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 Understanding, response and analysis
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Reading and comparing sources of work information
Learners find simple information for work at Entry Level, locate information used for work at Level 1, and at Level 2 select and compare reliable sources of information used for work. The criteria require this.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils scan a company website to find the contact details and opening hours and copy them accurately.
- Year 8
- Pupils skim two websites with instructions for the same task and decide which is clearer and more complete.
- Year 9
- Pupils read two sources of advice about workers' rights, one official and one from a forum, and write a comparison of how reliable and useful each is.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1, page 4; Level 1 and Level 2, assessment criteria L1 2.1 and L2 2.1, page 6; Amplification of learning outcome 2, page 10
“Select and compare reliable sources of information used for work.”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of strategies for finding information, e.g. skimming for gist, scanning for detail.
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
Progression step 4
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information.
I can evaluate the usefulness and reliability of texts.
Progression step 5
I can use printed and digital texts to search selectively, assessing the reliability, significance and accuracy of what I find.
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).