Personal and professional skills (PPS)

Business organisations operate in a rapidly changing global economy and their labour requirements are constantly changing. Implications for you include the impact on the job and career opportunities that are available to you. In an increasingly competitive labour market, it is essential that you recognise the importance of planning your career. This second project covers developing a career plan based on research and realistic targets.

The project is incremental in nature as you develop and refine the content of your career plan. For the first part of the project you need to focus on researching into your own career choices. This will require a thorough analysis of job and career opportunities in your chosen career-related BTEC field. Once this is established you will be introduced to a number of techniques that will assist you in your planning. You will develop a range of practical skills which will underpin the self-assessment requirements of your career plan. This will include completion of a skills audit and monitoring the ongoing development of your transferable skills.

You will need to reflect on the results of your skills audit and identify any skills gaps. You will need to be realistic and know how to focus on priorities. This will allow you to develop strategies based on realistic and measurable targets to meet your developmental needs. You will need to look ahead to create medium term (five years) projections for your career plan.

The project introduces you to the concept of continuing professional development. This will give you an understanding of the process of lifelong learning and enable you to look beyond the boundaries of a short-term plan. On completion of the unit, you will have developed a realistic picture of your career possibilities.