Make the most of your skills

Topics in this section:

• Understand what employers want
• Work out what you have to offer
• Keep your skills up to date
• Paying for training

Whether you are looking for a major career move or a new job to enable you to balance work and home more successfully, it’s vital that you maximise and showcase your skills if you are to find the right job.

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Understand what employers want

A look at the vacancies advertised online will give you a good idea of what employers in the region are looking for. The trick is to match your skills profile to the recruiter’s person specification. If you have years of experience in a sector or industry that should be fairly easy.

If you want to apply for jobs in a new sector, remember that technical expertise aside, most employers are looking for similar skills. For example people who are flexible, self motivated, numerate, good communicators, able to take the initiative and develop effective working relationships are always in demand.

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Work out what you have to offer

Your work experience to date will almost certainly have helped you develop a number of transferable skills. It’s worth making a list of all the jobs you have ever done and what skills you think you have gained.

Don’t ignore the skills you have acquired away from the workplace. Research from Jobcentre Plus has shown that jobseekers gain vital skills running their homes including budgeting, planning, problem solving and negotiating techniques. Nor is skills development confined to these softer competences; household chores and DIY mean many of us are equipped with highly useful vocational skills too.

Voluntary work is another source of skills. For example running a fundraising event will have honed your project and time management abilities; while, encouraging others to take part will have enhanced your influencing skills.

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Keep your skills up to date

However good your skills are, you should also be on the look out for ways to develop yourself further. Your current employer will probably only want to fund training and development that will be of use to that organisation. If you are looking to move up or on, look at other sources of training. Try the following:

• Professional associations usually treat the idea of continuous professional development very seriously and offer highly structured programmes to their members. Many, such as accountancy body CIPFA and the personnel managers’ organisation the CIPD, boast vibrant branch networks across the UK.
• If you are a member of a trade union that too could be a good source of help and advice. The TUC is a good place to start.
• Sector skills councils will also give you more information about the industry in which you operate or want to operate. There are currently nearly 30 which between them cover most industries. Find out more on the website
• The Learning and Skills Council works with employers and individuals to develop priority skills for the UK. As a result it is spending around £3m to develop skills in Cheshire, Warrington and Greater Manchester.

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Paying for training

If your employer won’t fund your development plans try the following:

• Adult Learning Grants are being piloted by the Learning and Skills Council. They pay up to £30 a week to people aged 19 and over who are studying for at least 12 hours a week.
• Learndirect is the national training helpline that can provide jobseekers with access to thousands of courses across the UK, some of which are free.
• Career development loans offer learners from £300 to £8,000 for a two to three year course. They are available through commercial banks but the Government pays the interest on the loan during the training period. Find out more on the Government advice website Direct Gov
• Local further education colleges are an excellent source of reasonably priced training that often takes place outside working hours.

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