Reflective Analysis of Employability Skills

This assignment is a reflective analysis of the employability skills developed through a project-based development (PDP) program. The PDP involved various activities that helped in evaluating areas for self-development, including teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills. The reflection on these experiences has provided insights into how to work collaboratively, respect others' views, and improve skills through team effort and creative thinking.

Essential Study And Employment
Skills Assessment

Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3
2. AUDIT AND EVALUATION OF KEY SKILLS .....................................................................3
2.1 Employment skills for business that I have develop through the exercise.......................3
2.2 The skills that I will examine...........................................................................................4
2.3 My contribution in the project and contribution of team in completing the task ............4
2.4 Development in myself : .................................................................................................5
2.5 Experiences in the team project process using Gibbs model ..........................................5
2.6 Qualitative and quantitative analysis:...............................................................................6
3. THE AREA OF DEVELOPMENT AND AVENUES FOR IMPROVEMENT.........................7
3.1 Personal development programme to identify development needs with regards to specific
skills........................................................................................................................................7
3.2 The areas to improve the skills.......................................................................................10
3.3 Opportunities to learn and develop the skills.................................................................11
4. CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................13
5. REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................14

1. INTRODUCTION
Employment skills are the skills, attitudes and qualities which are used by the employees in
the workplace. These skills help the employees to work better and understand the culture of the
organisation. The study highlights the importance of employment skills solving the problems,
understand the subject matter and evaluating the alternatives etc. and it also explains that how the
team work, communication, research, planning and problem solving skills helps to find the
solutions and improve the project task. It highlights the development skills of a person and how
to overcome the threats(Akiba 2016). It helps to understand the new opportunity areas and work
on them to improve the skills. It explains the Gibbs model in project or assignment. It also
explains the contribution of an individual and the team member in project and how to influence
the team member to get their support in the completion of task(Blyth 2017).
2. AUDIT AND EVALUATION OF KEY SKILLS
2.1 Employment skills for business that I have develop through the exercise
The fund can be raised through various sources such as by corporates, by mailing, by
communicating etc., (Chlebikovan and et.al., 2015)The project of supporting Mental Health
Research by raising fund help me to enhance my skills as we have to raise the fund so our team
work on many ideas towards how to raise funds and what activities are to be performed , this
project helps me to understand how important it is to consider the view point of others and to
listen the things from their point of view. As we have faced many rejections and negative
responses from many companies and people, which helps me to understand that in order to keep
our self motivated how important it is to built positive thinking and positive attitude toward
things. As the task have to be completed within 1 month so the project helps me with
understanding the time value and how to manage the time. As I have to work in a team it helps
me in enhancing my interpersonal skills such as respecting supervisors and co-workers, the
project also helps me in teaching how to be patient and to take constructive criticism. As in the
whole research process we have to analyse various facts for which our team need to
communicate to the various teams of doctors and other people in the same field which helps me
in improving my communication skills and helps in improving my listening ability and also
enhances my knowledge. I have faced various challenges in processing the project which helps
me to improve my problem solving and critical thinking skills such as accept change, working in
a calm environment, asking questions to solve problems. The project helps me in learning new
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skills, such as negotiating skills, simplify process, build partnership. The project helps me to act
professionally and with maturity. I also understand that how important is the role of co workers
or team members in completion of project successfully.
2.2 The skills that I will examine
I will examine my listening skills as I have noticed that I get easily distracted while other
people are presenting their views, opinions and suggestion. And on some days I have not able to
meet the deadline which hampers the speed of our task which also raises conflicts among the
team members.
2.3 My contribution in the project and contribution of team in completing the task
As I was the leader of the team so a huge responsibility lies on me to complete the project
successfully but this cannot be possible without the efficient team members. So as the members
in the team have different thinking so it is my duty to first motivate them to do the work and also
make their mentality of thinking as a “WE” not “ME”. To run the process efficiently I have
asked every member to present their idea regarding how to start the process and what activities to
be performed in order to raise the fund and I also presented my view than after a discussion we
have come to the conclusion with a set of activities to be performed with majority which helps
the team to work in the same direction. At many points I have seen my team demotivated since
we have faced many rejections and failures and many situations arise in which the team members
are not agreed with each other so I have listened to the issues of every member and has taken the
fair decision and make them understand that how important is everyone's role in the project.
No project can be completed successfully without the efforts of the team members. The role of
each and every member is important in a team the contribution by each member add on to team
success. Respecting the opinion of other, listening to their views, and make them feel that you
contribution is how much important for team. To ensure awareness within the team member and
to check the success of the project I use to conduct a meeting of our team in which we discuss
our thoughts and make the new strategies and decide the activities to work on. Regarding the
project and the output. I have assigned different roles to each member to make everyone feel
important in a team and which built the trust among the members and respect for other which
help us to complete the task more accurately and efficiently.
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2.4 Development in myself :
During the project I came to know that in a team of four members we all belong to different
culture which have created a communication barrier so I suggested the members to use a
common language such as English as it is easily understandable and all were agree with my
decision
2.5 Experiences in the team project process using Gibbs model
The Gibbs model is helpful in making people aware about their own actions and help
them to adjust and change their behaviour(Cirillo 2017).
Description :The project which our team has performed is about raising the fund in order to
support Mental Health Research UK. Our team consist of 4 members and each one plays an
important role where I was the team leader so it was my responsibility to complete the project on
time in which my team supports me and help me very much (Gibbs' reflective cycle, 2019).
As we are using various modes to collect the fund such as direct mailing, by interacting with the
strangers,it will not be able without the support of team members. With the help of team and the
efforts put by each an every member we are successful in completing the project on time and
achieve our goal. I take the charge of the team and make sure to keep every member in the team
motivated. I listen to each and every member and ask for the opinion of other team member so
that we can take the fair decision.
Feelings: When I came to know about the project I was very happy to be a part of such project.
I have gone through various challenges which helps me to understand that how to handle the
situation and remain calm. After the project has been completed I feel proud that in the
leadership of mine our team was able to complete the project on time and have given the best
output.
Evaluation: The overall experience of the project is good there were many challenges like to
search for an organisation and interact with the people of the same field in order to seek their
help and raising fund from various sources but the most amazing thing which we have learnt is
team work and to positive thinking in every situation. But with the help of the team members and
there effort it become easy to carry a task we all start enjoying the work and was successful in
giving the best results.
Analysis: there are both positive and negative experience in the project.
Positive things: I have seen various changes in my personality, my way of thinking has changed
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I have gained the experience to work in a team
Respecting other view
Negative things : I faced many difficulty because it was difficult for me at the beginning to make
the member understand to respect other views. As there are 4 members and each one with
different thinking but later we start enjoying the work.
I face many criticism as I was the leader but it helps me to take the criticism and built the
positive thinking in every situation.
Conclusion:
I have experience many things which will help in the future and I will not loose hope and always
be motivated, and I will always keep my plans and goals in my mind. The project was helpful in
developing my various employability skills such as teamwork, communication skills, self
management and positive attitude.
Action plan: In order to avoid blames on ideas which is not successful, I will ask for the other
member to share there views on idea and to tell the pros and cons so that each member should
personally present their opinion which will help not only the individual but to the whole team in
careful selection of ideas. There are various situation which cause conflicts between me and the
members of team so I have decided not to take much stress as taking much stress hampers the
working and also effects my health I will try to communicate more about my personal thinking
as communication avoids misunderstandings among the members.
2.6 Qualitative and quantitative analysis:
I have taken the feedback from the team members in order to know that whether I am
good as a leader and as a team member to know my performance as in the above analysis which I
have use to know about myself I found that the results were quite similar. The team liked be and
my companionship. Me and my team decided to have the target of $ 50,000 and we were
successful in achieving are target within the time limit.
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3. THE AREA OF DEVELOPMENT AND AVENUES FOR IMPROVEMENT
3.1 Personal development programme to identify development needs with regards to specific
skills
Key X No – I really need to work
on this
X Not entirely sure – I could
still improve
X Yes – I'm really
confident I can do this
Time and self Management
I comfortably meet my all deadlines through managing my time.
I know what exactly to do to get the solution
I always keep a diary to note down the important dates of my seminars, lectures
and meetings.
I'm punctual in my meetings, class and seminars
I always do the important things first and ignore the activities which waste my
time.
I set my targets and focus on them to achieve the objectives.
Critical Thinking and problem solving
I am able to use different alternatives and methods for solving the problem by
analysing the alternatives
I am able to evaluate the alternative and choose the best of them
I am able to solve the problems by breaking down the complex problem into
simple parts
I am able to work in team and support the team.
I know the importance of myself in completing the task
I am able to do multiple task with efficiency.

Interpersonal communication
I am a good listener and value the view point of other member in the group
discussion still if I'm not agree with them.
I am confident that I am able to present myself in group discussion with my clear
ideas and suggestions.
I am able to understand the others point of view in group discussion and question
them only after they finished.
I am confident to explain the subject matter and the new concept to others.
I am able to give presentation to my peers and management team.
I able to analyse the critical issues and raise the voice against them.
Written communication
I am confident to present my work or assignments in paragraph and using the
relevant signposting language to effectively communicate my ideas to other
team members.
I am able to use the appropriate style in my written work.
I am confident that before submitting the report or project, I am able to rectify
all the spelling and grammatical error and punctuations.
I am able to put all my efforts and useful information in my written task by
effectively plan and organise the activities.
I am able to understand the meaning of plagiarism and know the way to avoid
and clear the issues.
I am able to present all the useful source in my task to authenticate my work and
show that I am well informed about my work or assignments

I am confident that I know the format and style of writing formal letters and
documents such as CV and letters.
I am able to write down the useful notes from the lecture, class, seminars and
presentations.

Information Literacy : Reading
I am able to gather the useful information from the variety of sources such as
journals, magazines, books and on line sources.

I am able to identify the useful notes from the sources and able to distinguish
them with various references and examples.
I am able to understand the meaning of my project before start to do the actual
work on It.
I make the useful and easily understandable notes while working on the projects
and assignments.
Numeracy
I am able to use my statistical skills in my assignment and task.
I am able to present the statistical information in charts, graph, diagrams and
tables.
3.2 The areas to improve the skills
Time and self management
22 Prepare the habit of note down the
important dates in diary.22 Get feedback from the management
and apply them in work.22 Take the help of tutor to set the target
and follow the target to achieve the
objectives.22 Prepare proper chart or time table to
organise the work according to their
importance or deadlines.
Problem solving
 Understand the task and the pros and
cons of the project.
 Understand the need of the other team
member and their view point.
 Analyse the each alternative and take
help of other team member to
understand the alternatives.
 Attain some yoga class or meditation to
reduce the stress and improve the
concentration power.
Interpersonal communication
 Participate in seminars and group
Written communication
 Complete the project and review the
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discussion activities.
 Listen the people carefully and try to
understand their view point and ask the
clarification tom avoid
misunderstanding (Evans, 2016).
 Study the topic and project carefully
before going to present the topic.
whole project before submitting it.
 Treat all the member equally in the
team.
 Read the magazines, newspaper,
journals and article.
 Try to prepare notes for study and give
presentation.
Information literacy
 Do the research for the given project
and gather the useful information from
the different sources.
 Talk about the project to the team
member and divide the task to gather
the more accurate information.
 Take the help of other team member to
prepare the notes.
Numeracy
 Use the different examples and methods
to solve the numeric problem and
practice on them regularly.
 Use the software and data tools to solve
the numerical problem.
 Learn the statistical tools from the peer
groups, team member and some special
classes or course.
3.3 Opportunities to learn and develop the skills
The skills help to capture the attention of other person and grow in the industry. Skills
improve work quality and help to complete the task on time with efficiency and effectively.
There are different opportunity area where a person can develop the skills. The areas are :
Advance technology : The adaptation of new technology helps to improving the efficiency of
work and gathering the various resources for study, research and prepare plan for the projects or
assignments (Holliman and et.al., 2018). It helps me to get the more study material and the useful
software which make my work easy, simple and accurate.
The latest technology helps me to get the useful information and improve my
communication skills. It enhances my knowledge and in different subject area and make me
more confident. It also helps me to improve my oral and written communication. The software
helps to improve the work efficiency and save the time. It also improves the education system by
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providing the huge information on a single tab. It improves the training method by applying the
different software at workplace. It helps to complete my task and improve the team work.
Training and development programme : Training and development programme helps to
improve the skills and knowledge of individual by creating the working environment like actual
work place and improve the performance (Tattum, Tattum, 2017). It helps to increase my
confidence which overall affect my performance. Training and development programme
improved the employee satisfaction and morale in the organisation or their workplace in the
same way it also motivates the students to enhance their skills and prepare them to learn new
skills for their future growth. It helps me to fell valued and motivate me to achieve the targets.
This programme address the weakness and direct the way to convert weakness into the strength.
It helps to find my weakened area and provide different tools and techniques to improve myself.
It encourages developing creative ideas and to participate in the decision making process and
give valuable suggestion to the team member. Development programme also improve the team
work and teach the individuals to value and respect their team member and their decisions
(Blyth, 2017).
Various courses : Various courses in universities help the individual to explore their knowledge
in different areas and learn the new skills like software programme helps to learn the statistical
data, data analysis and their presentation. This software help me to present my report in more
attractive and authenticate way. Vocabulary courses helps to improve my written and oral
communication skills and to learn the new languages. These help to increase my work efficiency
and effectiveness.
The yoga section and meditation programme help to reduce the stress level and improve the
concentration power. It helps to increase my internal strength and improve my problem solving
skills. It calms me in hectic and stressful situation and provide the different ways of thinking to
solve the problem. It improves my team work and analytical skills.
4. CONCLUSION
The study helps in learning the various employability skills. The various activities
performed in the task helped in evaluating the areas in which I have to develop myself. With the
help of PDP I have came to know in which area I have to work on and how to improve them. The
project taught us that how to work in an team and respect the view of others. Team work is
always helpful as collaboration of the members solve difficult problems easily. As team has
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different members and each with different ideas thus it brings the new and creative thinking of
doing work. And it gives the opportunity to learn from one another and improve the skills.
5. REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Akiba, M. and Liang, G., 2016. Effects of teacher professional learning activities on student
achievement growth. The Journal of Educational Research. 109(1).pp.99-110.
Barksby and et.al., 2015. A new model of reflection for clinical practice. Nursing
Time. 111.pp.34-35.
Blyth, W.A.L., 2017. Development, Experience and Curriculum in Primary Education (1984).
Routledge.
Chlebikovan and et.al., 2015. Planning of personal development and succession. Procedia
Economics and Finance. 26. pp.249-253.
Cirillo, V., 2017. Technology, employment and skills. Economics of Innovation and New
Technology. 26(8). pp.734-754.
Evans, J.L.T., 2016. Three first steps for effective succession planning. American Nurse
Today. 11(9). pp.36-40.
Holliman, A., Thomson, A. and Hird, A., 2018, June. Planning product design & development:
resource-influencing factors based on experience. In 25th International Annual EurOMA
Conference.
Lim and et.al., 2016. Employability skills, personal qualities, and early employment problems of
entry-level auditors: Perspectives from employers, lecturers, auditors, and
students. Journal of Education for Business. 91(4). pp.185-192.
Martin, M., 2016. A reflection on using play to facilitate learning. International Practice
Development Journal. 6(1).
Soffel, J., 2016, March. What are the 21st-century skills every student needs. In World Economic
Forum (Vol. 10).
Tattum, D. and Tattum, E., 2017. Social education and personal development. Routledge.
Online
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Gibbs' reflective cycle. 2019. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-
reflective-cycle>
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