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12 Core Skills

Warwick's 12 core employability skills

The Warwick Award is based around 12 core employability skills that employers tell us are crucial for the next step in your journey.

If you’re able to show how you’ve developed as many of these skills as possible during your time at Warwick – with specific examples of where you’ve done so, that you’ll be able to use when applying for jobs – you’ll be setting yourself up for a fantastic start to life after graduation.

On this page, we’ve pulled together a little more information about each of the 12 core skills that sit at the heart of the Warwick Award. We’ve included a short video introducing you to each skill and information about which members of staff are part of that skill’s Academic Advisory Group. These groups are made up of subject-specific experts from across campus to help us shape content and training provision for each of the core skills at the heart of the Warwick Award.

More information

Critical Thinking icon - two quater circles and a mustard coloured circle

Critical thinking is the ability to analyse facts, data, information, and opinions to form an evaluation or judgment.

Related subskills include: interpreting, analysing, evaluating.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: writing an essay, conducting a literature review, doing your own independent reading to better understand a news story.

Steven Burke profile picture

Chair: Dr Steven Burke

Email: Steven.Burke@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member: Andre Celtel

Email: A.Celtel@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: Sociology

No profile picture

Member: Elise Smith

Email: E.Smith.10@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Assistant Professor

Department: History

No profile picture

Member: Nalita James

Email: Nalita.James@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: CLL

No profile picture

Member: Rochelle Sibley

Email: Rochelle.Sibley@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Senior Teaching Fellow

Department: English and Comparative Literature

Information Literacy icon - one quarter circle one circle and an olive coloured quarter circle

Information literacy is the ability to understand the nature and value of information, search and select information, manage lots of different bits of information effectively, and create and produce information so that it is robust and adds value to different discourses.

Related subskills include: searching for information, managing information , using and creating information.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: using databases, conducting literature reviews, communicating research findings to acknowledge limitations of the research.

Tom Greenaway profile picture

Chair: Dr Tom Greenaway

Email: T.Greenaway.1@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member: Kate Courage

Email: Kate.Courage@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Librarian

Department: Library

Andrew Calvert profile picture

Member: Andrew Calvert

Email: Andrew.Calvert@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Librarian

Department: Library

Katherine Waters profile picture

Member: Katherine Waters

Email: Katherine.Waters@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Librarian

Department: Library

Sophie Allen profile picture

Member: Sophie Allen

Email: Sophie.Allen@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Academic Services Development Manager

Department: Library

No profile picture

Member: Cathy Hampton

Email: C.M.Hampton@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Reader

Department: School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Cathy Hampton Profile

No profile picture

Member: Jenny Lloyd

Email: Jenny.Lloyd@wbs.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: WBS

Jade Millar profile picture

Member: Jade Millar

Email: Jade.Millar@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Student as Researcher Project Officer

Department: Library

Digital Literacy icon - one quarter circle one circle and an yellow quarter circle

Digital literacy is the ability to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information is increasingly through digital technologies like internet platforms, social media, and mobile devices.

Related subskills include: IT skills, social media management, personal branding.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: using common Office software such as Excel and Word, managing a club/society social media feed, building an effective LinkedIn profile.

Dave Musson profile picture

Chair: Dave Musson

Email: Dave.Musson@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member: James Alexander

Email: James.Alexander@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Director of Digital Strategy and Transformation

Department: IDG

Helen Luckhurst profile picture

Member: Helen Luckhurst

Email: Helen.Luckhurst@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Engagement Officer

Department: WIE

Judith Brown profile picture

Member: Judith Brown

Email: Judith.Brown@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Technology Enhanced Learning Specialist

Department: FOLD (Flexible & Online Learning Division)

Bodrun profile picture

Member: Bodrun Nahar

Email: Bodrun.Nahar@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Employability and Placements Manager

Department: School for Cross Faculty Studies

Sustainability icon - three quarter circles and one green quarter circle

Sustainability is the awareness that the human past and present will profoundly affect our entangled environmental and social futures.

Related subskills include: social engagement, community citizenship, values thinking.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: recycling wherever possible, voting in your local elections and considering local issues of environmental and social sustainability when choosing who to support, researching an organisation’s values and seeing if they match up with the actions of the organisation when applying for a job.

Steven Burke profile picture

Chair: Dr Steven Burke

Email: Steven.Burke@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member: Dr Alastair Smith

Email: A.Smith.21@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Senior Teaching Fellow

Department: Global Sustainable Development

No profile picture

Member: Dr Adriano Lameira

Email: Adriano.Lameira@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: Psychology

No profile picture

Member: Dr Caroline Kuzemko

Email: C.Kuzemko@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: IPE

No profile picture

Member: Dave Chapman

Email: D.M.Chapman@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Sustainability Champion

Department: Estates

Communication icon - three quarter circles and one blue quarter circle

Communication is the ability to convey or share ideas and feelings effectively, by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.

Related subskills include: public speaking, creative writing, active listening.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: giving a presentation, writing an essay, volunteering with Nightline.

Dave Musson profile picture

Chair: Dave Musson

Email: Dave.Musson@warwick.ac.uk

Kevin Moffat profile picture

Member: Kevin Moffat

Email: K.G.Moffat@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Professor

Department: Life Sciences

Profesor Kevin Moffat profile

No profile picture

Member: Shirley Sturzaker

Email: Shirley.Sturzaker@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Marketing Manager

Department: Warwick Medical School

Damien Homer profile picture

Member: Damien Homer

Email: Damien.Homer@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Head of Disability Services

Department: University-wide

Paul Grigsby profile picture

Member: Paul Grigsby

Email: Paul.Grigsby@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Research Fellow in Outreach and Impact

Department: Classics and Ancient History

Paul Grigsby profile

Intercultural Awareness icon - three quarter circles and one grey quarter circle

Intercultural awareness is the ability to work productively with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Related subskills include: intercultural understanding, intercultural communication, intercultural sensitivity.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: learning a language, working in multicultural teams, sharing experiences with people from different cultural backgrounds, e.g. meals, sports events, seminars.

Tom Greenaway profile picture

Chair: Dr Tom Greenaway

Email: T.Greenaway.1@warwick.ac.uk

Simon Brown profile picture

Member: Simon Brown

Email: S.Brown.15@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Internationalisation Officer

Department: Student Opportunity

No profile picture

Member:  Dr Sophie Reissner-Roubicek

Email: Sophie.Reissner-Roubicek@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: Applied Linguistics

Dr Sophie Reissner-Roubicek profile

Achim Krausert picture

Member: Achim Krausert

Email: Achim.Krausert@wbs.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: WBS

Achim Krausert profile

Dr Zi Wang profile picture

Member: Dr Zi Wang

Email: Zi.Wang.1@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Internationalisation Coordinator

Department: Student Opportunity

Dr Zi Wang profile

Teamwork icon - three quarter circles and one turquoise quarter circle

Teamwork is the ability to work in a team respectfully, productively, and cooperatively?

Related subskills include: collaboration, leadership, managing team processes.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: completing a group project, setting meeting agendas, being part of a sports team, and managing team deadlines.

Tom Greenaway profile picture

Chair: Dr Tom Greenaway

Email: T.Greenaway.1@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member:  Dr Sophie Reissner-Roubicek

Email: Sophie.Reissner-Roubicek@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: Applied Linguistics

Dr Sophie Reissner-Roubicek profile

No profile picture

Member:  Mairi Macintyre

Email: M.Macintyre@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Professor

Department: WMG

No profile picture

Member:  Jagjeet Jutley-Nelson

Email: Jagjeet.Jutley-Neilson@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Professor

Department: Psychology

No profile picture

Member:   Tamara Friedrich

Email: Tamara.Friedrich@wbs.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: WBS

Organisational Awareness icon - two quarter circles two circles and one egg yolk yellow quarter circle

Organisational awareness is the ability to understand organisational structures, operations, culture and systems, and adapt your behaviour and attitudes accordingly.

Related subskills include: commercial awareness, corporate social responsibility, government awareness.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: performing a SWOT analysis, researching an organisation and finding out its values, priorities and culture prior to a job application/interview.

Lisa Faulkner profile picture

Chair: Lisa Faulkner

Email: Lisa.Faulkner@warwick.ac.uk

Bo Kelestyn profile picture

Member: Bo Kelestyn

Email: Bo.Kelestyn@wbs.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: WBS

Bo Kelestyn pofile

Daniel Dauber profile picture

Member: Dr Daniel Dauber

Email: D.Dauber@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: Applied Linguistics

Dr Daniel Dauber profile

Konstantina Dee profile picture

Member: Konstantina Dee

Email: Konstantina.Dee@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Careers and Employability Officer

Department: WMG

Konstantina Dee profile

Oliver Walmsley profile picture

Member: Oliver Walmsley

Email: Oliver.Walmsley@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Director of Business Relations

Department: Innovation Group

Oliver Walmsley profile

Professionalism icon - three quarter circles one circle and one deep red quarter circle

Professionalism is the ability to be reliable, set your own high standards, and show you care about every aspect of your job by being industrious and organised, and holding yourself accountable for your thoughts, words, and actions.

Related subskills include: time management, attention to detail, personal impact.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: balancing competing deadlines to still complete all assessments and coursework on time, thoroughly proof-reading and editing coursework before it is submitted, representing your coursemates’ views to University staff.

Lisa Faulkner profile picture

Chair: Lisa Faulkner

Email: Lisa.Faulkner@warwick.ac.uk

Dr Debbie Marais profile picture

Member: Dr Debbi Marais

Email: D.Marais@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Professor in Health Sciences Education, Director of PGT programmes

Department: Warwick Medical School

Dr Debbie Marais profile

Hilary Riseley profile picture

Member: Hilary Riseley

Email: Hilary.Riseley@wbs.ac.uk

Title: Undergraduate Careers Manager

Department: WBS

Ian Evans profile picture

Member: Ian Evans

Email: I.Evans.1@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Assistant Professor

Department: WMG

Anne Wilson profile picture

Member:  Anne Wilson SFHEA

Email: A.E.Wilson@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Head of Careers

Department: Student Opportunity

Anne Wilson profile

Problem Solving icon - two quarter circles one circle and one light red quarter circle

Problem solving is the ability to define a problem or challenge, then find, design, and select a solution to it.

Related subskills include: problem creation, decision making, learning from failure.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: creating a brand new product, choosing modules that are relevant to your career aspirations, applying feedback on your essays to improve them next time around.

Steven Burke profile picture

Chair: Dr Steven Burke

Email: Steven.Burke@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member:  Dr Siri Chongchitnan

Email: Siri.Chongchitnan@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: Mathematics

Sarah McCourt profile picture

Member: Dr Sarah McCourt

Email: Sarah.L.E.McCourt@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Acting DSEP

Department: Arts Faculty

No profile picture

Member: Mark Pulsford

Email: Mark.Pulsford@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: Education

Ethical values icon - two quarter circles two circles and one egg yolk yellow quarter circle

Ethical values are the ability to operate with high moral standards – namely being fair, respectful, compassionate, honest, and responsible.

Related subskills include: integrity, empathy, compassion.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: accurate and honest referencing in academic writing, not fabricating experiment results, mentoring a school student through an outreach/WP project.

Dave Musson profile picture

Chair: Dave Musson

Email: Dave.Musson@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member:  Dr Jane Bryan

Email: J.M.Bryan@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Reader

Department: Warwick Law School

Dr Jen Baker profile picture

Member: Dr Jen Baker

Email: J.Baker.5@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Teaching Fellow in C19th and C20th Literature

Department: English and Comparative Literature Studies

Dr Jen Baker profile

Dr Sarah McCourt profile picture

Member: Dr Sarah McCourt

Email: Sarah.L.E.McCourt@warwick.ac.uk

Title: DSEP

Department: Arts Faculty

Self Awareness icon - three quarter circles and one circle one purple quarter circle

Self-awareness is the ability to recognise your own personality, strengths, emotions; your ability to learn and develop.

Related subskills include: self-reflection, unlearning, self-directed learning.

Examples of where you might develop this skill during your time at Warwick: undergoing training to build skills you don’t feel confident in and identifying what else you need to do to practise them further, hiring a left-hand drive automatic car on holiday, when you’ve only ever driven with manual transmission in the UK, learning a foreign language via an app in your own time.

Steven Burke profile picture

Chair: Dr Steven Burke

Email: Steven.Burke@warwick.ac.uk

No profile picture

Member:   Gonzalo Ceron Garcia

Email: G.Ceron-Garcia@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Senior Teaching Fellow

Department: Warwick Writing Programme

No profile picture

Member: Charlotte Jones

Email: Charlotte.E.Jones@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, Course Director

Department: CLL

No profile picture

Member:  Karen Simecek

Email: K.D.Simecek@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor, DSEP

Department: Philosophy

No profile picture

Member:  Luke Hodson

Email: Luke.Hodson@warwick.ac.uk

Title: Associate Professor

Department: Psychology