Skills for Work: Jobs of the Future
Jobs of the future is a Pearson Skills for Work unit in which learners look at how the Welsh job market is changing, which jobs are likely to disappear or emerge, and what steps young people can take to become more employable, ending in an employability plan. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma, at any level from Entry 1 to Level 2, graded pass or fail. Digital demand is low: no criterion requires a computer. The annex suggests online labour market research on sites such as Careers Wales and blogs or podcasts as outputs, and sources and AI use must be acknowledged.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 10
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): One assessment criterion at each of Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3, covering changes in the local, regional or Welsh job market, jobs likely to exist in the future, and steps young people can take to become more employable. Centres choose the type of evidence; it is internally assessed by the centre and quality assured by Pearson through standards verification. 10 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each of Level 1 and Level 2: describe (Level 1) or explain (Level 2) changes in the Welsh job market and the jobs that will exist in the future, and produce a plan (Level 2: a detailed plan) showing how young people can become more employable for these roles. Centres choose the type of evidence; it is internally assessed by the centre and quality assured by Pearson through standards verification. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Health and well-being
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Understanding how technology is changing jobs
The annex lists technology among the growing sectors learners explore, alongside sustainability, healthcare innovation and the creative industries, and learners consider which jobs will disappear and which will emerge. The criteria ask for changes in the job market in general and do not name technology, so this is taught content rather than an assessed skill.
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils sort picture cards of jobs into ones that existed 50 years ago and ones that need new technology, such as drone pilot or app developer.
- Year 8
- Pupils discuss how self service tills and online shopping have changed jobs in a local supermarket and list the good and bad effects.
- Year 9
- Pupils research one job that technology has created and one it has reduced, and explain the effects on workers in Wales in a short written comparison.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 5, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 1 and Level 1, page 32; Annexe E, Unit Content, page 126
“growing sectors (sustainability, tech, healthcare innovation, creative industries etc.)”
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
- The unit is "SfW 5 Jobs of the future" with "10" guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 5), half the 20 hours of the WJEC Jobs of the future unit, so it counts for less towards an Award, Certificate or Diploma.
- A unit is achieved at one level only: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Evidence is the centre's choice: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 32).
- The teaching content is not printed in the specification: it "can be found in the Teaching and Learning Support document for this unit" (Unit content, page 32), so centres need that document as well.
- Pearson's Authorised Assignment Briefs are optional: "AABs are not mandatory" (How to use this document, page 1), and "The assessment of this unit should be completed over a number of sessions" (Assessment arrangements, page 33).
- AI may be used only if it is acknowledged: "A learner will have committed malpractice if they use AI tools without acknowledging them" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 34).
- Each level asks for more independence: Level 2 learners "can identify, select, and use information from a variety of sources, including some self-selected sources" (Levels of supervision and support, page 33).
- The Skills for Work specification has two obvious errors: its assessment section says "Every unit in our Skills for Life qualifications includes an Authorised Assessment Brief" (page 8), and it points to "Section 6 Glossary" (page 11) when the glossary is section 7.
Links with other qualifications
WJEC also offers a Jobs of the future unit in its Skills Suite. The WJEC unit is 20 guided learning hours with four learning outcomes and puts technology, automation and AI into its content, with Level 2 learners explaining how digital skills support employability; the Pearson unit is 10 hours with a single criterion at each level and focuses on the Welsh job market and an employability plan, with technology named only as one growing sector in the annex. A school choosing between them gets more digital content from WJEC and a shorter unit from Pearson. The online labour market research links to the WJEC Skills Suite units Understanding the changing labour market and Exploring career pathways, and a blog or podcast output would draw on the media production skills of GCSE Digital Technology.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfW 5: Jobs of the future.