Skills for Work: Career Creativity
Career creativity is a Skills for Work unit in which learners explore jobs and ways of working, including freelance, portfolio and self-employed work, recognise their own strengths and interests, and plan steps towards a future job or opportunity. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2. Digital demand is low because no criterion needs a computer. Digital work sits in online careers research with tools such as Careers Wales, virtual workplace tours, presenting job ideas with slides or video, and writing a career action plan.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Three learning outcomes with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 (unit codes S654E1, S654E2, S654E3). 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: Three learning outcomes with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2 (unit codes S654L1, S654L2). Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
The digital skills in this qualification
-
Researching careers online
The Level 1 and Level 2 amplification asks learners to research opportunities related to their career ideas, and the resources list Careers Wales quizzes and job profiles, Future Jobs Wales, JISC and Profi. Online research feeds the criteria on describing pathways and identifying support, but no criterion requires it, so it is taught rather than assessed.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take the Careers Wales Buzz quiz and look up two of the suggested jobs on the Careers Wales job information pages.
- Year 8
- Pupils use keyword searches to find three ways into a job they like, bookmark the pages and note which site each fact came from.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare information about a self-employed career from Careers Wales, a news article and a social media post, and judge which source is most reliable.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification of LO3, page 8; Resources available to support delivery, pages 10 and 11; Level 1 and Level 2, assessment criteria L1 1.1 and L1 3.2, page 6
“research opportunities related to career ideas”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
-
Presenting job ideas with digital media
Entry 2 learners present a job idea linked to their interests or strengths, and a suggested Level 1 and Level 2 activity is to develop and present a personal career vision or dream job. Slides, videos and online portfolios are listed as evidence, but posters, drawings or talking meet the criteria equally well.
DCF: Creating digital content, Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils make a digital mood board of images and words about a job they would enjoy and add one sentence saying why.
- Year 8
- Pupils create three slides on a dream job with images, headings and a link to a job profile, and choose a theme that suits the job.
- Year 9
- Pupils record a short video pitch of their career vision with titles and trimmed clips, then explain why they chose that format over slides.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, assessment criterion E2 2.2, page 5; Suggested activities, page 9; Sources of evidence, page 9
“digital evidence such as slides, videos or online portfolios”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:
- text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
- presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.
I can use software tools to enhance the outcomes for specific audiences.
Progression step 4
I can select and use a variety of appropriate software, tools and techniques to create, modify and combine multimedia components for a range of audiences and purposes, such as:
- text and images, e.g. explore and use effectively image manipulation techniques; explore and use appropriately the many aspects of document layout; use animation, video and audio effects such as echo, tempo, envelope, layering, frame rate, key frames
- presentation, e.g. use design tools; adapt themes and colours to suit the purpose; create master templates.
I can justify the reasons for choices and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the different digital outputs I create.
-
Writing a career action plan as a digital document
Level 1 learners create a simple career action plan and Level 2 learners develop a realistic and structured career plan, both required by the assessment criteria. Career action plans and the Careers Wales Plan your career tool are listed as evidence and resources, so a word processed or online plan is a natural route, though not a requirement.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils fill in a digital template with one job idea, one skill they have and one step they could take this year.
- Year 8
- Pupils produce a one page word processed action plan with a table of goals, actions and dates, using headings and bullet points.
- Year 9
- Pupils write a structured career plan document with short and medium term goals, support they need and barriers, and format it as a professional document with a contents box and consistent styles.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 3, assessment criteria L1 3.1 and L2 3.1, page 6; Sources of evidence, page 9; Resources available to support delivery, page 10
“Develop a realistic and structured career plan”
Progression step 3
I can independently create and plan work before beginning a digital task.
I can use a range of software to select, produce and edit a range of multimedia components for a purpose, such as:
- text and images, e.g. format text (bold, underline, italics, highlight); insert and edit text boxes; columns; use refine tools (spellchecker, find and replace); word wrap; crop; alter size and shape; alter images; add effects; trim and split sound and video clips; transitions; onion skin
- presentation, e.g. page orientation; animations; transitions; remove and alter images; use background; use action buttons to create hyperlink; embed objects.
Progression step 4
I can select and effectively use a variety of planning techniques.
I can explore and develop a range of formal text document structures for different audiences and purposes.
-
Technology and the changing world of work
The Level 1 and Level 2 amplification asks learners to discuss changes in the world of work and emerging career options, and the overview says digital competence is supported through virtual workplace exploration, such as the virtual tour suggested in the experiences section. This is delivery content only; no criterion asks about technology.
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils watch a virtual tour of a local workplace and list three jobs they see and the technology each person uses.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare a job as it was done 30 years ago with today, such as a bank clerk or a photographer, and list what technology changed for better and worse.
- Year 9
- Pupils research two emerging jobs on Future Jobs Wales, such as a drone pilot or data analyst, and discuss how technology creates and removes jobs in Wales.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Amplification of LO1, page 8; Unit overview, Curriculum for Wales, page 3; Experiences, page 10
“discuss changes in the world of work and emerging career options”
Progression step 3
I can identify the wider positive and negative influences of technology, e.g. on my life, on society, on the environment.
Progression step 4
I can reflect on the role of digital media in my life and habits.
Good to know
- Unit codes are S654E1, S654E2, S654E3, S654L1 and S654L2, and the unit is 10 GLH in the Skills for Work suite (Unit overview, page 3).
- "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 11). No criterion requires a computer.
- Plural criteria mean at least two: "If not specified, then a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two." (pages 5 and 6).
- Evidence can be digital: the pack lists "digital evidence such as slides, videos or online portfolios" and "photographic evidence of learner participation in activities" (Sources of evidence, page 9), and the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Section 4.1, page 18).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may use, adapt or replace them (Section 4.1, page 18).
- AI misuse is malpractice, including "Copying or paraphrasing whole responses of AI-generated content." and "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information." (Section 4.6, page 21). This matters for online research and AI career tools.
- "Each unit must be assessed independently, even if tasks cover multiple criteria." (Sources of evidence, page 9).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Building a growth mindset, Enterprise venture, Exploring career pathways, Jobs of the future, Personal development planning, Understanding the changing labour market and Working in Wales as closely related Skills Suite units, and points to GCSE Art and Design and the VCSE in Creative and Media Production and Technology for creative careers and ways of working. Presenting job ideas with slides or video also draws on the digital media skills in that VCSE, and self-employment and starting a business link with GCSE Business.
Source: WJEC Career creativity 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).