Employability skills and professional development

This guide explores the importance of employability skills and professional development, with a focus on ALDI, a leading retailer in the UK. It covers topics such as skills audit, tools and techniques for enhancing interpersonal and transferrable skills, personal SWOT analysis, and personal and professional development plan. It also includes a reflective essay.

Employability skills and
professional development

Table of Contents
Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK A...........................................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Evaluation of skills audit........................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
A) Tools and techniques for enhancing interpersonal and transferrable skills......................4
b) Personal SWOT analysis....................................................................................................6
c) Individual Appraisal...........................................................................................................8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Personal and professional development plan.........................................................................8
TASK B.........................................................................................................................................10
Reflective essay....................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................14
Skills audit............................................................................................................................14
Personal SWOT analysis......................................................................................................14
Individual self-appraisal.......................................................................................................14
Personal development plan...................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Employability skills and professional development are the different aspect that are more
needed to get worked more enthusiasm in order to develop the capability. It is the ability of an
individual to take the initiative while working within the supervision and with that they will
become more skilled and experienced. It helps to get achieve the goals by managing the vision
and the mission of an employee and parallel understanding the co-workers as well. The skills of
an employee will be more managed and used to bring and imparts higher achievements within
the life while gaining the better heights (Adeyinka, 2018). The professional development is the
betterment in an individual personality in order to make adverse changes in that is developed
after gaining a lot of knowledge and experience on daily basis. This report is based on the ALDI
that is the leading retailer in UK and has work with 8000 number of stores that are all across the
world and they were continuously expands their business in Europe, Australia and North
America. The company expand the business thus there is need to recruit more than 4000 number
of employees within 12 month. This report includes the different skills audit, tools and technique
used to enhance the interpersonal and transferrable skills, SWOT analysis, Individual appraisal,
personal and professional development plan and a reflection.
TASK A
TASK 1
Evaluation of skills audit
Skills audit is the process through which the different skills of an employee will get
accessed via performing a questionnaire or an interview through which the potential candidates
will get selected. The long term affect of the business will get improvised by fulfilling the
education and experienced gap that helps to make the better growth of an individual. As the
ALDI wants to expand the business and thus recruit the 4000 number of employee thus they
skills audit is more important to set the standardised skills that must be present in a candidate
that get selected in the company (Allatt, 2019). The aim of performing the skills audit is to gain
the better knowledge about the skills that is already present within the company or the skills that
are required to be in the employee in future period of time. The skills audit is as define below as:
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Figure 1: Skills Audit, 2019.
(Source: Skills Audit, 2019)
 Ensure that management is backing: The skill audit will take a time as well cost and
resources too that will get properly utilised within the business. It is used to get ensure
that the scope of the business and its target, objectives, goals and aim will get
accomplished in desired manner (Bhagra, 2018).
 Create the scope: In this the employee that are required to be in the company will get
evaluate and in that manager will produce the plan that is used within the upcoming
period of time. The manager must uses the soft skills while managing the new candidates
and to make better development in their working style.
 Competency framework: It is used to make more clarity in between the employee and
the company and includes the skills, knowledge, judgment, attribute that is more required
to work effectively. In this the employee will provide the adequate guidance by which
they will perceive the better roles and responsibility.
 Communication: In this before the making of the questionnaire the manager will
discussed it with other members in order to make better question that helps to make better
understanding of the recruited candidates (Bremner, 2018).
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 Collection and analysis of data: After the preparation of the skills audit questionnaires
the recent places will be find out in which the training is necessary and to fill the gap with
more sufficiency.
There are some different entry level that is opened in ALDI and their roles and responsibility and
the performance objective that are as defined below as:
Store assistants: It the one that is the jack of all the trades in the business environment of
retail (Chan, 2018). They will perform every task by which the employer business will get
generate more business and it includes diverse effects like processing of inventory,
merchandising of floor, selling products to the customers, process the receive the shipments,
facilitate the transactions, manages and perform the store opening and closing timing. The
performance objective of a store assistant is to ensure that adequate balance will get maintain
under which they will more profit will get generated that is in more favoured condition for the
Aldi.
Deputy Managers: He is basically the assistant of the general manager and performs the
different suitable activity in the absence of GM by which balance will get maintained. They were
usually motivate the employees, assign the administrative duties by which more balance will get
provided, operates and perform the human resources actions as like the recruitment and the
selection of the staff. He is the one that has more experienced and could easily manage the new
stores and their new employee that has been opened by the Aldi.
Assistant store managers: They must manage and assist the different activities that are
performed within the new stores of Aldi. They are the one that plan and develop the different
plans and strategy for the new store in order to get attract the large number of customer and by
that more number of sales will get developed. They have performed the customer services on
daily basis as like managing the order and payment and ensure that sales process will get
managed in effective manner (Di Gregorio, 2019). The assistant store manager are the one that
manages the progress track on the basis of monthly, weekly and quarterly basis to get more asses
that objectives will get achieved in timely manner. They monitor the inventory production by
which adequate stock will be maintained to manage effective supply.
Trainee store managers: The trainee must manage and provide the appropriate
operation to maintain the supply management, ensure that sales will get develop and more profit
will get generated while assigning the roles to staff that are working within the business, make
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certain that the operation policies must get more confirmed within the staff, manages the
inventory stores as per guidance of the Aldi. The major objective behind the trainee store
manager is that they will work with more zeal and control the inventory production by which the
balanced supply at all the stores will get managed in sufficient manner.
Graduate trainee area manager: A management trainee is the one that works under the
supervision of the executive and the higher level manager of Aldi(Griffin, 2019). They have
completed the entire task and ensure that day to day task has been accomplished within the
timely manner. They must take part in the meetings and the workshop to develop their learning
and grab the opportunity; have work under experienced staff thus keep on learning from them.
The objective behind the graduate trainee is that they have comes with the new ideas that are
more certain and good for the business.
TASK 2
A) Tools and techniques for enhancing interpersonal and transferrable skills
Interpersonal and transferrable skills are the different set of skills and ability of an
individual through which they could measure the change in their own personality and by that
they will emphasis more growth and success in their individual life. The transferrable skills are
the one that get transfer or get developed or a continuous process that proceed throughout the
life. The interpersonal skills are the self ability of a person to gain the different knowledge by
listening, analysing, interrelating with different ongoing activities that are performed within the
surround.
Interpersonal skills: These are the skills that are based on the different behaviour and the
attitude towards the other person. It used to make the better connection with the large number of
people that get associated with the customer and helps to make more capable to make effective
interaction with the customers as well. Aldi must have recruited the employee that has effectual
interpersonal skills by which they could better manage the new expanded stores (Griffiths,
2018). There are some basic interpersonal skills that are as defined below as:
 Communication skill: It includes the different oral and written skills that are more
required for the new recruit candidates and in that they will effectively manner and
control the customer demand and easily convey them as well. As the human resource
manager it is most that all the different policies are developed that are in the favour of the
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business and by that they must have make the effective communication with the different
recruit employees. As the assistant store manager it is must that the individual has
listening and understanding skills by which the ability to work with more calm and
patience will get improvised. To make useful sympathetic it is must that the store
manager makes communicate with the rest staff by which there will be more clarity. It
orders to develop the skills the manager must make better interaction with all department
by which the supply could be managed within the opportune manner (Hanapi, 2018).
 Negotiation skill: It is the skills that are required to get performed the different skills
through which the various promotional activities will get managed in order to attract the
customer at new store. It helps to reducing the promotional cost by which that could be
applied to develop the quality products for the customers. The assistant manager uses
these skills to make the better outcome from the collective effort of all the staff that is
working within the new store. The store manager of Aldi has accomplished the goals of
the company in valuable time period by which more profit has been gained by the
company.
 Decision making: It is skills through which decision could be make an urgent time by
which it has been more important for the company. In that the manager will take the
different decision while considering all the internal and external factors that has huge
impact on the performance of the company new store. The assistant store manager will
make the decision while making the supply in different store, while make the record of
sales on daily basis and on other activities as well. In this the Brainstorming method
will get used by Aldi as the tool to develop the participation of the employees.
Transferable skills: It is the skills that is required to be in the business while maintain the
effective culture with the company (Hassan, 2018). It is being more useful and includes the skills
as like time management, problem solving and many other as well. It is the skills that are used by
the higher authority and get learned by the lower level employees to get achieved better success
in life. There are some of the transferable skills that are as defined below as:
 Time management: It is the skills that are used to make the better coordination with the
other employees and help to get achieve the objective before the deadline or with more
sufficient manner. It is used to get motivate the employee by which the rate of
productivity and performance will get developed. The assistant store manager has been
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used that in order to complete the task with more perfection and in that the Aldi will used
the jotting down routine activity. It is the activity or a tool that is more useful to get
achieve target on weekly basis by which the consistency will get developed.
 Problem solving: It is the ability that is more used to get solved the different problems
with more perfection under which the redundancy rate will get managed (Hebblethwaite,
2018). The assistant store manager will used this while operating the different operation
and in that they will get ensure that the optimised utility will get managed and developed
within the business. It is used to get resolved the different conflicts under which more
productive results will get developed. It will used to reduce the negative impact from the
company and with that more profit will get developed from the new stores of Aldi. This
could be get improvises while attaining the different training session through which more
clarity will get generated.
b) Personal SWOT analysis
SWOT Analysis Explanation
Strength As per the personal skills of the assistant store manager, I have faith that the
problem solving skills and the communication skills are my major strength
that makes my personality quite different as compared to the other staff. When
I make the interaction with the employee they get easier with me and must
shared their personal viewpoint with more easiness. It also helps me while
making the connection with the customer or in the meeting of as at their, I will
provide different solution of about various issues that are more commonly
generated on random basis (Nisha, 2018). While working in the retail industry
it is most that the staff is more talkative by which the customer will get
influenced the buying behaviour of the employees. In addition to these skills
the interpersonal skills also be more beneficial by which I have make more
better engagement and participation by which the capability of the team will
get improvised. I have also provided the suggestion by which more effective
strategy will get developed.
Weakness I must have concern about the different creative thinking abilities by which I
have managed the effective communication within the team that helps to make
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the innovative items and thus more strategically approach will get developed.
I have newly appoint thus didn’t have much knowledge thus the higher
authority helps a lot while managing the different prospect and in that more
help will get taken by them that helps to make sufficient changes. It will help
to make the balanced changed in which I have taken the appropriate solution
from the higher authority. It is used to resolve the different issues thus it
support to reduce the weaknesses. The time management skills is more
sharpen while managing the different abilities of the stores but with the same
it is more complex and confusing as well. Thus it is more urgent to get
develop the different efficiency that helps to reach the better ability of the
staff.
Opportunities It is more important that the skills get more developed and thus to improvise
the opportunity it is must to manage the different capability in all the different
areas (Ornellas, 2019). The time management skill must get more improvised
by which and in that Aldi provides the opportunity while working within the
guidance of the subordinates. The latest technology will get developed and in
that the creative thinking helps to make beneficial innovation while reducing
the different problems. The senior level manager helps to make more
successful thus the strength areas get developed that it more profitable to the
Aldi.
Threats The retail industry has followed the larger competitor thus they get more
competition and in that the Aldi has follow the biggest threat. The assistant
store manager have developed different strategy while collaborating with the
human resource manager and develop the tactic that is more relative and used
to gave tough fight to the rivals. The effective strategy used to make the better
change by which more benefits will be gain by which the customer gets
attracted by which the business must get advanced benefit.
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c) Individual Appraisal
The individual appraisal is more likely the traditional methods that are used to measure
the different performance of the employee in order to gain the comparative analysis of the
performance. In this the management or the higher level authorities provide the feedback that is
based on the performance, attitude, belief, working style and relation with the other employees. It
is also be the analysis of the previous performances and under that the loop holes or the weaken
areas will get fulfilled (Osmani, 2018). It is more vital for the company that they must get
improvise their certain way by which the company standard will get achieved with more
faultlessness. It is more helpful as well as useful while defining the different skills and abilities
of an employee. The major purpose of the individual appraisal is that they sharpen the strengths
and help to reduce the weaker areas by which the overall personality of an employee will get
more diverse. The appraisal of an assistant store manager is as defined below as:
According to the appraisal report of mine, I have that ability of work more smartly and by
that more of the work performed with more even-handed. I must have work to develop the
negotiation skills and the problem solving ability that helps me to make better change and thus
the development plan of my skills will get managed well in this manner. It helps me to make my
personal carrier graph with huge impact and that is more beneficial for me and it also support to
gain higher achievements.
TASK 3
Personal and professional development plan
The Personal and professional development plan includes the different management of
the learning and gaining the success in the carrier with continuous improvement. It is more vital
in terms of development and it provides more support the acquisition of the different talents that
makes a person more developed and improvised. It is a process that helps to develop the strength
while converting the weakness into the positive outcomes with that the basic requirements will
get satisfied.
Clear aims and objectives Areas of
developmen
t
Resource and activities Time
scale
It is the skill that is used to get Imaginative It that I have worked with more 4 months
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from the different problems
with more perfection and I
could be able to solve the
different random issues in
more effectual manner by
which the different
circumstances will get
developed. It has affected the
brainstorming process by
which different problems get
resolved with best approach.
thinking patience and analyse the problem and
then make different changes by get
sort different changes in successful
manner. It helps to make the validate
change within timely manner (Scott,
2019).
It is a skill that is more
important as an assistant store
manager it is must that supply
chain and various operation
performed with more
perfection and within time by
which the customer get their
product with more
smoothness. It helps to
achieve more sales and better
profit by which more affected
outcomes get achieved.
Decision-
making
To enhance the skills I have made
the required supply under which the
requirement and demand of customer
get satisfied. The various strategy get
developed by which all the operation
managed with more exactness thus
the preferences will be provided to
the customers. It is more useful when
by which the right services provide
at right place and at right time.
2 month
It is the skills that are used to
get make effective utilisation
of all the required resources
that could be provided by the
Aldi. To make that with more
Time
management
skills
I have make reporting of different
skills that help to manage the time by
assigning particular duration to each
and every activity that improvise the
proficient. Aldi provide training
4 months
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balance format by which
supply chain get maintained
on daily basis (Smith, 2018).
session to make efficient
development in the skills of
employee that helps to gain more
profit in aggressive market.
TASK B
Reflective essay
As getting selected on the past on assistant store manager in Aldi, I have developed and
prepare my personal and the professional development plan that helped me to assess my skills
and abilities by which it is easy to make strong considerate. It helps me to plan and monitor my
own performance by which I would easily measure my achievements. As from the plan I have
make an audit of my skills by which I get to know more about my loop holes and try to get over
from that and make my personality more superior. I have received the different feedback from
my seniors and from my colleagues as well and then bring that change in me that help to remove
the weaker areas. It helped a lot to enhance my capabilities by which I could further assist the
other staff with more effectiveness (Suleman, 2018). As in the starting I didn’t know more about
the personal and professional development plan thus it takes quite more time while managing
that. I get a lot of helped from my while managing and preparing the plan as I know myself even
more better thus I induce best roles and responsibilities by which better outcomes will get
achieved. It also helps me to review the different gaols that could be achieved by me in certain
period of time. As from this the goals and objectives will remain clearer that helps to construct
improved progress. In that I have analyse the need of the Aldi as well and thus it support to meet
the basic requirement of the business. In parallel to that I have analysed my own skills as well by
which I have performed by daily task with more perfection.
What were the problems?
There are some major problems that are more promising and helped me to develop the
plan as before that I don’t have must information about the different aspect relative to the plan.
But my senior provides me the adequate guidance by which I will reduce the redundancy and
work more effective manner while enhancing mine own performance. In between the overall
process I have get a lot of different opinions from the correspondent peoples that creates more
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complexity. It helps to make the long term success and with that I have made the uniform
collection that helps to develop acceptable changes. As the problem resolving skills of mine is
not that much effective thus I have start working on it while gaining the better change bring long
term sustainability (Tan, 2018). I have faced a lot of distraction that is due to the effective
mindset and working style of each other employees. The inappropriate availability of the
resources and the excessive funding is lack thus it takes quite more time to get develop the plan
and implement that in real life. There are some other uncertainty that is developed under the
different level thus more challenges has been occurred but I have strong believe in my skills and
I have always work with more confidence.
What do I want to further improve?
The Personal and professional development plan help me to develop the better
enhancement of the appropriate knowledge and information by which my personal working
capabilities will get more improvised. As from the plan it helps me to measure the verified skills
as an assistant store manager by which I have made more contribution towards the Aldi. I have
managed the time management by which I have worked within adequate amount of time by
which the skills get helped to become more reformative and build more efficiency.
As an assistant store manager, I have more develop by using the personal and
professional development plan and could make that in future as well that become more beneficial
for my growth. In future period of time if I have to develop different plan that it is easy for me
thus better execution of Aldi will get more developed (Wickam, 2018). I have work on the
different policy and strategy that is developed by the company and with that I have made better
interaction with the staff. The development plan is greater and then the analytics ability will get
developed by which my thinking will get improvised. I have made the different development and
in that the standard will get developed by which more vast personality will get improvised.
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CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above report that is based on the employability skills and
it is more important while emphasising the different productivity and performance of the
different individual. The company will uses their while expanding the business and at opening of
new stores at different places. It helps to make the better profit and for that skills audit will get
performed and the roles and responsibility that get engaged with the larger number of candidates
that get recruited. Furthermore, this report includes the personal and professional development
plan that is used to improvise the performance in effective manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Adeyinka-Ojo, S., 2018. A strategic framework for analysing employability skills deficits in
rural hospitality and tourism destinations. Tourism management perspectives, 27, pp.47-
54.
Allatt, G. and Tett, L., 2019. Adult literacy practitioners and employability skills: resisting neo-
liberalism?. Journal of Education Policy, 34(4), pp.577-594.
Bhagra, A. and Sharma, D.K., 2018. Changing paradigm of employability skills in the global
business world: A review. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 12(2), pp.7-24.
Bremner, P.A., 2018. The gap between degree outcomes and employability skills: using
scholarly enquiry to aid in future teaching practice.
Chan, S.W., Ahmad, M.F., Zaman, I. and Ko, W.S., 2018. Employers' perception on important
employablity skills in the manufacturing industry. International Journal of Engineering
& Technology, 7(2.29), pp.170-175.
Di Gregorio, A., Maggioni, I., Mauri, C. and Mazzucchelli, A., 2019. Employability skills for
future marketing professionals. European Management Journal, 37(3), pp.251-258.
Griffin, M. and Coelhoso, P., 2019. Business students’ perspectives on employability skills post
internship experience. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning.
Griffiths, D.A., Inman, M., Rojas, H. and Williams, K., 2018. Transitioning student identity and
sense of place: future possibilities for assessment and development of student
employability skills. Studies in Higher Education, 43(5), pp.891-913.
Hanapi, Z., Mamat, A.B., Zulkifli, R.M., Sharif, M.S. and Hasnan, K.A., 2018. Development of
Employability Skills Measurement Model Among Engineering Graduates of Community
College Using Delphi Technique and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Advanced Science
Letters, 24(4), pp.2660-2664.
Hassan, N.F.B., Puteh, S.B. and Sanusi, A.B.M., 2018. Elements of Technology
Enabled/Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) to Enhance Quality and Employability of
Bachelor’s Students. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 150, p. 05005). EDP Sciences.
Hebblethwaite, D. and Ayling, D., 2018. The seven wonders of employability.
Nisha, S.M. and Rajasekaran, V., 2018. Employability skills: A review. IUP Journal of Soft
Skills, 12(1), pp.29-37.
Ornellas, A., Falkner, K. and Stålbrandt, E.E., 2019. Enhancing graduates’ employability skills
through authentic learning approaches. Higher education, skills and work-based learning.
Osmani, M., Hindi, N.M. and Weerakkody, V., 2018. Developing employability skills in
information system graduates: Traditional vs. innovative teaching methods. International
Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education (IJICTE), 14(2),
pp.17-29.
Scott, F.J., Connell, P., Thomson, L.A. and Willison, D., 2019. Empowering students by
enhancing their employability skills. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 43(5),
pp.692-707.
Smith, M., Bell, K., Bennett, D. and McAlpine, A., 2018. Employability in a global context:
Evolving policy and practice in employability, work integrated learning, and career
development learning.
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Suleman, F., 2018. The employability skills of higher education graduates: insights into
conceptual frameworks and methodological options. Higher Education, 76(2), pp.263-
278.
Tan, L.M. and Laswad, F., 2018. Professional skills required of accountants: what do job
advertisements tell us?. Accounting Education, 27(4), pp.403-432.
Wickam, M.J., 2018. Using service-learning to enhance employability skills in graduate business
capstones: A dissertation overview. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and
Engagement (TEST), 22(1), pp.163-174.
Online
Skills Audit. 2019. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.cognology.com.au/learning_center/sawhatis/>
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APPENDIX
Skills audit
Skills Good Average Bad
Communication skill ✔
Creative thinking ✔
Networking ability ✔
Negotiation skill ✔
Team work skill ✔
Decision making ✔
Time management skill ✔
Problem solving ✔
Technical skill ✔
Personal SWOT analysis
It is analysis that is more used to get developed the different areas under which the
performance of an individual will get developed even more. It helps to know the strength and the
weakness that helps to take the better gain in life as the assistant store manager.
Individual self-appraisal
Quality Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Good Excellent
Quality of Work ✔
Knowledge of work ✔
Work Relations ✔
Integrity ✔
Work Consistency ✔
15

Technical skills ✔
Creativity ✔
Listening Skill ✔
Time management ✔
Decision making ✔
Empathy ✔
Communication skills ✔
Negotiation skill ✔
Problem solving ✔ ✔
Persuasion skill ✔
Personal development plan
Clear aims and objectives Areas of
developme
nt
Resource and activities Time
scale
It is the skills that are vital and
by that the better relation will
get managed that helps to make
and achieve the long term
goals and objectives. It helps to
make the strong relation that
helps to build strong image of
the Aldi in front of the
customers.
Intercession
skills
I have developed the negotiation
skills of mine by which it helps to
develop the interpersonal skills by
which the goals will get attained. I
have always been more positive and
balanced in my life by which I have
made the effective relation with the
other people. It is more important
that the better trust will get develop
with the other staff that imparts more
easiness.
3 months
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