Skills for Work: Working in Wales
Working in Wales is a Skills for Work unit about the job market in Wales: key job sectors and employers, how Welsh sectors link to the wider UK and global economy, why Welsh language skills matter at work and the role of the Welsh Language Commissioner, and the skills needed in sectors with high demand. It is one 10 hour unit learners combine with others into a Skills for Work or Skills for Life and Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Literacy runs through every criterion, from naming and matching at Entry 1 to defining, explaining and comparing at Level 2, in speech or writing. Numeracy is light and not assessed.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- 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): Three learning outcomes (jobs available in Wales, the importance of the Welsh language in Welsh workplaces, skills needed to work in Wales), with 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. 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (the job market in Wales, key employment sectors and their links to the international economy, the importance of the Welsh language in Welsh workplaces, skills needed to work in Wales), with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Interpreting data
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Reading job market trends and demand
Level 1 and Level 2 learners learn about key trends in the Welsh job market, skills shortages and sectors in high demand, and the criteria ask them to outline or compare why demand is high. No criterion asks for figures or calculations, so numeracy is light; reading charts or figures on job demand is a teaching approach, not assessed.
Numeracy: Interpreting data
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read a bar chart of the number of people working in five sectors in their county and say which sector is largest and smallest.
- Year 8
- Pupils read a line graph of job vacancies in health and social care over five years and describe the trend in one sentence.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare two graphs of job demand in different Welsh sectors, describe the trends and say whether the graphs could be misleading.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification, Level 1 and Level 2 learning outcome 1, page 9; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria 4.1 to 4.3, page 7
“key trends in the job market in Wales”
Progression step 3
I can extract and interpret information from an increasing range of diagrams, timetables and graphs (including pie charts).
I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.
Progression step 4
I can interpret graphs that describe real-life situations, including those used in the media, recognising that some graphs may be misleading.
I can explore trends and extreme values (outliers) for data sets.
Good to know
- Each level has its own unit code: "Unit Codes S669E1" through S669L2, and the unit is worth "GLH 10" (Unit overview, page 3).
- Writing is not the only route: "While evidence may be verbal, written, practical, or visual, extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- Spelling is not marked here: "Assessor judgements should focus on meeting the standard, not spelling or presentation unless specifically assessed" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources" (Resources required for assessment, page 12).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory". Teachers may use, adapt or replace them (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- Evidence types include "video/audio recordings" and "teacher/assessor questioning", so spoken answers count (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools may be used "When properly referenced", but misuse includes "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- Where a criterion uses a plural without a number, "a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two" (pages 5 and 7).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Understanding the changing labour market, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace and Wellbeing in work (Wellbeing and work in the specification) as closely related Skills Suite units, and Jobs of the future and Exploring career pathways sit naturally alongside it. Work on sectors, employers and the Welsh economy links with GCSE Business. The Welsh language outcomes link with Core Cymraeg and Cymraeg Language and Literature. The key sectors named in the amplification match other qualifications on the page: construction with VCSE Built Environment, tourism with VCSE Travel and Tourism, retail with VCSE Retail and Customer Service, public services with VCSE Public Services, advanced manufacturing with VCSE Engineering, creative industries with VCSE Creative and Media Production and Technology, food and drink with VCSE Hospitality and Catering, and health and social care with GCSE Health and Social Care and Childcare.
Source: WJEC Working in Wales 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).