Employability Skill

Initiative and enterprise:

being creative; translating
ideas into action; adapting to
new situations, skills that
contribute to innovative
outcome

Examples (SAO situation, action, outcome)

S- I was babysitting four children (Shannon 9,
Amy 7, Natalie 5 & Brianna 2 years old) at their
house. They had been looking forward to
watching one of their favourite movies when the
power suddenly cut out.
A- As we had no way of watching the movie I
suggested we act out the scenes ourselves, and
put together costumes from things around the
house.

Communication: listening
and understanding; sharing
information; understanding
the needs of customers, skills
that contribute to productive
and harmonious relations
between employees and
customers

O- The girls ended up enjoying acting out the

movie more and were kept occupied for hours
making costumes and rehearsing, before putting
on a show for their parents. .
S- A customer at my workplace was arguing
with me over the quality of a drink I had
prepared for them, and insisting that I remake it
for them.
A- Although I disagreed with their opinion I
listened and accepted that I had done the wrong
thing, before remaking the drink.
O- The customer later apologized for their
behaviour, as did I, and I learned valuable
communication skills from the experience.
S- I participated in Clean Up Australia Day 2014,
with my work colleagues at McDonalds
Cannington.

Teamwork: working as an
individual and as a member of
a team; coaching, mentoring
and giving feedback, skills that
contribute to productive
A- I took charge of my six-person team and
working relationships and
their actions, coordinating who was working
outcome
where and focusing on which job, for example
collecting or bagging.

O- We managed to clean a large strip of Albany

Highway, collecting seven bags of rubbish in
just two hours, due to our coordination and
teamwork.
Technology: having a range
of IT skills; being willing to
learn new IT skills, skills that
contribute to effective
execution of tasks

S- For the first few months at Leeming

Veterinary Clinic the patient information was still
on small paper cards in a filing cabinet. We then
acquired two computers.
A- It was my responsibility as the most junior
staff member to input all the patient data into

the computers, along with installing all the

systems and setting up the other equipment
(speakers, hard drives, printers, etc).
O- After about seven hours of work (the
equivalent of two afternoons) I had the
computers working fully and every patient
logged into the computers without issue.
Problem-Solving: developing
practical solutions; solving
problems in teams; resolving
customer concerns, skills that
contribute to productive skills

Self-management: taking
responsibility; evaluating and
monitoring own performance;
having personal vision and
goals, skills that contribute to
long-term and short-term
strategic planning

Planning and organizing:

managing time and priorities;
collecting, analyzing and
organizing information, skills
that contribute to long term
and short term strategic
planning

S- Last Easter there was a community Easter

Egg Hunt held by the Perth City Council at my
local park for small children.
A- I joined one of the teams (with five children
aged 4-8 years old) as a supervisor and helped
them to work together to solve the puzzles and
collect the hidden eggs.
O- Eventually my team found a treasure map
which led to Easter eggs buried in the sandpit
(which were thankfully in a sealed box). Due to
us working as a team we deciphered our map
the fastest and finished first.
S- During the Term 3-4 holidays last year I was
mostly left home alone during the day as both
of my parents work full time.
A- It was my responsibility to correctly manage
my time, as I needed to study for the Semester
2 exams. It was up to me to recognise when I
needed to study and when I could take breaks
without being distracted.
O- My goal of at least 70% for each subject
exam was met, I even managed to get into the
high 80s for two of my subjects.
S- Similar to the above situation I had Semester
2 exams coming up and needed to organise a
way to effectively study.
A- I created an A3 study timetable, which I
copied and left around my house (on the fridge,
the back of the toilet door, etc). It also had
motivational quotes to encourage me to stick to
it.
O- I believe that my study plan helped me to
achieve my goal of at least 70% for each subject
exam, and I felt more confident knowing exactly

Learning: being open to new

ideas and techniques; having
enthusiasm for ongoing
learning, skills that contribute
to ongoing improvement and
expansion in employee and
company operations and
outcome

how much study I had completed for each of my

subjects.
S- The woman I usually worked with at the
Veterinary Clinic, Megan, was on holiday for two
weeks, which meant a replacement to watch
over me. However the replacement, Jenna, did
things very differently to the way I was used to.
As we were virtual strangers I found it hard to
work with her, as I am shy when meeting new
people.
A- I learned from Jenna and worked hard to
meet her high standards even though I was
used to something completely different. I
practiced her alternative methods at home with
my own pets to perfect them in the hopes of
impressing her.
O- Jenna was eventually very proud of my
efforts to learn her way of doing things and we
became close friends. I eventually implemented
some of Jens systems when Megan returned as
they saved time for the Clinic.