Lady pricing clothes in a shop Employability

Employability skills are the non-vocational skills that people use at work. They are very wide-ranging such as communication skills, team working skills, organisational skills and problem solving skills. These skills are important because without them, people can find it much harder to find work or succeed in work.

On this page:

Supporting policy makers

NIACE works closely with policy-makers by providing advice and assistance in the development of employability skills strategy. As well as doing this to support the economy, competitiveness and productivity, NIACE is also keen to ensure that individual learners' needs are at the heart of government decision-making. NIACE does this by:

  • Meeting relevant government departments and agencies like the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council;
  • Providing commentary and responding to consultations on new Welfare to Work and skills policy; and
  • Holding conferences and workshops to demonstrate new approaches and to discuss new developments.

Developing provision

NIACE regularly provides employability skills programmes that pilot new approaches in the delivery of employability skills. Through these pilot projects, we try to attract and serve new types of learners or serve existing learners better. Examples of these projects include:

  • Steps to Success: an integrated retail skills and employment programme for people from black and minority ethnic communities in Leicester;
  • Upskill: A skills adaptation programme in the fields of accountancy, administration and care occupations for refugees and migrant workers;
  • ERIQ project: A programme to develop the delivery of employability skills through family learning;
    Learning through work: A mentor supported communication skills programme for people working in healthcare settings.

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