Skills for Work: Applying for Jobs
Applying for Jobs (Unit SfW 6) is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2. Learners match their skills, strengths and interests to jobs, search for vacancies and prepare applications. Centres set and mark the assessment, Pearson verifies it, and the unit is passed once at one level. Literacy demand is high: every level asks learners to list, outline, describe or explain their attributes, read adverts or job descriptions and write applications, which at Level 2 must be tailored, professional and checked for accuracy. Numeracy is light, limited to comparing vacancies by hours, location or pay and managing time for applications.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): One assessment criterion at each of Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, rising from listing personal information and strengths and taking part in a basic job search or application activity, to matching skills and strengths to possible jobs using basic job-search resources and completing application forms. The centre chooses the evidence, sets and marks the assessment, and Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail at the level achieved.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: learners describe (Level 1) or explain (Level 2) how their personal attributes match job opportunities, and carry out job searches and job applications, which must be varied and tailored at Level 2. The centre chooses the evidence, sets and marks the assessment, and Pearson quality assures it through standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail at the level achieved.
Skills that use Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
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Describing own skills, strengths and interests and matching them to jobs
Entry 1 learners list personal information and strengths, Entry 2 learners outline at least two abilities and two interests, and Entry 3 learners identify three skills, three strengths and two interests and give a simple reason why a job fits. Level 1 learners describe at least two attributes with examples from school, home or the community, and Level 2 learners explain in detail how their attributes relate to at least three jobs across two sectors. This is required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Clarity and vocabulary, Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make a mind map of their own skills with an example from school, home or a club for each, then tell a partner about their top three.
- Year 8
- Pupils match their skills to three job profiles on the Careers Wales website and write one sentence for each explaining the match.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a paragraph explaining how their skills and interests suit two jobs in different sectors, giving an example for each skill.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 6, assessment criteria Entry 1 to Level 2, page 35; Essential information for assessment decisions, pages 36 to 38
“explain in detail how their attributes (i.e. skills, aptitudes, and aspirations) relate to a range of at least three job opportunities”
Progression step 3
I can express issues and ideas clearly using area of learning and experience/discipline-specific vocabulary and examples.
I can write a comprehensive account of a topic, theme or viewpoint.
Progression step 4
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
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Writing a CV, covering letter and application form
Entry 2 learners write brief answers on parts of a basic form, with word banks allowed, and Entry 3 learners write short, simple sentences under headings such as 'My skills'. Level 1 learners write in their own words, sequence information and show elements of a professional tone and layout, and Level 2 learners adapt the content and professional style of CVs, covering letters and forms to each role. This is required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils write a short formal letter to the headteacher asking to start a lunchtime club, following a set layout with address, date and sign-off.
- Year 8
- Pupils write a personal profile for a mock CV and then rewrite it in a more formal tone suited to an employer.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a covering letter for a real part-time job advert, using the wording of the advert to decide which of their skills to mention.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 6, assessment criteria Entry 2 to Level 2, page 35; Essential information for assessment decisions, pages 36 to 38
“When preparing a job application, they can produce a CV, covering letter, or application form in their own words”
Progression step 3
I can adapt my writing style and structure to suit the audience, purpose and context, e.g. suitable balance between facts and viewpoints, a precise conclusion.
I can make appropriate choices about vocabulary, idiomatic language and syntax in order to express myself with fluency and clarity for different audiences and purposes.
Progression step 4
I can adapt my writing style, choosing and using the best structures for different contexts and purposes, e.g. to successfully describe, explain, persuade, discuss.
I can select and use appropriate strategies to plan and develop my writing for different purposes and audiences.
Progression step 5
I can summarise confidently, adapting style and form for the reader or intended audience and purpose for writing.
Good to know
- Applying for jobs is Unit SfW 6 in the "Overcoming barriers" group, with 20 "Unit GLH" (Unit summary, page 5), and "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Entry learners get language support: "Their written responses are brief, and word banks may be provided for support" (Entry 2 essential information, page 36), and Entry 3 learners may use "templates or structured headings such as 'My skills'" (page 37).
- From Level 1 the writing must be the learner's own: they produce a CV, covering letter or application form "in their own words" with "elements of a professional tone and layout" (Level 1 essential information, page 37). At Level 2 learners "check their work carefully for accuracy" themselves (page 38).
- The centre picks the evidence: "For this unit there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 36), so explanations can be spoken and recorded as well as written.
- "Learners can be assessed in Welsh or English" (Language of assessment, page 8).
- AI tools must be acknowledged: "If AI is used, the final submission must be in the learner's own words and reflect their own effort", and unacknowledged use is malpractice (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 39).
- The teaching content is in a separate document: "This can be found in the Teaching and Learning Support document for this unit" (Unit content, page 36).
- The document has some copying errors: the Skills for Work specification says "Every unit in our Skills for Life qualifications includes an Authorised Assessment Brief" (page 8), and the Level 2 support guidance reads "The demonstrate initiative" (page 39).
Links with other qualifications
Writing a CV, covering letter and application form builds directly on the formal and transactional writing in GCSE English Language and Literature, and the same tasks done in Welsh link with GCSE Core Cymraeg and GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature. Comparing pay and hours draws lightly on the money and time work in GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy, and the recruitment context links with GCSE Business and the VCSE in Retail and Customer Service. Within the WJEC Skills Suite, Interview and Confidence Techniques, Exploring Career Pathways and Work Experience sit naturally beside it. Compared with the WJEC Applying for jobs unit, also 20 hours but organised into four learning outcomes, Pearson's version has one criterion per level and sets fixed Level 2 amounts of reading and writing: information from at least three job-search resources, four suitable vacancies and two tailored applications.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfW 6: Applying for jobs.