Skills for Work: Exploring Career Pathways
Exploring career pathways is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit in which learners find out about jobs, sectors, qualifications and progression routes, reflect on their own interests and skills, and present what they find. It is one unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital work sits in researching careers websites such as Careers Wales, judging whether sources are reliable, organising findings in a comparison chart or job matrix, and presenting with a slideshow or digital presentation. The criteria never insist on a computer, so the same evidence can be produced on paper or orally.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Medium
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes (types of jobs and sectors, locating and organising basic job information, own interests and skills, presenting information about a chosen career), evidence compiled in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC, 20 guided learning hours, unit codes S657E1, S657E2 and S657E3
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (jobs, sectors, skills and qualifications, researching and organising career pathway information, reflecting on interests, skills and aspirations, presenting findings about career options), evidence compiled in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC, 20 guided learning hours, unit codes S657L1 and S657L2
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Searching careers websites for job information
Learners find information about jobs and career pathways, from one source at Entry 1 to a variety of sources at Level 1 and a range of reliable sources at Level 2. Using sources is required by the assessment criteria, and the amplification names careers websites such as Careers Wales, Jobs in Wales and Working Wales, although sources can also be leaflets, posters and interviews.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use the Careers Wales job information pages to find two facts about a job they like, such as what a paramedic does each day, and copy the page title and link into their notes.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for the same job on Careers Wales and on one other careers website, changing their keywords when the results are not useful, and note which site gave clearer information.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one career pathway from three websites, check who wrote each page and when it was updated, and explain to a partner which source they trust most and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1, page 5; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1, page 6; amplification of LO1 and LO2, pages 7 and 8
“Use a range of reliable sources to gather in-depth information on different career pathways.”
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.
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Acknowledging sources and AI tools in research
The shared specification treats unacknowledged AI use as malpractice, including failing to acknowledge AI tools used as a source of information and giving misleading references. Learners at every level who research careers online need to note where information came from; this is a rule for producing portfolio evidence, not an assessment criterion.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils add the website name and link under every fact on their job fact sheet, and talk about why copying a whole page is not their own work.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a simple source list at the end of their careers research, including a line saying if and how they used an AI chatbot.
- Year 9
- Pupils compare an AI chatbot's description of a job with the Careers Wales job profile, note any differences, and reference both properly in their write up.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21
“Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information.”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
I can cite sources when researching and explain the importance of this, e.g. create simple lists for the referencing of digital and offline sources.
Progression step 4
I can act responsibly as creator and user of creative work, e.g. exploring decisions that creators make when exercising their creative rights and responsibilities, giving consideration to ethical, real-life issues.
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
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Saving online research as portfolio evidence
The pack lists printouts or screenshots of online research, such as job profiles from Careers Wales, as possible evidence, and the specification says a portfolio is not limited to paper. Learners at any level may capture, name and store this evidence, but it is a suggested evidence source rather than an assessment criterion.
DCF: Storing and sharing, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take a screenshot of a job profile and save it into a folder called Careers with a clear file name.
- Year 8
- Pupils bookmark the careers pages they use and save screenshots into subfolders for each job they research.
- Year 9
- Pupils organise a shared online folder of careers research with links to their screenshots and documents, setting it so their teacher can view but not edit.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Possible sources of evidence, page 9; Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18
“printouts or screenshots from online research tasks”
Progression step 3
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
I can store search results for future use, e.g. bookmark, add to favourites.
Progression step 4
I can manage links to files, taking permissions and file locations into account, e.g. some file storage systems will utilise dynamic hyperlinks so that if a file location is changed the links remain intact, whereas changing file location could result in a broken hyperlink.
Good to know
- Unit codes run from Entry 1 to Level 2: "S657E1" to "S657L2", 20 guided learning hours (Unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 13).
- Evidence can be collected in many forms, and the specification says the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" and can include "video/audio recordings" and "photographic evidence" (section 4.1, page 18). The pack suggests "printouts or screenshots from online research tasks" (page 9).
- Extended writing is not expected: "extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 9).
- AI can be used only if acknowledged. Learners "risk committing malpractice if AI is misused", and examples include "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information." (section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory"; teachers may adapt them or write their own (section 4.1, page 18).
- Appendix A of the specification maps this unit to Numeracy, Digital Competence, Creativity and innovation, and Critical thinking and problem solving (page 29), and to the Careers and work-related experiences theme (page 27).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names VCSE Retail and Customer Service as a possible link, since that qualification also looks at job roles and progression in a sector. Within the Skills Suite, the pack suggests delivering this unit alongside Personal development planning, Jobs of the future, Applying for jobs, Interview and confidence techniques, Work experience, Career creativity, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Understanding the changing labour market and Working in Wales.
Source: WJEC Exploring career pathways 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).