Skills for Work: Using IT in the Workplace
Using IT in the workplace is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, that learners combine with other units into a Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners find and organise work information, create and edit workplace documents, communicate by email, chat and video call, and use devices safely. Literacy sits in writing clear, polite and professional messages, editing documents for accuracy, structure and tone, laying out documents for readers, reading and comparing sources, and explaining how digital skills support work. Numeracy is light: no criterion asks for calculation; only suggested tasks such as a spreadsheet rota or schedule use tables and times.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Five learning outcomes with separate Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 assessment criteria. Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Five learning outcomes with separate Level 1 and Level 2 assessment criteria. Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Measurement
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Organising work information in tables and schedules
No assessment criterion asks for calculation, so numeracy demand is low. The amplification mentions spreadsheet layouts for organising content, and the suggested evidence includes planning a work schedule using spreadsheets and making a rota, which use tables, times and dates.
Numeracy: Representing data, Measurement
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils fill in a table of who does which job at a class stall, with start and finish times for each shift.
- Year 8
- Pupils build a weekly rota in a spreadsheet for four staff, making sure each shift is covered and adding up the hours each person works.
- Year 9
- Pupils plan a work schedule for a school event in a spreadsheet, with dates, times, tasks and a chart showing how hours are shared between staff.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification of learning outcome 2, page 10; Suggested activities, page 13; Sources of evidence, page 14
“planning a work schedule using spreadsheets”
Progression step 3
I can represent data using:
- lists, tally charts, tables, diagrams and frequency tables
- bar charts, grouped data charts, line graphs and conversion graphs
- pictograms where one symbol represents more than one unit using a key
- Venn and Carroll diagrams.
I can use and interpret calendars, timetables and schedules to plan events and activities, and make calculations as part of the planning journey.
Progression step 4
I can select and construct appropriate charts, diagrams and graphs with suitable scales.
Good to know
- Each level has its own unit code: "S666E1", S666E2, S666E3, S666L1 and S666L2, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours (Unit overview, page 3).
- Equipment is required: "Centres will need access to computers or tablets with office-style software and simple simulated workplace tasks" (Resources required for delivery, page 15).
- Spelling is not judged unless a criterion asks for it: "Assessor judgements should focus on meeting the standard, not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 14). Several criteria here do assess clarity, layout and tone, so these count.
- Evidence can be digital: "screen recordings or annotated screenshots" and "reflective logs or video/audio diaries" are listed (Sources of evidence, page 14), and the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- The suggested tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- AI misuse is malpractice, including "Copying or paraphrasing sections of AI-generated content" so the work is no longer the learner's own (Section 4.6, page 21), so messages and documents must be written by the learner.
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Wellbeing in work, Customer service, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace, Working in Wales and Understanding the changing labour market as closely related Skills Suite units. Writing professional messages for different audiences and editing for accuracy and tone builds on GCSE English Language and Literature and GCSE Cymraeg Language and Literature, and links with customer communication in VCSE Retail and Customer Service and GCSE Business. Document creation and file management link with GCSE Digital Technology, and spreadsheet rotas and schedules link lightly with GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy.
Source: WJEC Using IT in the workplace 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).