Skills Audit

This post is going to be a big one. In this one, I am going to show you the skills assessment I carried out. Within this document, I have ranked some skills based on their importance in my opinion), along with evidence supporting my competence of these skills. Also, in the second part, I have taken my three weakest skill results, analysed them, and listed my ideas on how I am going to improve this skill ( it's been referred too as "Action for improvement").

This small survey helped me identify what skill aspects I am comfortable about and which ones I am not.

Study Skills aspect	ü  Feel confident about? (Tick)
	Yes	No
1.  Understand the University system and your part in it ·         are familiar with the University Undergraduate Student Handbook ·         have attended induction sessions ·          understand the Committee structures and how to become involved in University matters ·          are aware of the role of the Students’ Union	Y
2.  Understand good academic practice ·         know how to reference academic work ·         understand what is meant by plagiarism and collusion ·          are able to use information from many sources	Y
3.      Understand how to maximise benefit from teaching       and learning ·         are developing sound study techniques ·         are using good time-management ·          are active in the learning process		N
4.  Know the specific requirements of your Pathway are familiar with pathway requirements ·         understand Pathway rules ·          know how to use the system of module choice and confirmation		N
l Use the library and other learning resources ·         know the library rules ·         know how to access and use the learning support systems ·          are able to use the other learning resources appropriate to your Field	Y
l Demonstrate basic IT skills ·         are able to word process ·         are able to retrieve information from disk, CDROM, the Internet ·          are able to use email	Y
7.  Demonstrate numeracy skills specific to your Pathway ·         are able to collect, record and handle data ·         are able to interpret data in a variety of formats ·          are able to represent data accurately and to appropriate levels of precision	Y
8.  Show reading and writing skills ·         know how to skim read and use selective reading for academic purposes, ·         can spell, use punctuation and grammar appropriate to academic study ·         are developing techniques for note taking in lectures and from literature ·          are developing appropriate styles of writing for different purposes	Y
9.  Show speaking and listening skills ·         can use oral communication in a number of different contexts ·          can listen attentively and critically	Y
10.  Work with others ·         can contribute actively to small group work ·         can recognise your strengths and weaknesses in group situations ·          can recognise  the strengths and weaknesses of others in the group	Y

In this next part, I rank each skill set listed by competence of the skill and job relevance. Use this table as a key:

Competence – How competent are you in this skill?	Job Importance – How important do you 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 IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE Times JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

COMMUNICATION

Written:

Ability to express self well in writing

Y

Y

25

When I was in year 9, I was awarded 9/10 in an essay about something I disagreed with. I was told that I did very well in discussing both sides of the argument that I presented through the essay.

Verbal:

Informal – ability to network easily with other people

Y

Y

25

I interact with people when I enter new environments e.g. at work and at university. I am good at finding common interests with others.

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

Y

Y

25

I am good at presenting ideas to groups of people. A good example of this is when I had to present the basics of internal hardware inside a computer to my college class last year when I attended South Essex College.

Non-verbal:

Listening – ability to attend actively to others’ views and ideas and understand their point of view

Y

Y

25

I am good at taking advice. If I am presented with another view or perspective of an event or situation e.g. an alternate way of resolving a computer issue or a different way of tying your shoe laces.

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

Y

Y

15

When I was an alter server at my local church, I had to learn how I should stand in different stages of the mass e.g. standing with my hands crossed below my waist as opposed to hands in my pockets when I am with friends.

WORKING WITH OTHERS

Cooperation

Ability to collaborate effectively within a team

Y

Y

25

I took my DofE practise assessment, where a group of us had to navigate from wickford to Chelmsford using a map. This meant we had to combine our skills to achieve the same goal.

Negotiation

Ability to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome through compromise

Y

Y

25

When I was younger, I wanted to purchase my own phone (iPhone 3GS). My parents said that it was not suitable for my first phone to be a latest spec iPhone. We compromised with that for my first phone, they would sort me out with whatever they felt was suitable as a first phone, and if I didn’t damage it within the first 6 months then I was allowed get an iPhone of my choice, and they would even put some money towards it.

Sensitivity

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

Y

Y

25

I work in an environment consisting of different ages and nationalities. I get along especially well with two Brazilian men known by the names of Elionai and Gaspar. I also get along with people of different age groups, such as my manager Adam who is 35. We all have a mutual level of respect for one another.

Leadership

Ability to encourage and motivate others

Y

Y

25

I once convinced my friend to take a healthy supplement of creatine instead of 3 red bull cans a day. I achieved this through a physical presentation of the harmful effects of red bull in comparison to the effects of creatine and how it is better for your body and provides the same effect as red bull without all of the harmful effects.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Ability to supervise or direct work of others

Y

Y

25 25

I was made team leader during a party hosted by my secondary school in 2015. My role involved making sure that everybody was wearing the correct microphones, and then telling the AV technicians which microphones should be muted and which ones should be made live.

Ability to evaluate competing priorities to plan ahead

Y

Y

When I was preparing for the start of university, I evaluated all of my other dedications, and prioritised them based on how they will impact me in the future. Using this basis, I have planned my time accordingly so that the most important dedications utilize more time throughout my week, and less important dedications use only the time that has been allocated.

APPLICATION OF NUMBER

Calculations

Ability to use a calculator or PC to make calculations

Y

Y

25

I can use a scientific calculator to perform basic functions and some more complex functions e.g. square-rooting function. I used this during my GCSE years.

Interpretation

Ability to interpret descriptive statistics, e.g. ratios percentages, means, standard deviations

Y

Y

25

I am constantly working with statistics at work when I am creating quotes for clients e.g. subtracting percentages, adding percentages etc.

Ability to interpret inferential statistics, e.g., confidence intervals, statistical significance, effect size

Y

Y

25

When at work, I am asked to record all stock that we receive. Last Saturday, we had over 200 televisions delivered to our warehouse facilities. They were wrapped up individually, and no size was indicated. Instead of pulling each television out of its wrapping, I took one and measured it to provide as an estimate of how large all of the televisions were. If any were obviously larger, I repeated the same process.

Application

Ability to organise and present numerical data in an appropriate manner

Y

Y

25

A new client has just delivered over 3000 boxes at our warehouse. We need to know where each individual box is placed, and be able to find it via its unique box number. I first recorded where each box was placed (aisle, shelf and position) on paper and then transferred this over to excel later that day when all of the boxes had been put away.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

File Management Techniques

Ability to create, store and retrieve files

Y

Y

20

I am constantly creating and storing files on one computer and then accessing them later either via the same computer terminal or via remote access or cloud storage.

Word Processing (e.g. MS Word)

Ability to use a word processing (WP) package to produce a variety of formats of documents

Y

Y

25

A good example of when I used this was for an assignment in college where I used Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Visio to display my work.

Spreadsheets (e.g., MS Excel)

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

Y

Y

20

I used Microsoft Excel to display a large set of numerical data when designing a system where you could view the location on one box over the space of two aisles and 28 shelves (14 bays).

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Databases (e.g., MS Access)

Ability to retrieve information from a database

Y

Y

25

I use Microsoft Access at work to access job sheets when requested from a manager.

Ability to create a database

Y

Y

15

I successfully created a database at college that when accessed could be used to create an account, view and edit account details and print account details.

Presentations (e.g., MS PowerPoint)

Ability to create and display a PowerPoint presentation

Y

Y

15

I presented a PowerPoint presentation at college that discussed the different forms of security on a computer.

Information and Communication

Ability to send and receive e-mail

Y

Y

15

I send and receive emails with clients that I work with every day.

Ability to send and receive attachments by e-mail

Y

Y

25

I have to send a scanned copy of the delivery note for the appropriate client and email it to them (when an item they have ordered is delivered to the warehouse or sent out by us to be delivered, we send them an email confirmation with attached delivery note). At the same time, clients will send us TNT or DPD order references via email that we then print out and stick to the packages before they are sent out.

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

Y

Y

25

I am always using internet browsing in my day to day life. I mainly use it for personal reasons such as social media browsing or online shopping.

Ability to download files from the Internet and transfer to WP

Y

Y

25

I commonly download files off of the internet at work such as programs e.g. Adobe Flash Player or Team Viewer.

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

Y

Y

25

I have recently been using google scholar to research published papers on a topic I will be discussing for an upcoming essay I have to write.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Creativity

Ability to generate new ideas or conceive existing ideas in a new way

Y

Y

25

I am very good at making a use of the equipment I have to achieve the task rather than the equipment I may want or need. For example, if a computer isn’t running as it should but I have no access to an internet connection, I will make a use of the control panel, task manager and command prompt terminals to attempt to resolve the issue without the need of external input.

Organization and Planning

Ability to set down a systematic sequence of activities and carry them through in an effective manner

Y

Y

25

I created an instruction list on how to completely install a clean version of Windows onto a computer. I then followed the same process I had created to determine its effectiveness and evaluated the importance and requirement of each step.

Research

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

Y

Y

25

I once had to present an argument either in favour or against abortion. I researched different ideas and responses to the questions asked and displayed it as a PowerPoint to a class, where I had organised my research findings into topics that I placed on slides, and then described to my class.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Analysis

Ability to understand and summarise information

Y

Y

25

A few weeks ago, I was given two documents to read. I summarised and presented my interpretation of what I had read to my class and my lecturer I what I feel was an effective manner.

Initiative

Ability to initiate, take decisions and act resourcefully

Y

Y

25

I am constantly making decisions for me and my friends. A good example of this is when a delivery driver shows up at work and cannot speak English; I think of who the best person to translate is, and then find and ask them for their assistance.

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

Y

Y

25

I have successfully completed a SWOT analysis (basic and enhanced) which shows that I can list my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Effective learning – ability to learn from a range of situations and apply learning in a variety of contexts

Y

Y

25

I can learn how to achieve certain tasks and apply that new skill when it is required e.g. learning a new way to reference work and then applying that when doing an assignment in the future.

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

Y

Y

25

When my friends argue, or even workers, I am good at discussing both sides of the arguments and using the facts to come to a reasonable decision on how to approach and resolve this issue.

Reflection – ability to reflect on and critique own performance

Y

Y

25

I have done this in my SWOT analysis, where I have analysed and described my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

SKILL

COMPETENCE

JOB IMPORTANCE

COMPETENCE X JOB IMPORTANCE

EVIDENCE FOR YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETENCE

Study Skills

Ability to manage and prioritize time to meet deadlines

Y

Y

25

I make sure that I always have extra time that hasn’t been allocated so that if I need to allocate time to studying, I have free time to dedicate to meeting deadlines.

Ability to identify relevant sources of information, including people and reference material

Y

Y

25

Since secondary school, I have been taught to look through the search engines for relevant information and not only use the top 5 results that are listed first. I can usually identify reliability based on popularity of the source of information and its description. For example, if I was looking for information on the new Surface Book pro, the most reliable source of information will probably be Microsoft, whereas laptopinfo.abc won’t be as reliable as it isn’t as reputable.

Ability to use a library to find books and journal articles

Y

Y

25

We sued a library system in primary school. I have always been good at using signs and genre organisation to find relevant books and journals to resource my information from.

Ability to take notes, organise them, and integrate them with other sources of information

Y

Y

25

Every assignment I write up starts in the form of notes. I make sure the notes have enough detail in them to allow me to expand on them or manipulate them into paragraphs with other notes, as well as structuring the in other formats such as bullet points.

Ability to reference materials using an appropriate system, e.g., Harvard or Vancouver

Y

Y

25

The last module of my first year at college issued an assignment that required information and examples of how to reference using approved systems such as Harvard referencing. Since then, I have applied this in as many documents as I can.

This final part shows my three skills that I am struggling with, and the action for improvement that I have designed.

Skill Area	Action Plan for Development (the activities you need to accomplish to make an improvement in the skill area)
1. Database making	Currently, I struggle at making databases because I don’t feel that I have sufficient knowledge in SQL. To develop this, I need to attend lectures that will talk about data basing, and possibly look at self-teaching data basing to help me understand it better when I advance my knowledge on data basing.
2. Reading and interpreting Body Language	I am good and giving advice, but I am not very good at reading body language and responding appropriately. To resolve this, I need to focus more on analysing my surroundings and evaluating in my head the best course of action e.g. asking myself who it is that I am with and whether I should present myself as formal or non-formal etc.
3. Presenting a PowerPoint presentation	Over running the time limit of my presentation seems to be a major issue at the moment. To resolve this, I need to work more on simplifying my message that I am presenting to the class and possibly include more information on the slide so that they can read small pieces of information through the PowerPoint and still have enough attention to listen.

The next post is going to be based on a questionnaire that I have filled out. It's supposed to be able to help me determine what style of learning I identify as. Till next time, goodbye!