Essential skills for Scotland; essential skills for YOU

Most people come to college with work in mind – some to brush up on skills they already have, some come as the first step to learning new skills with the aim of entering the workforce. At Jewel & Esk, we consult regularly with local employers and Chambers of Commerce to find out what they are looking for when they recruit new employees.

We want to equip you with the skills and knowledge that we know employers need; not just the technical skills, but also the life skills that will make you an effective, productive and creative employee and which will also help you in all other aspects of your life. We want Jewel & Esk students to be able to achieve their full potential and to leave us confident that they have the skills to make their contribution to Scotland’s future.

The skills that employers value include the five ‘core’ skills:

• Communication (including basic literacy)
• Numeracy
• IT & computing skills
• Working with others
• Problem solving

Recent research carried out by the college with Midlothian Enterprise Trust has also shown that the personal attributes most valued by employers are:

• Reliability
• Motivation
• Verbal communication
• Team working
• Flexibility

So you can see that there is more to learn at college besides all the technical skills you will be taught as part of your course. You will also need to learn all the life or ‘soft’ skills that employers are looking for.

Learning for life

The college has responded to this demand by creating opportunities and services to enable our students to develop these critical ‘soft’ skills. These services can provide you with:

• Personal and learning skills
• Literacy and numeracy
• All five core skills
• Transferable employability skills

There are several ways in which you can learn these vital skills. You could have a tutor who will work alongside you throughout your course. Or, you could have individual or group support to develop study skills, or attend additional drop-in sessions to build up all the core skills – communication, numeracy, IT, working with others and problem solving. You may be offered a work placement as part of your course, and you will have opportunities to take a wider role in the college community or other citizenship projects.

Now that the college has put these services in place, it’s up to you to take advantage of them. At the end of the day that’s really what all these skills amount to – taking charge of your own life. Now’s your chance to do it!