Skills for Work: Personal Development Planning
Personal development planning is an Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Work unit in which learners identify their skills, interests and experiences, use feedback to find strengths and areas to develop, set goals, SMART goals at Level 2, write an action plan and review their progress. It is one 20 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 online skills quizzes, researching career routes, digital planning tools, sharing work for feedback and keeping a digital portfolio.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level 1 to Level 2
- Guided learning hours
- 20
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of digital work
- Low
How this unit is assessed
- Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes (personal skills, interests and experiences, areas for personal development, simple personal goals, and taking part in activities to develop personal skills), 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. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes (personal skills, interests and experiences, strengths and areas for development, planning personal development goals, and reviewing progress and skills developed), 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. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Storing and sharing
-
Keeping a digital portfolio and progress log
Learners review progress towards their goals at Level 1 and evaluate it at Level 2, and the pack lists portfolios of evidence, paper based or digital, and photographic or video evidence of activities. Building a digital portfolio and tracking progress in it is suggested, not required.
DCF: Storing and sharing, Creating digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils take a photo of themselves taking part in a team task and save it with a short caption in a named folder.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a weekly digital log of progress towards a goal, with dated entries and a photo or short clip as evidence.
- Year 9
- Pupils organise a digital portfolio with folders for goals, evidence and reviews, use version history to show how their action plan changed, and add a short video review of their progress.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria 4.1 and 4.2, page 6; Sources of evidence, page 9
“portfolios of evidence (paper-based or digital)”
Progression step 3
I can manage files and folders locally or online, e.g. move files to a folder.
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 use appropriate advanced file management techniques, e.g. version history, restore previous version, tagging, compression.
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 S662E1, S662E2, S662E3, S662L1 and S662L2, one for each level, and the unit is 20 guided learning hours: "GLH 20" (Unit overview, page 3).
- No special equipment is needed: "Assessment of this unit should not require any specific resources." (Resources required for assessment, page 12).
- Evidence can be digital. The pack lists "portfolios of evidence (paper-based or digital)" and "photographic or video evidence of participation and activities" (Sources of evidence, page 9), 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).
- Digital competence is optional in this unit: it "can be developed through digital portfolios, online research, and use of planning tools" (Curriculum for Wales, page 4).
- AI use is allowed only when acknowledged: "When properly referenced, this can be acceptable", but misuse includes "Using AI to complete parts of the assessment so that the work does not reflect the learner's own work" (specification Section 4.6, page 21). Goals, plans and reflections must be the learner's own.
- 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).
- The online quizzes and career tools in the resources list are third party: the pack says "their inclusion does not imply endorsement" (page 12), so check what personal data a quiz asks for before learners use it.
Links with other qualifications
The pack names GCSE Business as a linked WJEC qualification. Within the Skills Suite it lists Exploring career pathways, Overcoming barriers, Work experience, Teamwork, Applying for jobs, Interview confidence and techniques, Working in Wales and Building a growth mindset as closely related units. Exploring career pathways shares researching jobs and training routes, Overcoming barriers shares action planning and reflection, and Work experience gives a real setting for reflecting on performance. For the digital side, the Using IT in the workplace unit is where learners locate, evaluate and manage digital information, which supports the online research and digital portfolio work here.
Source: WJEC Personal development planning 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).