Employability Skills and Professional Development

This document provides a comprehensive guide on employability skills and professional development. It covers topics such as conducting a skills audit, identifying interpersonal and transferable skills, and creating a personal development plan. The document also includes a personal SWOT analysis and tips for individual performance appraisal. Suitable for students studying employability skills and professional development.

Employability Skills
and Professional
Development

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................5
TASK A1.........................................................................................................................................5
Conducting Skills Audit in the context of my personal role and responsibilities and
Performance objectives within my organisation..........................................................................5
TASK A2.........................................................................................................................................5
Identifying some key interpersonal and transferable skills and analysing tools and techniques
to enhance these skills.................................................................................................................5
Conducting my Personal SWOT Analysis for determining my strengths, weaknesses and
learning and development opportunities......................................................................................8
Using appropriate Performa for carrying out my Individual appraisal within my organisation. 8
TASK A3.........................................................................................................................................9
Preparing and implementing a Personal and Professional Development Plan with clear aims
and objectives, areas for development, resources and activities, timescale, etc. based on
personal and organisational objectives........................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11
APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................12
Skills audit.................................................................................................................................12
Personal SWOT Analysis..........................................................................................................12
Individual self-appraisal............................................................................................................13
Personal development plan........................................................................................................14
TASK B.........................................................................................................................................18
Reflection on my Personal and Professional development based on the actives carried in
TASK A.....................................................................................................................................18
What did I do well in the completion of my development plan?...............................................18
What were the problems which I faced in my personal and professional development?..........18
What do I want to further improve for my future in my personal and professional
development?.............................................................................................................................19

INTRODUCTION
Employability skills are those transferable skills which are needed by an individual to make
themselves employable. The individuals education and experience make then eligible for
applying for a particular job role but to be successful in most job roles the individual needs to
you have particular skills that are developed overtime. Some of the skills which are being
developed by the person will be specific to the job but majority of skills will be e used in any job
or employment sector and are known as soft skills (Adeyinka-Ojo, 2018). This soft skills which
are developed by the individual overtime while working in a particular organisation of their
choice are known as employability skills and these are the skills what makes an individual
employable. In general employers are always billing to teach the person the specific job related
skills which are essential for completing the particular job role. However they usually want to
see that the other soft skills are already being developed by the individual before hiring them as
they are time taking and very hard to teach (Artess, Mellors-Bourne. and Hooley, 2017). The
report is develop the on Aldi, which is a two German family owned discount supermarket chain.
The organisation was founded in 1946 By Karl and Theo Albrecht offering grocery and
household essential to the customers. Aldi is headquartered in Germany but serves to the
worldwide locations with over 10000 stores. The report focuses on employability skills and
professional development as the organisation is planning to expand its operation at a dynamic
rate throughout Europe, North America and in Australia. This means that organisation requires
employees and largest number of workforce within 12 months for meeting its requirements of
current exceptional sales growth and new store openings. The report is divided into two parts one
segment focuses over skill audit, SWOT analysis, interpersonal and transferable skills and a
individual appraisal Performa. along with it a personal and professional development plan is also
developed with clear aims and objectives. The second part of the report is a reflective essay
about the personal and professional development plan and activities carried out by the individual
for their personal development for becoming employable. In this section the areas which are
examined are the activities performed in completion of personal development what are the
problems faced and what are the further improvements required.

MAIN BODY
TASK A1
Conducting Skills Audit in the context of my personal role and responsibilities and Performance
objectives within my organisation.
I am working as area manager in Aldi, which makes me and my rule responsible for every aspect
of the day-to-day supervision of retail outlet including sales, staff stock and resource
management. As a retail manager my role is to run the store appropriately and successfully on a
regular basis. I am working on the shop floor and in constant contact with the potential
customers and the employees who are working in the retail department. I am responsible for
ensuring that the staff gives their 100% while working and provide the best customer service to
the people visiting the stores. I am also responsible for monitoring the financial performances of
the store, maintaining statistical and financial records along with managing budgets. My job role
also includes maintaining healthy relation with customers and dealing with all their queries and
complaints. As a retail manager I am also responsible to perform a job role where I need to
oversee pricing and stock controls as well. I am responsible for maximizing the profitability of
my stores along with developing sales targets for the team and motivate the staff to the highest
level for attaining all the predetermined targets and maximizing the profit levels.
My skill audit is being conducted according to my job roles and responsibilities and
attached in the appendix at the end of this report.
A skill audit is a systematic assessment of an individual’s skills and knowledge providing
appropriate evidences of existing and developing competencies. A scale audit is document that
holds the respective skills and knowledge in an individuals providing them ratings according to
their abilities in those specific areas (Ayoubi, Alzarif and Khalifa, 2017).
TASK A2
Identifying some key interpersonal and transferable skills and analysing tools and techniques to
enhance these skills.
Interpersonal skills
These are those qualities and behaviours that we exhibit while we are communicating and
interacting with other people. The interpersonal skills when strong in an individual that indicates
the success of the individual in working environment as the abilities incorporates with teammates

to solve difficult problems and simply enhance the popularity of them self around the office. If
an individual working on a very high position of a retail manager lacks interpersonal skills then it
lead to increasing number of conflicts with teammates and other colleagues along with the top
level management of organisation (Bates and et. al., 2019). Also the individual loses their
reputation in the office and seen as a destructive and hindering element getting in the pathway of
completion of the job.
Some of the interpersonal skills required by a retail manager:
 Communication is one of the most important and essential interpersonal skill which is
required by retail manager to develop in order to appropriately interact and develop a
effective relationship with their colleagues and top level management. For developing
better communication skills There are several communication principles and practices
which are best for an individual to have knowledge about.
Decision making interpersonal skill is essential for the job role of the retail manager because
there are several individuals working under them and also they are responsible for developing
future plans for profit maximization and operations of the particular retail outlet for which they
are appointed. In order to improve the decision making skills the individual has to be very
analytical and Critical about the respective goals and the decision they have made (Fletcher,
Sharif and Haw, 2017).
 Team working capabilities highlights towards the understanding and ability and
individual have to keep their colours together and make them work towards the common
objective of the team for contributing their path towards the ultimate goal of their
company. There are several tools and techniques available in the market provided by
experts which can be used for developing better team working skills.
 Emotional intelligence is the ability and individual have of understanding and managing
their own emotions and of the people who are around them. High level of emotional
intelligence will provide the individual the understanding about what they exactly e r
sealing and what is the meaning of their emotions.
 Problem solving ability is also very important for a retail manager to develop as the
customers are relying on them and it is the part of their job role to address all the queries
and complaints of customers providing them appropriate solutions. In order to develop

problem solving skills the retail manager has to be a good listener and understand what
exactly the problem which is being faced by the consumers.
Transferable skills
These skills are referred as any capabilities an individual person possesses that are useful to their
employers across various jobs and industries. The transfer skills might include their abilities such
as adaptability teamwork and other qualities which employers are seeking in in a strong
candidate for the respective job role. Transferable skills are useful in positioning and individuals
past experience while applying for the new job and especially when the individual is switching
the industry (MacCallum and Casey, 2017). Various transferable skills such as communication,
dependency, teamwork, adaptability, leadership and many more.
Some of the transferable skills required by a retail manager:
 Motivation is one of the most important transferable skill which is very essential for an
individual to hold while working with several individuals under them. As retail manager
it is very important for me to keep my staff and teammates motivated towards performing
their best in the respective direction for attaining all the targets and objectives. For
developing better motivational skills I need to keep my knowledge updated about the the
new theories and techniques introducing in the market for increasing the staff in the most
positive manners.
 Innovation, as the leader of the team and the manager of the outlet it is my responsibility
that I work innovatively and creatively. Innovation is one of the most important
transferable skill which is helpful for my current and my future growth as a retail
manager or for any other job role. For Keeping myself innovative and creative it is very
important for me to keep my knowledge updated in relation with my respective field of
expertise.
 Leadership is a transferable skill which As a manager has a very important place in my
job role. as retail manager of Aldi I am responsible for leading several different teams in
the outlet of which I am responsible for. In order to become better leader and enhancing
my ability I have to invite others opinions and point of views for gaining more
knowledge about the mentality of people and about their behaviour (O’Connor and
Bodicoat, 2017).

 Planning is an important and essential responsibility of me as a retail manager of Aldi.
As a planner I have to develop various plans and targets for the outlet in order to
maximize profit and improve the revenue standards of the company.
 Team builder is one quality which is seen by all the employers in there candidates for
respective job roles regardless of the diversity in the industries. Team builder is one
transferable skill which is very essential and important for me as a manager. Therefore
for enhancing my team building skills I can make use of different workshops and journals
available in the market.
Conducting my Personal SWOT Analysis for determining my strengths, weaknesses and learning
and development opportunities.
SWOT analysis is a framework that is most commonly used by organisations in order to
determine their internal strengths and weaknesses along with knowing the appropriate
opportunities and threats available in the external environment according to their capabilities
(Othman and et. al., 2017). But SWOT analysis can also be used by individuals for
understanding and gaining knowledge about their internal strengths and weaknesses and the
opportunities they upholds according to these two internal factors. The swot analysis allows the
individuals to seek knowledge about their positive and strengthening areas which country is
better opportunities for them in their current job role and in their future professional life. This
framework also assistant the individual weaknesses for changing them into the strengths and the
threats associated with the opportunity is provided in the external environment. As a retail
manager There are several strengths and weaknesses which I hold while working in Aldi with
other teammates. Along with that these strengths who buys me different opportunities and allows
me to gain knowledge about the respective threats associated with them.
My personal SWOT analysis for determining my strengths weaknesses and learning and
development opportunities is conducted and attached in the appendix in the report below.
Using appropriate Performa for carrying out my Individual appraisal within my organisation.
performance appraisal on individual level or on the team level is always beneficial for the
workers as it provide some feedback about their performance and the areas in which they Excel
or needs to develop better understanding. Performance valuation always provides information to
employees which helps them in improving the performance increasing their efficiency and
reaching to the management expectations level.

Individual performance appraisal is basically a comparison between work performed by the
person against the measurable objectives that the employee and supervisors agreed at the
beginning of the appraisal period (Rowe and Zegwaard, 2017). I am working in retail sector as a
retail manager of Aldi that my performance plays a very important and essential role in
organisational success and profitability. It is very important for me to perform on the job roles
and responsibility provided by my superiors in the respective manner so as to attain all the
predetermined objectives and their respective objectives related to my job role and position in the
organizational structure.
My individual performance appraisal within my organisation is conducted and attached in
appendix in the report below.
TASK A3
Preparing and implementing a Personal and Professional Development Plan with clear aims and
objectives, areas for development, resources and activities, timescale, etc. based on
personal and organisational objectives.
A personal development plan is basically a document that holds the respective areas and qualities
which are lacking in an individual and which are very important for them for their current and
future growth in their personal and professional lives. A personal development plan is also
known as PDP which provides an individual a structured approach for moving towards their
career and better opportunities by attaining and grabbing all the essential abilities and skills
according to their respective field or even according to the general professional development
areas (Suleman, 2018).
A Retail manager is one of the most important pillar of the supermarket Store, holding several
different roles and responsibilities which has a very important and essential contribution towards
success and growth of the company. As a retail manager I lakh a lot of qualities which are either
interpersonal or transferable. All these qualities are very essential for me to develop and
therefore I am preparing a personal and professional Development Plan which will allow me to
develop clear aims and objective for the respective areas of development. What’s the person
Development Plan hold the appropriate resources which will be used by me for developing a
particular skill and knowledge according to the respective Time scale based on personal and
organisational objectives.

My personal and professional development plan with clear aims and objectives in the
respective area of development is conducted and attached in the appendix in the report
below.
CONCLUSION
The above report concludes that employability skills transferable skills and interpersonal skills
are some important and essential abilities which are needed to be developed by an individual in
their course work in order to be employable. The soft skills are some of the common criteria of
an employer which they use while employing candidates for the respective job roles in their
organisation. Therefore all these skills needed to be e developed and gain knowledge by an
individual for making themselves employable and attain higher position in their careers.

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.
Artess, J., Mellors-Bourne, R. and Hooley, T., 2017. Employability: A review of the literature
2012-2016.
Ayoubi, R. M., Alzarif, K. and Khalifa, B., 2017. The employability skills of business graduates
in Syria. Education+ Training.
Bates, G. W. and et. al., 2019. Beyond employability skills: Developing professional
purpose. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability. 10(1). p.7.
Fletcher, A. J., Sharif, A. W. A. and Haw, M. D., 2017. Using the perceptions of chemical
engineering students and graduates to develop employability skills. Education for
Chemical Engineers. 18. pp.11-25.
MacCallum, J. and Casey, S. C., 2017. Enhancing skills development and reflective practise in
students during their programme of study. New Directions in the Teaching of Physical
Sciences, (12).
O’Connor, H. and Bodicoat, M., 2017. Exploitation or opportunity? Student perceptions of
internships in enhancing employability skills. British Journal of Sociology of
Education. 38(4). pp.435-449.
Othman, H. and et. al., 2017, May. Engineering students: Enhancing employability skills through
PBL. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 203, No. 1, p.
012024). IOP Publishing.
Rowe, A. D. and Zegwaard, K. E., 2017. Developing graduate employability skills and
attributes: Curriculum enhancement through work-integrated learning.
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 Fawzi, L., 2017. Employability skills required of accountants. In SHS Web of
Conferences (Vol. 34).
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.
Trought, F., 2017. Brilliant employability skills: How to stand out from the crowd in the
graduate job market. Pearson UK.
Tsitskari, E. and et. al., 2017. Employers’ expectations of the employability skills needed in the
sport and recreation environment. Journal of hospitality, leisure, sport & tourism
education. 20. pp.1-9.
Wolff, R. and Booth, M., 2017. Bridging the gap: Creating a new approach for assuring 21st
century employability skills. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. 49(6). pp.51-
54.

APPENDICES
Skills audit
Knowledge and skills which I consider to be
important for my current studies
My ability rating (1-5)
 Decision making
 Team working
 Problem solving
 Communication
 Emotional intelligence
 5
 4
 3
 2
 1
Knowledge and skills which I consider to be
important for my future career
My ability rating (1-5)
 Leadership
 Innovation
 Motivation
 Team builders
 Planning
 5
 4
 3
 2
 1
Rating:
1 = No current knowledge or skill
2 = Some awareness, but not sufficiently competent to use it
3 = Familiar with and able to use the knowledge or skill
4 = Proficient in the knowledge or skill and able to show others how to use it
5 = Expert, with a high degree of skill and/or comprehensive knowledge
Personal SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
 I am retail manager holding several
roles and responsibilities out of which
one of the most important role is of a
decision maker which is the biggest
strength of mine.
 My weakness is my emotional
intelligence as I am unable to control
understand what exactly I am feeling
and how I can work upon it.

 Another very essential strength which I
hold is of a great leader and appropriate
knowledge of the leadership concept.
 The second weakness which I hold as a
retail manager is off a bad planner.
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 The potential opportunities which are
present for me that can enhance my
future personal and professional growth
is of development of better team
building skills as it will allow me to
become more flexible and enter into
any other industry as well.
 Communication skills and knowledge
is another opportunities which is
present and beneficial for me in my
present and future growth personally
and professionally.
 The threat associated with me as a retail
manager is of unable to resolve
problems of my staff members and the
customers as sometimes my emotional
Intelligence weakens my abilities.
 Another threat which is potential for
me is of keeping the staff motivated at
all times. but it is impossible because
the individual and their behaviours are
very unpredictable causing a lot of
chaos and discouragement for them.
Individual self-appraisal
EMPLOYEE APPRAISAL FORM
Name of Employee: Mr. XYZ Employee Number: 0123456789
Department: Retail Department Date of Appraisal Meeting: 22 May 2020
Name of Appraiser: Mr. ABC
Objectives set previously:
 Best team building and team working attitude.
 Appropriate leadership and communication skills.
 Good decision maker.
Performance against the objectives:
 The leadership skills which the individual possesses are one of the finest and
according to the needs of the organisation and the respective job role. The individual

have done an outstanding job in leading the teams and the store outlet.
 The individual is a team worker adapting easily with all the employees and
subordinates performing exceptionally and according to the standards of the company.
 The team building skills are not satisfactory and the individual needs to work harder
in the respective area for better performance.
 The communication and decision making skills are not appropriate and according to
the requirements of the job role.
Objectives for the coming review period:
The further performance review of the individual will be according to the enhancement in the
respective areas in which the employee relax knowledge and abilities and which are very
essential for the company and for their respective job role. These areas are:
 Better decision making skills.
 Appropriate team building knowledge and abilities.
 Appropriate knowledge of effective communication and ability to conduct appropriate
interactions within the organisation.
Any other comments:
The overall performance of the individual is remarkable as sum of the areas in which the
person is the Oxford and performs in an extra ordinary way. but there are few areas in which
the individual needs to develop better understanding and gain more knowledge in order to
become more efficient and appropriate for the job role. these skills and knowledge will
provide the individual the ability to perform in the best manner for their current position and
also help them in enhancing their future professional skills.
Signed (line manager)
Mr. ABC
Signed (employee)
Mr. XYZ
Personal development plan
SMART
objectives?
Success
criteria/priority
–How will l
What
activities/actions
do I need to
What
support/resources
do I need to
Target date for
achieving my

(short & long
term)
know that l
have achieved
the objectives.
undertake to
achieve my
objectives?
achieve my
objectives.
objectives
Communication The best source
for gaining
knowledge about
my achievement
about effective
communication
skill are my
superiors and my
teammates. In
order to know
that I have
achieved my
objective take
feedback from
my superiors and
my subordinates
as well.
The aim an
objective of me
behind
developing the
interpersonal
skill of
communication
is to effectively
communicate
with the
subordinates and
with my top level
management
providing them
appropriate
information
related to the
specific area in
the retail outlet
along with it
better
communication
skill or so allow
me to motivate
and encourage
my subordinates
in the better and
most efficient
In order to develop
better and
effective
communication
skill There are
several resources
present in the
external
environment out of
which I I will be
engaging in
different mini
workshops that are
helpful in
developing
employability
skills and
improving a
lacking ability in
an individual.
I will
approximately
need 3 to 6
months to
develop better
communication
skills.

manner.
Emotional
intelligence
This is a very
crucial area in
which I need
expertise
advisors and
opinions
therefore the
suggestions and
guidance of my
superiors will be
the best resource
to know that I
have achieved
my objective or
not.
The emotional
intelligence scale
is one of the
most important
and essential in
interpersonal
ability which so
which I can
make use of
several books
and journals
provided by
experts in the
respective region
and which are
easily available
on the internet.
I resource for this
skill development
are very well
known to be the
books and journals
provided by
experts and which
are easily available
on internet.
For developing
better emotional
intelligence
scale I
approximately
be needing 2 to
4 months
timeframe.
Team builder The superiors
will be the best
judge for me to
make me
understand about
my achievement
level in team
building skills
and knowledge.
For developing
better
transferable team
building skills I
have to be very
critical of myself
and of these
scenarios around
me. In order to
achieve the target
I have to be very
analytical and
observe in of my
The resources
which are mostly
beneficial in
developing better
team building
skills are the
training and
development
suggestions
provided by the
superiors and
experts in our
organisation which
In order to
develop a better
team building
skills I will be
needing 4 to 8
months.

superiors and
their practices in
the respective
knowledge area.
can be off the job
and on the job
training.
Planning The best
achievement
criteria for
planning skills is
the comparison
between the
effectiveness of
results achieved
by the plans
which I have
developed in the
past and which I
will be
developing after
gaining
appropriate
knowledge.
In order to
develop better
planning abilities
and need to
understand the
importance of
plants and their
influences over
the effectiveness
of organisation
and their growth.
The best resource
available for
developing better
planning skills are
my superiors and
their expertise
which they have
achieved in past
years by working
overtime in the
company and in
the respective
field.
In order to
develop better
learning skills I
will be needing
3 to 5 months of
time period
approximately.

TASK B
Reflection on my Personal and Professional development based on the actives carried in TASK
A.
This is a reflective report on my personal and professional development which are dependent on
the activities that I have carried such as my own skill audit as a retail manager in Aldi, along
with understanding the importance and some of the very essential interpersonal and transferable
skills. Other activities which are conducted by me for understanding my personal and
professional development is performing a SWOT analysis of myself and the capabilities I hold in
order to develop an appropriate personal and professional development plan. This is a document
that is structured accordingly for providing me e a appropriate direction towards development of
the skills in which and lakh and which are creating certain weaknesses for my personal growth
and professional success.
What did I do well in the completion of my development plan?
While completing my personal development plan I have conducted a lot of research on the
Internet about the different employability skills which are also known as soft skills. these skills
are very essential and important for me as an individual as they will allow me to grow further
and enrich my personality as a professional and as a normal individual human being. Along with
that I have enrolled myself into many mini workshops for increasing my emotional intelligence
skills. Having took trainings which are provided by the top level management for employees.
Have you studied many books and journals in order to develop better planning and
communication skills for enhancing my opportunities and strengths.
What were the problems which I faced in my personal and professional development?
There are several areas and capabilities in which I have faced a lot of problems and which
created a lot of challenges in front of me at the development stage. As a manager it was very
difficult for me to highlight my inabilities and lacking areas first I have to face a huge challenge
in identifying the problems in myself and then to search for appropriate resources from where I
can develop these areas and abilities in which I am lacking and which are stopping me from
moving further in my career and professional life.

What do I want to further improve for my future in my personal and professional development?
As an individual and as a very persuasive individual I want to grow more in future in in both
areas my personal and professional sector. As an individual I have several aspirations and
designers to learn many more things and do continuously diversify I my working area for
enhancing my portfolio. Therefore it is very important for me to not just take to the Retail
industry and rather than move to Other industries as well for gaining more and more knowledge
and better positions in the organisations. Along with it this diversification and better knowledge
requirement will also allow me to game more and more knowledge and understanding of
different fields and knowledgeable areas in the world and in the marketplace which will
automatically enhance my personal personality and my professional portfolio and development
will automatically take place.