Skills for Work: Understanding the Changing Labour Market
Understanding the changing labour market is a 20 hour Skills for Work unit, from Entry 1 to Level 2, that learners combine with other units into a Skills for Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Learners find out what the labour market is, research jobs using labour market information, look at why work is changing, including technology, artificial intelligence, climate change and remote work, and plan the skills they will need. The digital work sits in researching jobs and labour market information online, judging at Level 2 whether sources are biased, accurate and reliable, and understanding how technology and artificial intelligence are changing work. No criterion requires producing digital content.
- 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): Three learning outcomes with separate Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 assessment criteria. Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
- Level 1 and Level 2: Three learning outcomes with separate Level 1 and Level 2 assessment criteria. Evidence is compiled into a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Researching jobs using online labour market information
Learners find information about jobs, sectors and career pathways, building from naming one resource at Entry 2 and showing how they would research a job at Entry 3 to describing at Level 1 and explaining at Level 2 how labour market information can be used to explore career pathways. The criteria require the research, and the overview says it is mainly done online, for example on Careers Wales.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils search the Careers Wales website for one job they like the sound of and copy three facts about it into a shared class document, bookmarking the page.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare two job profiles on Careers Wales, changing their search words to find the pay, qualifications and working hours for each, and record them in a table.
- Year 9
- Pupils use Careers Wales and one other site to research a career pathway in a sector they choose, saving their links in a folder and writing which source gave the most useful information about future demand.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 1, assessment criteria E2 1.3 and E3 1.3, page 5; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criteria 2.1 and 2.2, page 6; Amplification of learning outcome 1, page 7
“finding and evaluating sources of labour market information, primarily online”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
I can store search results for future use, e.g. bookmark, add to favourites.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
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Judging bias, accuracy and reliability of labour market information
At Level 2 learners evaluate samples of labour market information and comment on bias, accuracy and reliability, for example job adverts that only show the good side of a role or out of date statistics. This is required by a Level 2 criterion only. A suggested activity has learners rank sources such as an online job profile, a conversation with a worker and a TikTok video by reliability.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content, Identity, image and reputation
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look at two online adverts for the same kind of job and say which one gives more facts and which one only gives good points.
- Year 8
- Pupils rank three sources about a job, a Careers Wales profile, a company advert and a short video by a worker, from most to least reliable and give one reason for each place.
- Year 9
- Pupils check a news article about jobs in Wales against the original statistics it uses, note whether the data is up to date and write a short judgement on its bias, accuracy and reliability.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 2, assessment criterion L2 2.3, page 6; Amplification of learning outcome 2, page 8; Suggested activities, page 10
“Evaluate samples of labour market information and comment on bias, accuracy and reliability.”
Progression step 3
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
I can think critically about information shared online, e.g. the impact of sharing images and videos, metadata of images and videos.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
Progression step 5
I can search efficiently for information for my digital work and evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justifying opinions and reasons for choices, and I can reference work using appropriate methods.
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Keeping a source log of labour market research
The sources of evidence list a source log of resources and research notes, and the shared specification treats failing to acknowledge AI tools used as a source as malpractice. Keeping a log of websites and tools used is good practice at every level but is not itself an assessment criterion.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils copy the web address and the date of each page they use for a job fact sheet into a simple list at the end.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a two column source log in a shared document, writing each website and what they took from it, and add a line if they used a chatbot.
- Year 9
- Pupils build a source log for a career research task with the title, author or organisation, date and web address of each source, and mark any source they think is less reliable.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Sources of evidence, page 10; Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.6, page 21
“source log of resources and research notes”
Progression step 3
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.
I can begin to reference sources used in my work, and consider if content is reliable.
Progression step 4
I can evaluate the reliability of sources of information, justify my opinions and reasons for choices, and reference using appropriate methods.
Good to know
- Each level has its own unit code: "S665E1", S665E2, S665E3, S665L1 and S665L2, and the unit is 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 11), and it is designed for "standard classroom environments" (page 11). Careers Wales is the main signposted source of labour market information.
- Evidence does not have to be written: "evidence may be verbal, written, practical, or visual, extended written work is not required unless appropriate" (Sources of evidence, page 10). The list includes "annotated photographic evidence of matching or sorting activity" and a "recording of practical demonstrations of evidence" (page 10), and the specification says the portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" (Section 4.1, page 18).
- The suggested tasks are optional: "These tasks are not mandatory." (Skills for Life and Work specification, Section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools can be used if properly referenced, but learners "risk committing malpractice if AI is misused", and "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" counts as misuse (Section 4.6, page 21). This matters because learners research jobs online.
- Only Level 2 asks learners to judge sources: criterion L2 2.3 asks them to "comment on bias, accuracy and reliability" (page 6). The suggested ranking activity uses a TikTok video, and the pack notes "plans to restrict social media use by children under 16" (page 2).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Fairness and inclusion in the workplace, Customer service, Rights and responsibilities in the workplace and Wellbeing in work as closely related Skills Suite units, and Using IT in the workplace names this unit as one of its own partners, so the two pair naturally: this unit explains why digital competence matters to employers and Using IT in the workplace builds it. Jobs of the future, Exploring career pathways and Working in Wales cover neighbouring careers ground. Online research of labour market information and judging its reliability also links with GCSE Digital Technology, and the effect of technology and automation on jobs links with GCSE Business.
Source: WJEC Understanding the changing labour market 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).