Skills for Work: Working in Wales
Working in Wales is a Skills for Work unit about the job market in Wales: key job sectors and employers, how Welsh sectors link to the wider UK and global economy, why Welsh language skills matter at work and the role of the Welsh Language Commissioner, and the skills needed in sectors with high demand. It is one 10 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Work or Skills for Life and Work Award, Certificate or Diploma. Digital demand is low: no criterion requires digital work, which sits in suggested online research, source logs, comparison tables and presentations.
- 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 (jobs available in Wales, the importance of the Welsh language in Welsh workplaces, skills needed to work in Wales), with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3. 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: Four learning outcomes (the job market in Wales, key employment sectors and their links to the international economy, the importance of the Welsh language in Welsh workplaces, skills needed to work in Wales), with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2. Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 10 guided learning hours.
Skills that use Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
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Searching online for jobs and sectors in Wales
Learners search digital sources, such as Careers Wales future jobs information, to find out about current and future jobs, employers and key employment sectors in Wales. At Entry Level this is supported research into local businesses and future jobs, and at Level 1 and Level 2 it is more detailed research into sectors of interest. The research feeds the assessed criteria on sectors, employers and high demand jobs, but searching online is suggested, not required.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils use a set list of websites to find three employers in their own town and note the job sector each one belongs to.
- Year 8
- Pupils adjust their search keywords to find which jobs are growing in Wales, bookmarking the two most useful pages for later.
- Year 9
- Pupils search Careers Wales and news websites for a sector of their choice, using quotation marks and site searches to find figures on jobs in high demand.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit overview, integral and cross-curricular skills, page 4; Suggested activities, pages 10 and 11; Resources available to support delivery, page 12
“search a variety of digital sources when researching current and future jobs and sectors in Wales”
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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Searching job adverts for Welsh language requirements
At Level 1 and Level 2 learners must identify employment sectors where Welsh is required or highly desired and give examples of where Welsh is used. The pack suggests they do this by searching current online job adverts in Wales. The criteria are assessed, but the online search is a suggested way of gathering the examples.
DCF: Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils look at five printed or on screen job adverts from a Welsh council website and highlight any that ask for Welsh language skills.
- Year 8
- Pupils use the filters on a jobs website to find adverts in Wales that say Welsh is essential or desirable and list the job titles.
- Year 9
- Pupils combine search terms such as Welsh essential with a sector name to collect adverts from two sectors and compare how often Welsh is asked for.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 3, assessment criteria 3.1 and 3.2, page 6; Suggested activities, page 10
“identify specific jobs where the Welsh language is useful by searching for current job adverts in Wales”
Progression step 3
I can adjust keywords and search techniques to find relevant information.
Progression step 4
I can search a variety of sources using relevant search techniques with increased complexity.
I can independently use a range of complex searches, e.g. and/or/+/-/not.
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Keeping a source log and acknowledging sources, including AI
The pack lists a source log of resources and research notes and screenshots of research activities as possible portfolio evidence. The specification says AI tools may be used only when properly referenced, and failing to acknowledge AI is malpractice. Keeping a log is suggested, not required, but every learner must acknowledge any source or AI tool they use.
DCF: Digital rights, licensing and ownership, Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils copy the web address and page title of every site they use for a project on local jobs into a simple table.
- Year 8
- Pupils keep a source log with the date, website and one line on what they found, and add a row whenever they use a chatbot.
- Year 9
- Pupils keep a source log for research on a Welsh sector, rate each source as reliable or not with a reason, and reference it in their final work.
Show the specification wording and the DCF statements
Where it is in the specification: Sources of evidence, page 11; Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21
“source log of resources and research notes”
Progression step 3
I can understand that copying the work of others and presenting it as my own is plagiarism.
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: "Unit Codes S669E1" through S669L2, and the unit is worth "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 12), and delivery uses "standard classroom environments" (page 11).
- Evidence can be digital or spoken: "While evidence may be verbal, written, practical, or visual, extended written work is not required unless appropriate" and possible evidence includes "screenshots of research activities" (Sources of evidence, page 11).
- The portfolio "is not limited to paper-based materials" and evidence types include "video/audio recordings" and "photographic evidence" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- Suggested assessment tasks "are not mandatory". Teachers may use, adapt or replace them (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.1, page 18).
- AI tools may be used "When properly referenced", but misuse includes "Failing to acknowledge use of AI tools when they have been used as a source of information" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 4.6, page 21).
- Where a criterion uses a plural without a number, "a plural reference within assessment criterion refers to a minimum of two" (pages 5 and 7).
- Only the highest level achieved counts: "only the highest level of the unit achieved will count towards the GLH" (Skills for Life and Work specification, section 2.2, page 10).
Links with other qualifications
The pack names Rights and responsibilities in the workplace, Understanding the changing labour market, Fairness and inclusion in the workplace and Wellbeing in work (Wellbeing and work in the specification) as closely related Skills Suite units, and Jobs of the future and Exploring career pathways sit naturally alongside it. Work on sectors, employers and the Welsh economy links with GCSE Business. The Welsh language outcomes link with Core Cymraeg and Cymraeg Language and Literature. The key sectors named in the amplification match other qualifications on the page: construction with VCSE Built Environment, tourism with VCSE Travel and Tourism, retail with VCSE Retail and Customer Service, public services with VCSE Public Services, advanced manufacturing with VCSE Engineering, creative industries with VCSE Creative and Media Production and Technology, food and drink with VCSE Hospitality and Catering, and health and social care with GCSE Health and Social Care and Childcare.
Source: WJEC Working in Wales 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).