Work-Based Learning Reflective Report: Career & Skill Development

This report is a reflective analysis of a work-based learning experience, detailing the student's future career aspirations, specifically focusing on a Project Manager role within Barratt London. It outlines the necessary personal and professional development required, including leadership traits, planning, public speaking, and problem-solving skills. The report includes a detailed individual and professional development plan, assessing current skills and outlining actions for improvement in areas such as team management, delegation, communication, and decision-making. Furthermore, it presents a plan to evaluate and improve employee motivation, detailing methods like effective communication, appreciation, rewarding employees, workload management, and creating a positive work environment. The report also touches upon project management, conflict resolution and provides a conclusion summarising key insights gained from the work-based learning experience and also includes references.

Work-Based Learning-
Reflective Report

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
State future career role and explain personal and professional training required for future
career goal..............................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
Individual and professional development plan ......................................................................2
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Plan for work based to evaluate employee motivation improvements...................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
Conduct Project and recommend solutions to resolve issues in the workplace.....................9
TASK 5..........................................................................................................................................11
Monitor and evaluate the progress of project .....................................................................11
TASK 6..........................................................................................................................................12
Reflective report ..................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERNCES ................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Work based learning is stated by those activities and experiences when employees goes to
workplace with employer productive job tasks that helps in developing skills, knowledge and
willingness for work and support entry in particular career profile. Work-based learning
encompasses wide scope for learning experiences as it expose high school students to careers by
activities like job shadowing as it provides present workers with specialized training (Antonova,
2014). Work based learning includes on-the-job training, mentoring, and supports at workplace
which is continuous process in learning and skill development. In this project future career goals
and explanation of personal and professional training which is required for future career goal.
Intend to take responsibility of learning at workplace will be included in this report. This study
will identify personal and professional learning or development which is needed for future career
role. Purpose of work based project to evaluate employee motivation and conduct project to find
solutions and monitor progress f report will also be included.
TASK 1
State future career role and explain personal and professional training required for future career
goal
Developing leadership traits: One of the trait that good leader include role-modelling, vision
setting, motivating others, accountability, and developing future leaders in the workplace. All
organisations want leaders that inspires and most of them develop such individuals for positions,
but it depends upon employees also to find situations where they are able to use their strengths
and be effective. There is no alternative for experience, training workshops and seminars are way
to organize success for future leader.
Planning and goal setting: One of practical ways to accomplish goals all together without being
puzzled is by prioritising. Start making list of all goals and getting input from peers and mentor
then arrange goals into categories by importance. It is significant to clear and specify goals,
decide timeline for same and prepare comprehensive plan of act.
Public speaking: Learn to speak in public and developed communication skills are essential for
success. Clearness of thought is first step in the direction of developing good public speaking
skills, it allows to be to the point, delivering message with high force and gain reliability. Good
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presentation can get others on track as well, while performing in front of senior management that
are stern on increase estimation.
Problem and conflict solving: One of soft skills employers wants while recruiting is ability to
recognize and explain complex issues. It is essential to guarantee that targets set by management
are accomplished, while extracting most out of personnel and team. This makes it easier to
increase ranks without moving up dislike.
Art of negotiation: this appears to be most complicated skill to build up, but with training, it can
develop into ability that sets individual distant. Negotiation is also used across department to get
highest value in activity and asset. The solution is to listen to all points and reach to agreement
that equally satisfies all the parties that are involved in process (Ashton,2015).
Analytical and Research Skills: As individual think about problem presented is easy victory
and rush to give answer. Take some time to examine circumstances, think about likely scenario,
and conduct research to find more alternatives. Being logical, but with excellent research skills,
distinguishes employees from one other. It demonstrates resolving ability to measure different
situations and dedication to be definite before giving answer to employer. It could mean disparity
between poorly thought solutions and one which increases company profit.
TASK 2
Individual and professional development plan
Work based learning is educational strategies which render enormous opportunity to
students in which they takes an initiative in implementing theory into practice with real life
experience. Along with this, it can be obtained by various sources such as internships, mentoring,
apprenticeship and many more that help individuals to identify their potentiality as well as
empower them to make corrective course of action in an effective manner. However, the aspect
of work based learning helped in my previous workplace in terms of making best strategic
decision, collaborating with team members, acquiring innovative ideas and so on. Hence, I
identified my future career goal as a Project Manager in Barratt London which assist me to
acquire impressive growth and success in my professional life. In regard of Project Manager, I
have come across with different set of skills, abilities, characteristics which will lead me to
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perform effectively as well as encourage me to render best outcome to organisation in a
stipulated period of time (Beckwith, 2018). However, I make use of Personal and Professional
Development Plan through which I can examine my strength as well as weakness and also help
me to imply relevant or appropriate learning or training activities in order to tackle over all the
shortcomings in a better manner.
Objective Current
rating( range
from 0-5)
Resources Actions
Team
Management
4 As, this skill is
regarded as one
of the essential
ability in project
management
profile.
Therefore, it has
analysed that
there is still some
scope of
improvement.
Hence, team
management is
nothing but
managing or
handling the team
in a collaborative
and cooperative
manner by
rendering equal
attention over
each member so
that they can
In order to
enhance the same,
I approached
several seminars
and group
activities through
which I was able
to learn how to
manage and
maintain better
relationship with
every members in
an equal
proportion.
Moreover, those
seminars help me
to lead my team
not only from
strategic
perspective but
also in operational
point of view like
resolving conflict,
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perform better
towards assigned
task.
administrating,
and evaluating
performance and
so on which will
empower me to
obtain greater
success in Project
Manager profile.
Delegation 3 This determinant
is concern with
those aspect in
which it states
that assigning the
responsibilities or
task to personnel
based on their
abilities and
potentiality.
However, I need
to bring
improvement in
this skill as it
assist me gain
each individual
cooperation and
contribution
towards business
goal in an
effective manner
without any sort
of hindrances.
For enriching my
delegation skill
more effectively, I
undergoes
through different
management
activities like
icebreaking
session and round
tables. With the
help of such
elements, I will be
able to identify
each individual
potentiality and
capability as well
as aid me to
delegate roles
according to their
skill. Due to
which, there will
be less possibility
of arising
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conflicts or
disputes among
team members of
different
functional unit.
Communication 4 It is one of the
initial or primal
skill which a
Project Manager
requires the most
in order to
process the
business function
in a smooth
manner. As per
analysis, I am
good at
communication
yet there is a need
for imposing little
more
improvement in
current state
because of its
importance within
accomplishing
desired task in a
prescribed time
frame.
In regatd of
enhancing
communication
ability, I utilised
every
conferences,
group discussion,
presentation in
seminars, group
activities,
business game
that assist me to
understand the
role of effective
communication
inside working
culture.
Furthermore,
these actions
enable me to
control over
various issues like
misunderstanding,
misconception,
confusions,
conflict of interest
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and aid me to
bring full
participation of
personnel towards
an achievement if
business objective
in an improved
manner.
Decision making 3 Under this, it is
an ability to
provide better and
fair judgement or
conclusion over
particular issues
or situation for
enhancing the
productivity of
both employees
and company.
However, as per
my evaluation
criteria, I require
improvement in
decision making
skill for
marinating and
building healthy
relationship with
personnel in order
to obtain profit
maximisation in
For enhancing
decision making
skill I utilised
seminars,
workshops,
conferences on
team building and
leadership which
enabled to
acquire deeper
understanding of
implementing best
decisions as well
as how to deal
with complex
situation in a
smooth manner
without any
anxiety or
ambiguity.
Additionally, it
will lead me to
obtain increased
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an impressive
way.
level of
cooperation and
collaboration
from my team
members or
manpower in an
amended way.
TASK 3
Plan for work based to evaluate employee motivation improvements
Methods Activities Duration
Effective
Communication
Make it a point to keep your employees up-to-date
on things like customer feedback, changing due
dates, product improvements, new interaction
structures or departmental reporting, and training
opportunities. By doing so employees would be able
to make better decisions about their work as and
when there are changes (Bévort and Suddaby, 2016).
A good rule to follow would be to share more than
which is consider necessary, at least till get the hang
of it. If there are employees who would be
particularly affected by one or more changes, spend
additional time communicating with them in terms of
how the change would affect their decisions, job,
time allocation and goals.
1 months
Appreciation Employees deliver parts of the overall picture and
every part is important. So, appreciation of hard work
and projects delivered extremely well will make
employees feel good about themselves and also
3months
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valued, while giving them the drive to keep putting in
their best. It is good to recognize individual
employees as well as show appreciation for all
employees as a group when their team effort resulted
in some accomplishment. Just a few minutes of
recognition can create a great change in an
employee’s attitude to work.
Rewarding Employees Rewarding employees is a great way to show them
just how happy employer is with their dedication,
impressive behaviour and outstanding efforts. While
on the one hand, an effective reward system will
make employees feel on top of this world, on the
other hand, it is also a tool by which it can make
known the behaviors or actions which repeatedly
expect from employees. So suggestion would be to
set aside a certain kind of reward or recognition that
comes with specific information about the
requirements to be achieved to get that reward or
recognition. Only person who performs at the
standard or level described in the qualifying criteria
would get the reward.
4months
Realistic Work Load The workload for each employee should be balanced
and realistic. Too much on an employee’s plate can
demotivate them and too little can make. To come up
with a suitable workload, it would help to analyze
how much work an employee usually performs, the
work environment, mental and physical requirements
for the job and how much time is there on hand to get
the work done (Choy, Lee and Sedhu, 2019).
Deadlines should be practical too. One can consider
encouraging employees to be open about when they
2months
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feel their workloads are too much for them to bear so
that the workloads can be adjusted accordingly.
Work Environment As employees spend a fair amount of their day within
the walls of their office, it would really be worth it to
make the office look and feel as welcoming and
comfortable as possible. When employees feel happy
in their work environment, they feel motivated to
work.
5months
Social Outings and
Events
These kinds of events will help the company’s
employees get better acquainted with their co-
workers and possibly establish friendships with them.
The friendly relations thus developed with their
colleagues are again, fuel for motivation.
3months
Empowering employees Empowerment occurs when individuals in an
organization are given autonomy, authority, trust, and
encouragement to accomplish a task. Empowerment
is designed to unshackle the worker and to make a
job the worker's responsibility. In an attempt to
empower and to change some of the old bureaucratic
ideas, managers are promoting corporate
intrapreneurships. It encourages employees to pursue
new ideas and gives them the authority to promote
those ideas. Obviously, intrapreneurship is not for the
timid, because old structures and processes are turned
upside down.
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TASK 4
Conduct Project and recommend solutions to resolve issues in the workplace
Communicate clear expectations: Making sure employees are clear about their work
assignments means communicating those expectations well. Continue to manage what is
expected through frequent communications. If employees can explain objectives in their own
words, it is a good chance that they know what to do and how to get it done (Dunne, 2019).
Empower employees to do their jobs well: Empowering employees can take on many forms as
they gain the authority to make decisions that have a huge impact on their success. Whether it is
giving them input on goals and objectives, or allowing them to access their data without going to
HR, minor roadblocks will not impede their progress. They have the resources they need, yet
know they are held accountable without being micromanaged.
Establish a foundation first: The more an employee trusts, the more likely they are to come
forward and communicate when a problem is occurring. A great way to lay that foundation is to
establish a rapport with your employee first.
Stay consistent with expectations and follow up: It’s easy to drop regular check-ins when
work gets busy, but it’s one of the best ways to maintain effective workplace communication.
One of the most frustrating experiences as an employee is finishing a project and finding out
manager wanted something completely different. Prevent that by being clear and open to
questions from the beginning (Grob, 2018).
Make employee’s role in project clear: Communication in the workplace can break down fast
when employees don’t understand their roles. This goes hand in hand with keeping workflows
transparent. Establish the key stakeholders in the project, who has final approval, and what
channels the project needs to go through for completion.
Make processes clear and streamline annoying roadblocks: If employees are working on a
massive project with multiple stakeholders, chances are at some point or another there will be a
lapse in communication. Take that lapse as an opportunity to improve upon the process the next
time around. When communication changes employer can also get helpful feedback on what is
working for staff and what isn’t for the future.
Really listen: employees often think of communication as getting own message across, but
effective communication really is a two-way street. If listener is not actively listening to what the
other individual is saying, it’s difficult to end up on the same page. Ask questions for
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clarification, and give the conversation full attention (Helyer, 2015). Avoid multitasking or
thinking of response before the other person is done talking. Active listening can be challenging,
but it’s worthwhile.
Match Tasks to Skills: Knowing employees’ skills and behavioural styles is essential for
maximizing efficiency. For example, an extroverted, creative, out-of-the-box thinker is probably
a great person to pitch ideas to clients. However, they might struggle if they are given a more
rule-intensive, detail-oriented task. Asking employees to be great at everything just isn’t
efficient–instead, before giving an employee an assignment, ask is this the person best suited to
perform this task or not.
TASK 5
Monitor and evaluate the progress of project
Under this phase, it is relate with monitoring and governing the performance of personnel in
order to check whether they are on the right track or their contribution is able to meet
organisation standard. As, the above statement shows that due to poor communication it
impose huge difficulties within functional units like increased employee turnover,
confusions, decreased employees motivation level towards accomplishment of business
goal. Hence, there are several measures has been taken to tackle over the ineffective
communication like rendering proper training and development programs, conducting
business activities, group activities, group discussion and so on which help organisation’s
superior to build a better working environment. Some of the outcome that has been adopted
after evaluating and monitoring the performance of staff within business premises are as
follows:
With the help of training and development program, I was able to provide all accurate and
relevant information to my personnel in a very transparent and clear manner. With the help of
this, I am able to build healthy relationship with every team members as well as to understand
the issues of personnel in a better manner (Mathieson, 2016).
 Compare to my past experience in Baratt London a Senior Site Manager, the above
mentioned measures assist me determine each manpower ability or potentiality and
also empower me to delegate roles or responsibilities according to their skills. Due to
which it benefitted me to gain improved level of participation from every individual
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in an equal proportion that enriched company’s overall performance in an effective
and efficient manner.
In addition to this, application of different business activities assist me to recognise each
individual effort or contribution in an improved way. Along with this, it enable me to provide
fair reward or performance appraisal in the form of certificates, memento, prize, promotion and
many more With the help of this, I was able to overcome or reduce employee turnover and
empower me to retain existing employees within company for longer period of time (Silva-
Fletcher and et.al., 2014).
TASK 6
Reflective report
The preceding discussed report emphasise over identifying future career goal which leads
me to gain success and growth in professional life. However, in regard of this, I was
working as a Senior Site Manager in Baratto London in which I was assigned to look after
the apartment’s handovers and build completions in terms of quality, cost and facilities for
providing higher level of customer or client satisfaction. Hence, I acquired various
experienced during my service as a Senior Site Manager like managing team, coordinating
or communicating with group members and many more. Thus, based on my past experience
I decided to examine successful future career goal which lead me to improve or enhance my
professional platform. So, my future goal was Project Manager whose foremost role is to
managing project effectively by organising team in a better manner in order to ensure high
level of customer satisfaction. Apart from this, I identified various skill which is needed for
achieving progress and growth in Project Manager Role within organisation. Some of the
skills which I determined are team management, decision making, communication,
delegation that assist me to acquire better outcome in a stipulated period of time. However,
having past experience in the same field I had all these skills and feature yet I made an effort
to analyse my existing abilities by developing personal and professional development plan.
Hence, with this plan I came across with actual ranking of my current performance which
shows there should be a need for proper improvement in delegation and decision making
abilities. Moreover, there is a scope of enrichment in communication, team management
skill for maintaining the better working environment. Apart from this, to improve my
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shortcomings I make use of different corrective course of actions such as attended seminars,
conferences, workshops, business games, group discussion and so on. Due to which I was
able to enhance my drawbacks and also was enable to improve my overall performance in an
impressive and productive style.
In addition to this, I came across with huge issue i.e. poor communication and staff
underperforming which impose serious reflection over manpower as it increases the staff
turnover ratio, conflicts, decreased performance quality of personnel, reduced manpower
loyalty towards company. However, to overcome this negative issue, there were some
measures which has been taken by organisation that is conducting training and development
program, imposed clarity in communication, inviting employees to participate in business
activities and many more. Due to which, it helped me to enhance the ratio of employees
productivity as well as to retain the current staff within organisation for longer duration that
enriched the brand value of firm among competing industry. In addition to this, I acquired
several recommendation for enhancing more such as providing effective encouragement or
motivation to personnel, recognising their effort, collecting follow up on weekly base,
rendering enormous growth opportunity. Henceforth, such implication assist me to
determine and understand the importance of being best leader or Project Manager within
organisation in order to gain competitive advantage in an innovative and creative manner.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above discussed report that work based learning plays a
significant role as it empower an individual to apply theories into practical which lead them to
obtain increased level of development and growth in their task or goal in a desired time frame.
Moreover, personal and professional development plan assist personnel to identify their strength
and weakness as well as to make corrective course of action in order to gain better outcome in
terms of quality and proficiency ratio.
REFERNCES
Books and journals
Antonova, N., 2014. Economic Identity and Professional Self-Determination. Athens Journal of
Social Sciences. 1(1). pp.71-81.
Ashton, D., 2015. Creative Contexts: Reflecting on work placements in the creative industries.
Journal of Further and Higher Education. 39(1). pp.127-146.
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Beckwith, P., 2018. The nurse associate trainee deserves a HOTSHOT education: a reflective
signature pedagogical approach. Journal of pedagogic development.
Bévort, F. and Suddaby, R., 2016. Scripting professional identities: How individuals make sense
of contradictory institutional logics. Journal of Professions and Organization. 3(1).
pp.17-38.
Choy, S. C., Lee, M. Y. and Sedhu, D. S., 2019. Reflective Thinking among Teachers:
Development and Preliminary Validation of Reflective Thinking for Teachers
Questionnaire. Alberta Journal of Educational Research. 65(1). pp.37-50.
Dunne, J., 2019. Improved levels of critical reflection in Pharmacy Technician student work-
placement assessments through emphasising graduate attributes. Journal of Teaching and
Learning for Graduate Employability. 10(2). pp.1-14.
Grob, G. F., 2018. Evaluation practice: Proof, truth, client relationships, and professional
growth. American Journal of Evaluation. 39(1). pp.123-132.
Helyer, R., 2015. Learning through reflection: the critical role of reflection in work-based
learning (WBL). Journal of Work-Applied Management. 7(1). pp.15-27.
Mathieson, L., 2016. Synergies in Critical Reflective Practice and Science: Science as Reflection
and Reflection as Science. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice. 13(2).
p.4.
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enhancing critical reflection in veterinary and para-veterinary educators. Journal of
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Stoten, D., 2016. Promoting Self‐Regulated Learning: the potential of PebblePad+ as a holistic
tool for education. Journal of Pedagogic Development. 6(3). pp.32-41.
Vachon, B and et.al., 2016. Professional portfolios used by Canadian occupational therapists:
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