Skills for Work: Personal Development Planning
Personal development planning is a Pearson Skills for Work unit in which learners identify their skills, strengths and areas for development, set goals, and produce and review a personal development plan, with a SWOT analysis at Level 1 and Level 2 and SMART actions at Level 2. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Pearson Skills for Life or Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. The centre sets and marks the assignment. Digital demand is low: no criterion needs a digital tool, and digital work sits in online skills audits, digital plans such as calendars and to-do lists, and gathering feedback.
- Awarding body
- Pearson
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- 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, rising from stating simple facts about personal development and showing progress towards a goal given by the teacher (Entry 1), through planning towards an agreed goal (Entry 2), to setting goals and actions to improve own skills and working towards a basic plan with timelines (Entry 3). Assessed internally by the centre through a centre-devised assignment, with Pearson standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail.
- Level 1 and Level 2: One assessment criterion at each level: learners describe (Level 1) or explain (Level 2) the role and importance of personal development and produce a personal development plan, with short- and mid-term goals and realistic timelines at Level 1, and short-, mid- and long-term goals with SMART actions at Level 2. The guidance adds a SWOT analysis and reviewing the plan. Assessed internally by the centre, with Pearson standards verification. 20 guided learning hours, graded Pass or Fail.
The digital skills in this qualification
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Using online skills audits and information sources
Pearson's mapping suggests using websites, online audits and information sources to identify skills and interests, and Level 1 learners seek different sources of information or support and discuss the skills needed for a chosen job or next step in education. Entry 1 learners use a checklist or simple template. The digital route is a suggestion; no criterion requires it.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils complete an online skills quiz on a careers website and copy their top three skills into a profile page.
- Year 8
- Pupils search for the skills needed for a job they are interested in and compare the list with their own quiz results.
- Year 9
- Pupils use two careers websites to research the next step after Year 11 for their chosen job and judge which source is more reliable.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 2, Essential information for assessment decisions, Entry 1 and Level 1, pages 17 to 18; Annexe C, page 118
“Using websites/online audits and information sources”
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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Keeping a digital plan with calendars and to-do lists
Learners produce a plan, from a basic plan with timelines at Entry 3 to a detailed personal development plan with short-, mid- and long-term goals and SMART actions at Level 2. Pearson's mapping suggests creating and maintaining digital plans such as calendars and to-do lists. The plan is required by the criteria, but making it digitally is only suggested.
DCF: Creating digital content, Storing and sharing
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils set up a digital to-do list for a homework week and tick off each task as it is done.
- Year 8
- Pupils put three steps towards a personal goal into a shared calendar with reminders and save the plan in a named folder.
- Year 9
- Pupils keep a personal development plan as a digital document over a term, update it after each review, and use version history to show how it changed.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 2, assessment criteria Entry 3 to Level 2, page 16; Annexe C, page 118
“creating/ maintaining digital plans (calendars, to-do lists)”
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.
I can use appropriate advanced file management techniques, e.g. version history, restore previous version, tagging, compression.
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Seeking feedback and adjusting the plan
Level 1 learners monitor their progress and adjust their plans while seeking information or support, and Level 2 learners actively seek feedback and make strategic adjustments based on reflection and feedback. The specification does not say how feedback is gathered; comments on a shared online document are one way. Reviewing and adjusting the plan is in the Level 1 and Level 2 guidance; the digital route is optional.
DCF: Evaluating and improving digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils share a goal on a class online board and reply to a partner's goal with one suggestion.
- Year 8
- Pupils share their plan as an online document, ask a partner to add two comments, and change one step in response.
- Year 9
- Pupils invite a teacher and a peer to comment on their personal development plan, then record which feedback they used and why.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit SfW 2, Essential information for assessment decisions, Level 1 and Level 2, pages 18 to 19; Levels of supervision and support, page 20
“make strategic adjustments to their plans based on reflection and feedback”
Progression step 3
I can invite feedback/responses from others, e.g. use 'comment' in online platforms, asking questions or adding suggestions.
Progression step 4
I can suggest and make improvements that are relevant for audience and purpose, based on feedback and self-evaluation of my digital work.
Good to know
- The unit is SfW 2 and is worth 20 guided learning hours (Unit summary, page 5), the same size as the WJEC unit. A unit counts once: "Learners can only achieve each unit once, at a single level" (Rules of Combination, page 6).
- Entry learners work towards a goal set or agreed with the teacher, for example "a goal they have been given by the teacher" at Entry 1 (Essential information for assessment decisions, page 17).
- The guidance sets minimum amounts at each level, such as at Level 1 describing "at least three of each" of skills, strengths and areas for development and "at least two resources and two people" needed for the goals (page 18), and "a full SWOT analysis" at Level 2 (page 19).
- Centres choose the evidence: "there are no mandatory evidence requirements and centres can select the type of evidence" (page 17). The unit content is in the separate Teaching and Learning Support document (Unit content, page 17).
- AI must be acknowledged: "A learner will have committed malpractice if they use AI tools without acknowledging them" (Requirements relating to permitted/prohibited resources, page 21).
- Document slips: this Skills for Work specification says "Every unit in our Skills for Life qualifications includes an Authorised Assessment Brief" (page 8), and the units section points to "Section 6 Glossary" when the glossary is Section 7 (page 11).
Links with other qualifications
Personal development planning links with the WJEC Skills Suite units Exploring career pathways and Career creativity, which share reflecting on own strengths and interests and planning steps towards a future job, Work experience, which gives a real setting for reviewing skills, and with Overcoming barriers and Building a growth mindset, which share reflection and adjusting plans after setbacks; Pearson's own mapping gives it a direct careers and work-related experiences link. GCSE Business, which the WJEC version of this unit names as a linked qualification, is the closest GCSE link. Compared with the WJEC Personal development planning unit, both are 20 guided learning hours, but WJEC has four learning outcomes, including taking part in activities to develop skills, while Pearson assesses one criterion per level centred on producing a personal development plan, adding a SWOT analysis at Level 1 and Level 2. For the digital side, Using IT in the workplace is where learners practise managing digital information and documents.
Source: Pearson Entry Level 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work Award, Certificate and Diploma Qualifications Specification, Issue 1, August 2026, Unit SfW 2: Personal development planning.