Skills For Tomorrow

Module 2: You and the Job Market.

The four sections of this module will enable learners to:

• Identify their own skills and how they relate to work• Understand the recruitment process • Pick out key information from job descriptions• Relate skills to job requirements

Activity 1: Knowing Your Value

Aims:• Identify your own skills• Consider how your skills relate to work

Task: In pairs interview each other to identify the skills that you use at work, at home and in your hobbies/social life. Considering things like:

• Attendance• Time – keeping• Responsibilities at work• Driving/specialist skills• Household management/budgeting• Negotiating skills• If you’re involved in any voluntary organisations as an officer, committee

member, coach, scout leader etc. and the skills involved there.• Hobbies which may require skills

Make notes on the skills you’ve identified for use later in this course.

Activity 1: Knowing Your Value

Activity 2: The Recruitment Process

Aims:• Understand the recruitment process used

by employers• Understand the stages of applying for a job

Activity 2: The Recruitment ProcessTask 1: As a class look at the six stages of the recruitment process and place them in the correct order. The six stages are:• Application Form and/or CV• Covering Letter• Interview• Job Advert• Job Description/Employee Specification• Selection TestThis is normally considered as a triangle where you work your way up through the stages. On the following page you’ll find a triangle with the first step, “Job Advert” listed on it, as a class decide the order in which the other stages fit into the triangle.

Task 2: Consider the following points:• Are all the stages rigid or can the order be changed?• Are some of the stages grouped together in certain circumstances?

Note the key points of your discussions and be prepared to report back and discuss.

Activity 2: The Recruitment Process

Job Advert

Job description & employee specification

Application form and/or CV

Covering letter

Selection test

Interview

Activity 3: Understanding Job Descriptions

Aims:• Pick out the key information in a job description• Understand the relevance of job descriptions

Activity 3: Understanding Job DescriptionsTask: Your tutor will provide you with some hand-outs. The hand-outs include the first stage of the recruitment process, the Job Advert.

In your groups, using the job advertisements in the hand-outs, consider the following:

• What is the employer looking for?• What are you looking for?• Are any of the job specifications/qualifications required or preferred?

Note the key points of your discussions and be prepared to report back and discuss.

Activity 4: Matching Job Descriptions and Job Skills

Aims:• Relate skills to employers requirements• Identify personal development opportunities

Activity 4: Matching Job Descriptions and Job Skills

Task: Your tutor will give you a job advertisement and an outline of a job applicant. In your groups consider the following:

• Consider the skills required using the job description.• Identify any skills in the CV that will map to the job description.• Identify any skills gaps that may exist and consider how ‘Les’ could

address these.

Note the key points of your discussions and be prepared to report back and discuss.

Skills For Tomorrow Module 2 ‘You and the Jobs Market’ Summary:

Today we have looked at

• Identifying your own skills• How your skills relate to work• The recruitment process used by employers• The stages of applying for a job• Picking out the key information in a job description• The relevance of job descriptions• Relating skills to employers requirements• Identifying personal development opportunities