Core Skills: Essential Skills Units and Workplace Assessed Units

Essential Skills Units

Assessment Support Packs for these units are available on the SQA Secure Website, in the 'Other' section.

Essential Skills constituents

Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units

Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units allow candidates to be assessed in the workplace against the Core Skills standards.

Centres delivering the Workplace Assessed Core Skills Units should gather most of the candidates' evidence in a workplace setting. Simulation of workplace evidence should be by exception.

Unit specifications and assessment support packs

Modern Apprenticeships Core Skills

Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) are developed and awarded by sector skills councils (SSCs).

MA frameworks describe what Core Skills are included in the Modern Apprenticeships and whether or not separate certification is needed.

Core Skills mappings carried out by SSCs cannot be used as evidence towards achievement of the Core Skills units. If the MA framework states that a Core Skill is embedded (and does not require separate certification), but the centre wants to enter their candidates for the Core Skill unit anyway, the candidates must be assessed against the unit standards and evidence must be gathered in the normal way.

Core Skills Profile

Centres should check each candidate's Core Skills Profile to see what Core Skills they may have already achieved and at what level, before the candidate commences the MA. SSCs will accept the Core Skills Profile as evidence of Core Skills attainment, which may mean that some candidates do not have to undertake Core Skills Units as part of their MA.

Each of the Core Skills is broken down into components on the Core Skills Profile.

A candidate's Core Skills Profile must show that the candidate has achieved both components (or all three for Problem Solving) at the level required by the MA framework. Core Skills components achieved at a higher level than that required by the MA framework will also be accepted.

Core Skills Components
Communication Oral Communication
Written Communication
Problem Solving Critical Thinking
Planning and Organising
Reviewing and Evaluating
Numeracy Using Number
Using Graphical Information
Information and Communication Technology Accessing Information
Providing/Creating Information
Working with Others Working Co-operatively with Others
Reviewing Co-operative Contribution