Skills for Work: Customer Service
Customer service is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, about good customer service, its benefits to a business, communicating with customers and teamwork. It is one unit that learners combine with other 10 or 20 hour units into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy is the heart of the unit: learners explain and discuss customer service, show verbal and non-verbal communication in role play, adapt their style to different customers, handle complaints at Level 2 and read case studies. Numeracy demand is low, as no criterion asks for any calculation or data.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- 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
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Three learning outcomes (know what good customer service is, communicate with customers, work as part of a team to provide customer service), with separate assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Three learning outcomes (understand how to deliver excellent customer service, communicate effectively with customers in various scenarios including complaints, understand the importance of teamwork), with separate assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Collaborative talk
-
Using verbal and non-verbal communication with customers
Learners recognise effective and ineffective communication at Entry 1 and Entry 2, demonstrate it at Entry 3, give examples of verbal and non-verbal communication at Level 1, and at Level 2 demonstrate communication skills including handling a customer complaint. Demonstrations are required by the assessment criteria and are usually observed in role play.
Literacy: Clarity and vocabulary, Collaborative talk, Purpose
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort photo cards of body language, such as smiling, eye contact and frowning, into welcoming and unwelcoming, then greet a partner playing a customer.
- Year 8
- Pupils role play a customer returning a broken item, practising a calm tone of voice, positive words and nodding to show they are listening.
- Year 9
- Pupils role play handling an angry customer's complaint at a sports centre desk, staying polite and using empathy, then get feedback from an observer on their tone and language.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, page 5; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, page 7; Amplification of LO2, page 11
“Demonstrate two examples of communication skills when engaging with customers, including handling customer complaints”
Progression step 3
I can speak clearly, recognising the appropriate language for different audiences and purposes, and varying my expression, vocabulary, tone and gestures to engage the audience.
I have experienced speaking with different people in a variety of authentic contexts.
Progression step 4
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
I can organise talk effectively to respond to how listeners are reacting by adapting what I say and how I say it.
I have experienced speaking with different people in a variety of authentic contexts.
-
Explaining how teamwork supports customer service
Learners point out strong teamwork at Entry 1, describe a time they worked in a team at Entry 3, explain why teamwork matters at Level 1, and at Level 2 discuss how teamwork contributes and identify two team roles and how each contributes. These are required by the assessment criteria.
Literacy: Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context, Collaborative talk
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils describe in a few sentences a time they worked in a team in PE or a class project and what their job was.
- Year 8
- Pupils look at a picture of a busy shop and discuss in groups how the cashier, shelf stacker and manager help each other serve customers.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a short report on two roles in a cinema or leisure centre team, such as front-line staff and a supervisor, and how each helps give excellent service.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 3, page 6; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3.1 to 3.3, page 8; Amplification of LO3, pages 11 and 12
“Discuss how teamwork contributes to the delivery of excellent customer service”
Progression step 3
I can use and adapt different structures within my writing, e.g. reporting an event, investigation or experiment.
I can contribute to group discussion in different roles, taking responsibility for completing the task well.
Progression step 4
I can use summary, discussion of issues, detailed explanations and logic when covering a topic.
I can undertake a range of responsibilities to structure and develop group talk, including in more formal situations.
Good to know
- The unit codes are S655E1, S655E2, S655E3, S655L1 and S655L2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours in the Skills for Work suite (Unit overview, page 3).
- Spelling and presentation are not judged: "Assessor judgements should focus on meeting the standard, not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed." (Sources of evidence, page 13).
- Long writing is not needed: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 13), so oral and role play evidence, recorded or observed, can meet the criteria.
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 14).
- Suggested assessment tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI use must be acknowledged. Properly referenced AI use "can be acceptable", but "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content" is malpractice (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- There is no numeracy in the criteria. Appendix A of the specification maps the unit to Literacy only among the integral skills (page 29).
Links with other qualifications
Customer service builds the speaking, listening and explaining skills of GCSE English Language and Literature in a work setting, and links closely with VCSE Retail and Customer Service and Foundation Retail and Customer Service, where communicating with customers and handling complaints are covered in more depth. VCSE Hospitality and Catering, VCSE Travel and Tourism and VCSE Sport and Leisure also involve serving customers, and GCSE Business covers why reputation and customer loyalty matter. Role play links with GCSE Drama. The pack names Fairness and inclusion in the workplace, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Understanding the changing labour market, Working in Wales and Wellbeing and work as closely related Skills Suite units, and Teamwork links through LO3.
Source: WJEC Customer service unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).