Skills Analysis and Audits
Personal, Academic and Professional Development
Experiential Education
Skills Audit- Finding our Strengths
As part of undertaking an Associate Degree you are encouraged to complete a range of skills audits, with the purpose being to explore your strengths and areas for development across a broader range of areas than the discipline itself. The main purpose of completing audits as you progress through the course is to ensure that you can map out what you ‘have’ and ‘what you need’ to achieve your study, work and personal goals.
What is a Skills Audit?
A skills audit is simply identifying for ourselves the skills we already have, and finding out where the gaps might be. In other words, it gives us a base from which to start on our learning journeys. Some audits might be general and apply to many situations in life (for example, our computer competencies) and others might be topic-specific (for example, our skills in the various aspects of business). A skills audit can also be called self-assessment.
There is a good theoretical underpinning for all of this, especially in relation to a goal of increasing our chances of employment in our field of interest. For example, the University of Wisconsin (2017) suggests: ‘Before you can market your skills to a potential employer you need to assess the skills you now possess’.
What Will They Achieve?
You might be surprised at the outcomes of the audits. We sometimes have skills and aptitudes that we do not realise we have. They can be acquired at home, at work, and in social situations. For example, if you run a home and the family budget, you have some skills in business finances. You probably would already have audited your skills before you undertook the family budget: Can I add, subtract, multiply and divide? Can I read a bank statement? Can I write? Of course, you will not have sat down and actually audited yourself in those terms, but it is essentially what you have done. If there was any area where you were unsure, you would have found help somewhere or from someone.
Why Should I do them?
What you learn from the audits can not only help you identify your strengths and areas for development, they can also:
- Make a connection between you and your learning journey.
- Guide what you include in, and update to, your Professional Development Plan.
- Be uploaded to your Professional Portfolio as artefacts (evidence of your practitioner development).
- Be used as a tool for self-reflection.
Essential Skills, Study Skills and Professional Competencies
To complete three skills audits please click on the links below. These audits will be saved automatically in your PebblePad once completed.
The Professional Development Plan also includes links to these audits; however we encourage you to complete these audits sooner rather than later. If you prefer to go straight to the Professional Development Plan, please click on the link below.
When you click the link below, you will be taken to the Professional Development Plan which is hosted in PebblePad. When you complete the plan it will save in your asset store in PebblePad. It is recommended you import your Professional Development Plan in to your Professional Portfolio.
Consider using the results from these to inform your personal, educational and career goal setting. What you discover about yourself from the skills analysis audits may inform actions within your Professional Development Plan. To learn more about the Professional Development Plan refer to the module titled The Practice Manual.
References
University of Wisconsin 2017, ‘Identifying your skills, knowledge, and personal characteristics’, viewed 20 April, 2017.
Government of Canada 2017, ‘What are essential skills?’, viewed 20 April,< https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/essential-skills/tools/what-aresential-skills.html>.
Cottrell, S 2013, The study skills handbook 4th edn, PalgraveMacmillan, Houndsmill, pp. 39-40.
HR University 2017, ‘Human resources management competency model – competencies for training and development’, viewed 20 April, <https://hru.gov/Career/HR_Competencies.aspx>.
Developed for the Practice and Portfolio Program for the Associate Degrees, University College, by Dr Christine Angel and Dr Cherie Hawkins, 20th April 2017.
