Why are Key Skills so important?
Key Skills form an essential part of your "employability". Key Skills are transferable skills because they are used in almost every job sector. The information on this page shows you how these skills are used within the Building Products and Refractory Sector. People often change their jobs several times throughout their career. These "key" transferable skills develop during this process and continue to improve due to common activities found in every business.
Communication Skills
The stronger your communication skills are, the quicker you can react to information and the better you are at creating action in others. Within this sector it is essential to have good communication skills, as the work you complete is part of a team activity. Good communication skills are vital to all businesses today, as messages passed from one member of the team need to be understood quickly and acted on. Confusion can lead to the reduction in customer service and a loss of future business.
Computer Skills
Computer usage in business is continuously expanding and, together with engineering, this has changed the way many products are produced in the UK today. Large scale production techniques are now often fully automated. Computers are also used widely for business strategy planning, information management, budget control, staff training, marketing communication and many other activities.
Application of Number
There are many high level technical jobs requiring a strong numerical ability within this sector. Strong Maths skills are vital for setting budgets, weighing raw materials (production), planning, designing and in looking for ways to reduce waste. Maths skills are also needed to check that the products loaded to delivery vehicles match the needs of the customer.
Working With Others
This sector relies on team workers. Staff must be self motivated, yet able to work in a team environment to hit the manufacturing targets set by customer demand. Employer surveys often show that a shortage of team working skills can have a major impact on a company's ability to hit their targets. To address this, employers now look for an indication of team working skills at interview.
Improving Own Learning
Businesses need staff that want to continually develop their skills as this improves the service their business is able to provide. Continuous improvement leads to better customer service and that creates increased orders, which secures jobs. This helps the business grow and stays in profit, providing security for all its workers. Have you got the ability to identify improvements and come up with good ideas? That's creativity and it's also seen as vitally important in business today.
Problem Solving
With businesses needing to continuously improve to stay ahead of their competitors, an ability to analyse and find solutions to problems is seen as very useful. Problem solvers are enthusiastic and have a strong commitment to improving working systems. They believe in working hard and are very positive in their approach. These are all qualities that employers look for.
