It is well known that employers look at the skills set of potential employees often more than the qualifications they hold. Here at Birch Wood we want students to feel that they can succeed and progress into successful futures. We have chosen 8 transferable skills which are vital in all aspects of life from home, social and work.

Listening

We all know how important listening is and it is more than just hearing or seeing what is said. Listening to others is about understanding the information that is given to us ether through speech or Makaton.

Resilience

Staying positive and having a can do attitude is so important in life. Whether it is a cake not rising in the oven or not being successful at an interview, no matter how big the knock back we must strive to keep going. This is a really hard concept to understand at any age so we look at staying positive and trying our best!

Creative thinking

Creative thinking isn’t just about art and design. It is about thinking outside the box and generating new ideas! From
creating an enterprising business on employability day to building circuits on our STEM day, students will get to explore their creative side!

Problem solving

We face problems every day which we often solve instinctively. By looking at what skills we need to solve problems students will be able to identify the skills they need and build confidence in not only solving problems but also sharing ideas to solve problems collectively.

Speaking

It is so important to be able to confidently get our ideas and messages across. Developing our confidence when speaking is key and we can use other methods such as Makaton or gestures to support our speech.

Leadership:

Leadership isn’t always about being in control or being the bossy one! Leadership is about supporting and motivating others as well as motivating ourselves. It helps us to look out for others as well as motivating ourselves. It helps us to look for the best in our peers and look at our own strengths.

Teamwork:

Working as a team is a real skill and we do lots of team based activities within all our curriculum subjects. Getting students to recognise effective team work and which part they play is really important for the world of work. We will also get students to start to take a leadership role in certain situations when on a group task to help them to develop skills such as motivation.

Aiming high (Motivation)

It is so important to set ourselves goals and aim high. Keeping motivated and motivating others can often be tricky Setting small goals to start with can help us to set bigger goals and plan ways to achieve them!