What are work-ready skills and why teach them?

What are work-ready skills and experiences (WRYSE)?

Work-ready skills and experiences are frequently highlighted by employers as skills shortage areas in both new entrants to the industry and more experienced professionals.

These are often transferable skills – sometimes referred to as ‘soft’ skills – that that are relevant in roles across all parts of the screen industries, and often in other areas of work too.

They range from communication skills to mental health awareness. Industry-specific skills and knowledge, such as networking, working as a freelancer and set etiquette, have also been highlighted. This is in addition to broad technical skills and experience like managing costs and health and safety.

These work-ready skills are often not properly defined or understood and so can become deprioritised in favour of creative and specific technical skills on vocational or degree courses.

Greater clarity and consistency and better integration into education and training will provide significant support for people entering the screen industries and increased recognition from industry.

Working with a group of 26 industry professionals and educators, we have developed a set of key competencies that employers value and could make a difference for securing and succeeding in that first job.

Alongside that, we have developed a set of best practice guidelines for academics and trainers on ways the competencies can be incorporated into vocational and degree course curriculums and then evidenced or demonstrated to employers.

The aim is that:

• Young people are trained in the most in-demand competencies during their education according to best practice
• Students are able to articulate, evidence and demonstrate these skills and experiences meaningfully to employers – and are better equipped to gain employment and succeed in their job
• In the longer term, for employers to recognise the guidelines, training and resources as a significant step in the improvement in these skills gaps among junior crew

What are the competencies?

There are 16 WRYSE competencies – or sets of knowledge, skills and experience.

They are based on the National Occupational Standards for the creative industries, a set of much more detailed documentation developed with industry professionals that breaks down the technical and transferable skills and knowledge required for each major occupation or department within the screen sector.

The competencies are designed to be used by educators and professional trainers as a guide to working with their students.

You can explore more detail about each of the competencies using the links below.

Transferable competencies

• Communication
• Diversity, equity and inclusion
• Mental health awareness
• Team working
• Planning
• Management and leadership
• Problem solving
• Negotiating

Industry awareness competencies

• Networking
• Set etiquette
• Roles and departments
• Working as a freelancer

 Technical competencies

• Managing costs
• Research and analytical
• Contracts and permissions
• Health and safety

How to teach and evidence the competencies

We have developed a clear set of guidelines for how to incorporate the WRYSE competencies into vocational and degree courses, along with examples of curriculum models. There is also guidance on how students should evidence these skills to employers.

Background

This project was a collaboration by ScreenSkills, industry employers and academia.

ScreenSkills (through its BFI Future Film Skills project) and Middlesex University convened a working group of 26 educators and industry professionals drawn from companies and institutions around the UK regions and nations.

The industry professionals include representatives from games, high-end TV, unscripted TV, film and animation, from broadcasters to SME companies and freelancers.

The best practice guidelines were developed through discussions at industry and academia roundtables convened by ScreenSkills as part of its ScreenSkills Select endorsement programme. It was also based on the findings from several ScreenSkills research publications during 2021-22, and the BFI Skills Review in 2021-22, and its experience running the ScreenSkills Select accreditation scheme since 2019.

Read the Work-ready skills and experience report for more information about the collaboration with industry, process and full context for the project.