioritise time to meet deadlines

- Ability to identify relevant sources of information, including people and reference material
- Ability to use a library to find books and journal articles
- Ability to take notes, organize them, and integrate them with other sources of information
- Ability to reference materials using an appropriate system, e.g., Harvard or Vancouver

I always use harvard referencing and have met every deadline which I have been given. I know tools to help me reference websites, books and
articles when needed. I also use books and materials to revise and look for information, most notably in my GCSES, where I memorised certain
parts of science books. This coupled along with my timetable that I made myself allowed me to manage my time effectively. I have notes for
assignments too where I have pretty much used all of them, and they met the criteria.