Professiona Skills (Home Page)

Professional Skills are the skills one needs to work competently in their profession. These might include communication, team work and literacy skills (Villege-Reimers, E., 2003). Many of these skills are required across different professions although some are specific to one profession. An example of this would be that in the education profession, pedagogical skills are required and they are not necessarily required in other professions (Purnel, K., 2012). 

It is important to highlight that over time these skills change and develop. Especially with the current BOOM in Information Communication Technologies a new skill set has risen and become of immense importance in many industries. This also means that professionals need to continue to up-skill themselves in order to remain in and contribute to their profession. As society and the demands of society adjust so do the professions which support it. Shulman (2005) provides an example of this in the health system explaining how 10 years ago after having an operation you might stay in hospital for a few days, whereas these days for the same operation you might not find yourself spending the night there. He defines this as “signature pedagogies of the profession” are dynamic, which means the requirement and skills of the profession can change (Shulman, 2005., pg 5). The Department of Education, Standards for Professional Development (2009) has recognised this and provides opportunities for educators to up-skill themselves through professional development (PD).

Universities and other educational settings have recognised the importance of professional skills and have implemented the development of such skills in their curriculum. The University of Tasmania has recognised and responded by identifying the generic attributes its graduates will attain irrespective of the course (Policy on general attributes of graduates of the University of Tasmania, (2003). CQUniversity has its own general attributes:- communication, problem solving, information literacy, critical thinking, team work, information technology competence, cross culture competence and ethical practice (CQUniversity., 2010). These link closely to the employability skills outlined by the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training (2002) which are communication, team work, problem-solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organising, self-management, learning and technology.  Completing university with these general attributes readies graduates for their professional career.