Skills for Work: Overcoming Barriers
Overcoming barriers is an Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work unit in which learners explore personal, social and organisational barriers at work, communicate choices, preferences and points of view, and practise strategies to challenge others constructively and build resilience. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with other units into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low because no criterion requires a digital tool. Digital work sits in choosing how to communicate in different work contexts, recording role plays as video or audio evidence, sharing work for feedback and researching support online.
- 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 (barriers in a work context, choices, preferences and points of view, and simple strategies to respond to barriers), each with separate Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 assessment criteria. 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 (barriers to participation and progression, choices, preferences and points of view, and strategies to challenge others and overcome barriers), each with separate Level 1 and Level 2 assessment criteria. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Creating digital content
-
Recording role plays and discussions as digital evidence
The pack lists audio or video recordings of role play or discussions and annotated photographs as possible portfolio evidence, at every level. Learners or teachers may film a role play of asking for help at Entry Level or a challenging conversation at Level 1 and Level 2. This is a way of collecting evidence, not something the assessment criteria require.
DCF: Creating digital content, Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a tablet to film a 30 second role play of asking a supervisor for help, then save it with a clear file name in a class folder.
- Year 8
- Pupils record an audio reflection on a group task, trim the start and end in an audio editor and save it in a shared folder alongside a photo of the task.
- Year 9
- Pupils film a role play of a workplace disagreement, edit it to under two minutes, add captions naming the barrier and the strategy used, and store it in a named folder in their digital portfolio.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Sources of evidence, page 10; Section 4.1 of the Skills for Life and Work specification, page 18
“audio or video recordings of role play or discussions”
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 manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
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.
Good to know
- The unit codes are S661E1, S661E2, S661E3, S661L1 and S661L2, one for each level, and the unit is 10 guided learning hours: "GLH 10" (Unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 11).
- Evidence can be digital. The pack lists "audio or video recordings of role play or discussions" and "annotated photographs of learners engaged in activities" (Sources of evidence, page 10), the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (specification Section 4.1, page 18), and evidence for sampling "must be provided digitally by the centre" (specification Section 5.2, page 23).
- AI use is allowed only when acknowledged: "When properly referenced, this can be acceptable", but misuse includes "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information." (specification Section 4.6, page 21).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory". Teachers "may choose to use these suggestions, adapt them, or develop their own alternatives" (specification Section 4.1, page 18).
- Digital competence is optional in this unit: it "may be developed through using digital tools to record evidence, communicate ideas and support learning in vocational contexts" (Curriculum for Wales, page 4). Appendix A of the specification (page 29) still ticks Digital Competence for the unit.
- The pack carries a warning that "The UK Government has announced plans to restrict social media use by children under 16" (page 2), so avoid building tasks around social media.
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Social Studies as a linked WJEC qualification (it also names Sociology AS/A Level, which is not on this page). Within the Skills Suite it lists Personal development planning, Interview and confidence techniques, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace, Building a growth mindset, Wellbeing and work, Customer service, Teamwork, Understanding self and others, Equality, diversity and inclusion and Community participation as closely related units. Personal development planning shares action planning, feedback and reflection. For the digital side, the Using IT in the workplace unit is where learners practise communicating politely using digital tools, which supports choosing the right channel in this unit.
Source: WJEC Overcoming barriers 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).