Reflection on Developing Employability Skills During Pandemic

This report presents a student's reflection on the development of employability skills during their higher education, particularly focusing on the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning. The reflection utilizes the Gibbs reflective cycle to analyze experiences and learning, covering various skills such as communication, critical thinking, CV writing, and presentation skills. The student highlights the improvement in these skills through online classes, group presentations, and project work, emphasizing the importance of analytical and critical thinking, effective communication, and public speaking. The report explores how these skills have enhanced their ability to work in a team, present ideas confidently, and prepare for future professional opportunities. The student also discusses the development of skills such as time management and patience. The report concludes with an evaluation of the positive and negative aspects of the learning experience and its impact on their academic and professional development, ultimately highlighting the importance of these skills in a competitive environment.

Academic and
Employability Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Reflection....................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Employability skills define as the set of attributes as well as behaviours of candidates
which develop their image and value in front of employer on the basis of which they can easily
employed. With the assistance of their skills as well as talent they can easily enhance the
profitability of the company at the competitive marketplace. All these skills can easily be
transferred and learned by individuals during their studies and academic years. Identification of
these skills assist the people in order to enhance their personal and professional progress and
gain opportunities in an effective manner available at the competitive environment (Jackling and
Natoli, 2015). These skills are presentation, public speaking, communication, reflecting writing,
critical thinking and many more which can enhance the employability skills of the candidates. In
the present report, a reflection is included which includes the learning and experience of an
individual person while doing their higher education at their work due to the situation of
COVID19 pandemic.
MAIN BODY
Reflection
In the present world where pandemic arise and affect the whole world in an adverse manner
and reduces the economic system due to lock down faced by countries. In this situation,
education sector along with some other business organisation and sectors decides to perform
their functions from this home so they can cope up with the negative situation arise. I’m a
student and studies my the bachelor’s degree and after this pandemic hit the world I need to stay
at home from last few months. Online classes are started by my college where I can learn
through online platforms where my professors take virtual classes. While learning through online
platforms I have learned various skills which provides me ample number of opportunities in the
near future. It has also been said that these skills are related to my academic course but I have
learned various other things such as using of online platforms in a correct manner,
communicating with individuals virtually, managing all the situation through online classes and
many more. All these skills assist me in near future which provides benefits to me by improving
my skills and knowledge related to the topics. This as a result also help me in order to work in an
organisation and develop their strategies and policies in an effective manner (Lim And et. al.,
2016). One of the most essential skill required by each and every person in their professional life

is analytical as well as critical thinking skills. This is one of the most common and essential skill
which help in evaluating all the aspects critically and then taking decisions related to them. This
will assist in taking best and most effective decision which creates advantages. As a result this
skill help me in grabbing opportunities by resolving issues effectively and taking decisions
which are most suitable to the situation. Apart from this, it has also been identified by me that
my communication skill has also been improved which assist me in communicating with my
classmates in an effective manner. At first while communicating with others I feel nervous and
unable to interact with them which as a result affect my whole performance in a negative manner
(Rao, 2015). After doing group presentation and learning different communication skills, it has
been observed by me that during my studies I was able to develop my communication skills
which has helped me in listening and understanding the view points of others in a better manner.
Furthermore, this skills will assist me in order to negotiate with others in a better way and
influence others towards me. If talking about professional life this skill definitely help me in
order to attain the company goals as well as objectives within given time frame. In addition to
this, CV writing is another skill which has been improved by me which aid me in near future
where I need to work and present my CV which includes my achievements, academic profile,
experience and many more.
In addition to this, it has also been examined by me that other skill which is public
speaking has also been improved which will provide me assistance to speak in front of large
number of people with confidence. Along with this, I am enough capable to share my views and
thoughts with other people in an effective manner as my communication skill has been improved
by learning new skills. These skills help me in grabbing ample number of opportunities at the
competitive marketplace. It has also been said that by learning presentation, which help me in
doing communication with others in an effective manner. With the assistance of learning
presentation skill, it will assist me in order to communicate or present my work in front of my
classmate’s and tutors in an effective manner. This will leads towards improvement in my
grades. Along with this, it has also been said that in case of professional life, presentation skill
help me in order to perform all my work in an effective manner which leads towards attainment
of organisational goals in an effective and appropriate manner. Along with this, for improving
presentation skill I have given ample number of class room presentation on various topics which
improve my skills and confidence level (Trought, 2017). As a result all these skills help me in

improving my skills and knowledge which will assist me in near future to grab opportunities
present at the competitive marketplace.
Gibbs reflective cycle coined in year 1988 by Sir Graham Gibbs where he says that this
model help in expressing what has been learned by an individual while performing their
functions. With the assistance of this reflective cycle a person can easily share their experience
linked with some specific situation. In pandemic my learning was basically upon project making,
employability, academic language, referencing, writing CV, reflection and others. For
understanding my overall learning which has been developed while doing my studies at home
due to pandemic, Gibbs reflective cycle has been used by me which are as follows:
Description: This refers to the first stage where actual and detailed description is given
about the situation which is performed by person. In the present context, it has been said that I
have learned ample number of things while doing my studies from home. I enhanced my soft
skills which included writing the project and other topics in a more expressive manner. I
developed a proper idea for referencing my projects, writing reflection for given topic which
intensified quality of my work. My tutors even assisted me regarding writing CV in a proper
manner and format which heightened its quality. For any and every project work referencing is
considered mandatory which requires a lot of details, I learnt those minute details even. Studying
and learning all topics from online classes individually and even presenting them to my tutors
and mentors made me presentable. I have developed my presentation skill as it is said by my
tutors and mentors that each student need to present their work through online classes. For this,
my tutors final teams for the presentation and divide roles and tasks to each team mate so that
there must not be any kind of confusion and conflicts arise between the team members (Kalfa
and Taksa, 2015). I have to present the whole presentation in front of my other class mates and
teachers for which it becomes essential for me to speak fluently and confidently in front of
everyone. This will help me in various ways in my near future where I have to show my
presentation in front of my boss and heads.
Feelings: The second stage of Gibbs reflective cycle provides details description about the
whole feeling an individual experience while doing the situation. While, focusing on my overall
experience it has been observed by me that at first I was so excited but by passing the duration it
has been analysed by me that the whole process of doing studies from home is quite difficult for
me. Things look easy at the starting phase but when we actually doing it in real shows us that it

is quite touch to complete any kind of task and produce positive outcomes. When undergoing all
these topics and learning about them I was supported in accomplishing my various other projects
easily and with a good quality. All these skills assisted me learning, living and working better.
These helped me in managing the hurdles which came in mid way of completing online tasks
assigned to me. While learning I had recognizable change in my practical skills by the help of
online internships, I even got experience of research which would be counted as a huge thing.
These skills added to my resume building up and tailoring my identity. It has been said that the
whole situation tested my patience level as well as also it has been realised by me that my
presentation and public speaking skills is quite improved and help me in gaining opportunities in
future.
Evaluation: This is the most essential stage which focuses on presenting explanation
about the whole experience which can be good as well bad. This includes both positive along
with negative aspects which is gained by the individual from the situation. If talking about my
experience, it has been observed by me that my overall experience was so good and I was able to
learn and develop new things while performing the whole task. The experience I formulated
from whole process included both aspects which is natural for everyone as every work has some
phases which resist the learner to continue, but overcoming all of these my tutors assisted me and
helped me to get over them. While emphasizing on the positive experience, it is realized by me
that I was able to show my presentation skill in front of everyone with the cooperative nature of
my team mates who help me in learning new ways and techniques to speak in front of people
with more confident manner (Tsitskari and et. al., 2017). Furthermore, I have also examined that
my soft speaking skills help me in influencing my colleagues which will assist me in concluding
the whole task in an appropriate and effective way. With the assistance of overall analysis
associated to the same it has been identified by me that my teachers, guides and tutors help me in
improving my skills which will support me in near future so that I can perform my work in more
effective and appropriate manner.
Conclusion: This refers to the fourth step of reflective cycle which shows the exact
conclusion which has been formed with the help of whole experience of the person gaining while
doing the task (Ayodele, Oladokun and Kajimo-Shakantu, 2020). In this phase it is evaluated
what all can be concluded from above study that is how it has helped me in framing and
modifying my career and skills. It gave me exposure in presenting myself in front of others,

developing my general academic and disciplines. I realised when I became proficient in what I
learnt it made my ideas and work creative and more presentable. Learning all these upgraded my
grades to several folds. After analysing the whole experience as well as determining what was
positive and was negative in the overall journey, it has been said that the overall experience
associated with this was so good and I have learnt lot of new skills as well as improve my current
skills which includes presentation and public speaking skills, analytical as well critical thinking
skills. This has been concluded that all these improved skills assist me in near future in my
professional life where I can grab opportunities and attain success at the competitive
marketplace. Along with this, I have realized that patience and time management are the two
most essential thing which will help me in in every life situation and assist in order to attain
success in the future.
Action Plan: This define as the last and most important stage which help in getting
effective and most suitable action plan which has been developed by an individual person so that
similar sort of work or task can easily be performed if assigned in near future to them. As per my
overall experience, it has been identified by me that whenever I got the opportunity to conduct
similar sort of work like presentation or public speaking I will try my best to do it will full efforts
and try to be more confident and focused towards my body language and speaking manner. In
addition to this, I will also take some classes related to analytical and critical thinking along with
IT so that I can enhance my weak skill as well as use it effectively while making effective and
attractive presentation (Cotronei-Baird, 2020). With all these learning I will be more
participative in coming projects regarding the fields I studied and developed during this
pandemic. This would somewhere help me in polishing my skills and learning new aspects of
academic skills. As in many renowned universities employability is given priority as it works
towards the main aim that is getting a better job and for my future growth and career I learnt
these skills from my tutors and in coming time I need to work a bit less as compared to those
who were unable to take this program. I learnt CV making which will help me in updating my
own CV time to time and seeking for a better job, as CV is an outlook of individual's personality
and counted as first impression of the candidate. This as a result assist me in order to grab
growth opportunities available at the workplace and communicate all the information in more
effective and appropriate manner so that there must not be any kind of confusion arise in mind of
my team members.

CONCLUSION
With the assistance of above stated information it has been concluded that for gaining
opportunities available at the competitive environment it is very necessary for the individual
person to have skills and capabilities. These skills can be learned and improved while doing
studies as well as by doing job. With the help of Gibbs reflective cycle, overall experience of an
individual person can easily be understood. Stages of this cycle help in understanding the
positive and negative both aspects of the learning.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Jackling, B. and Natoli, R., 2015. Employability skills of international accounting graduates:
Internship providers’ perspectives. Education+ Training .57(7). pp.757-773.
Lim, Y.M. 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.
Ayodele, T.O., Oladokun, T.T. and Kajimo-Shakantu, K., 2020. Employability skills of real
estate graduates in Nigeria: a skill gap analysis. Journal of Facilities Management.
Rao, M.S., 2015. Step by step to soft-skills training: How to enhance employability skills in
students. Human Resource Management International Digest .23(6). pp.34-36.
Trought, F., 2017. Brilliant employability skills: How to stand out from the crowd in the
graduate job market. Pearson UK.
Kalfa, S. and Taksa, L., 2015. Cultural capital in business higher education: reconsidering the
graduate attributes movement and the focus on employability. Studies in Higher
Education .40(4). pp.580-595.
Cotronei-Baird, V.S., 2020. Academic hindrances in the integration of employability skills
development in teaching and assessment practice. Higher Education, 79(2), pp.203-223.
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.