NI - Why are Essential Skills so Important?
Essential Skills form a key part of your "employability". Essential 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. The transferable skills they develop during this process continue to improve due to common activities found in every business.
Literacy 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.
Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
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.
Numeracy
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.
