How can Cambridge help my skills development?
If you are interested in developing skills outside of your academic study, Cambridge has a wide range of activities to help you. You can take part in as many, or as little, as you would like to. There is no ‘right’ amount of activity to be involved in, just do what is right for you and most of all, enjoy yourself. This page will give you more information on how activities at Cambridge can help you build skills and why this is important for your future. There is help and support available to anyone wanting to develop their skills, information on this can be found in the sections below.
If you are interested in learning more about your current skills, you can evaluate your skills using the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool, accessible via your CRSID.
How does understanding my skills help me?
You can learn more about your current skills by using the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool, accessible via your CRSID. Understanding your current skill strengths and investigating what skills you can develop that will be valuable for your future is helpful for a number of reasons. These will be more or less relevant to you depending on your stage of study or motivations.
- Learn more about how to target your skills development activities.
- Build a connection between your skills development needs and appropriate development opportunities.
- Understanding more about your skills development can be empowering, and allows you to invest your time in purposeful development opportunities and know when to rest if you are already strong in a particular area.
- Added value in your study experience beyond knowledge gain in an academic area.
- Create a positive approach to life-long learning and subsequent adaptability to changing labour markets.
- Continuous skills development can support better job satisfaction and higher salaries (McKinsey, 2019)
- Developing a range of skills enables you to be adaptable to different roles across organisations or build a successful business.
- Open yourself up to a wider pool of opportunities following graduation.
- Make better quality applications to employers, articulating better your skills and improve interviews focused on skills awareness.
Who is the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool useful for?
Here are four profiles of student at Cambridge who will find assessing their current skills useful, and why. Which are you?
Using the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool
You can use the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool to investigate where your skills strengths are at this moment in time. If you would like to focus on how to develop your skills whilst at Cambridge then you can click through to our ‘Skills development at Cambridge’ pages, which highlight the various activities on offer at Cambridge and how to engage in the best opportunities for your own development. Next, you can explore the ‘What skills can I be developing?’ pages which break down different types of skills into groups, allowing you to focus on them, one at a time.
When you feel ready, you can add new skills to your CV, applications, personal profile or set new development targets. This might include getting involved in new activities, taking workshops or some self-directed training.
We recommend you retake the reflection questions in the ‘Skills Discovery’ tool at least once each academic year, to enable you to monitor changes in your skills development year on year.
Do I need to have top scores in all skills to be ‘succeeding’?
No. The important aspect of assessing your skills is that you have a starting point that allows you to focus your skills development activity and that you are developing skills that are important to you. It is unlikely, nor important, that you achieve ‘top scores’ in all the skill areas – what is important is that you recognise areas where you want to spend your time developing skills, where you can maintain skills and where those you might visit at a later stage. If you are keen on making a skills development plan that works for your schedule and you need support to do so, speak to an advisor, tutor or careers consultant on how to prioritise your activities based on your assessment/future goals.
Which skills am I assessing and why?
In the Skills Discovery assessment, you will answer questions relating to 9 skills categories. You will answer around 45 questions which, if answered with care, will give you a skill level and recommend some further resources available in Cambridge to support your development. If you score highly in particular areas, then consider focussing on areas that need more attention. You can take the assessment again in the academic year and monitor any changes in your scores – we recommend you do this for your own records.
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These 9 categories for skills development capture research on the future of skills from a range of research sources such as: the World Economic Forum, the Institute of Student Employers, Pearson, McKinsey, LinkedIn economic graphs, the University of Cambridge Library Study Skills catalogue, City & Guilds and a range of consultations/research with employers, stakeholders in the skills economy and academic research into skills assessments for students in higher education. A full list of resources can be found below.
Whilst you are studying or researching at Cambridge, you have access to many opportunities to develop your skills. Whether you have just started at Cambridge or been here for a few years, you might not know the right opportunity for you, or where to find it.
You may want to jump-in to developing your skills based on your interests or want to take a targeted approach based on the results from your skills evaluation. Perhaps you have a particular career in mind and want to align your skills development with those specific to a role or industry.
Whatever your motivation, we have sectioned skills development opportunities at Cambridge into 8 categories to help you focus. These categories are: Academic Study, Community & Volunteering, Entrepreneurship, Music, Professional Development, Sport, Societies & Committees and Theatre & Arts.
Making time for skills development whilst you study
The ‘Skills Discovery Tool’ is designed to help you target the skill areas you would like to develop. Importantly, it can also help you to see where you are already strong, and therefore helps you to target your activity. Developing your skills efficiently doesn’t always mean doing more, in fact, it might help you to rest!
Doing what you enjoy is key – and if you don’t know what that is, hopefully it will help you explore new experiences. Some roles will come with a lot of responsibility. For example, committee and society roles that involve organisation of events, attending meetings or spending time consulting with people, will be very enriching but resource heavy. We would suggest thinking about everything you have going on before committing to new activities that might stretch your human resource (time, energy, wellbeing). Equally, if you think you are ready for more responsibility, go for it! The key is there is no ‘right’ way of doing things – just what works for you.
It is key to remember that skills development is not always about being in a leadership role – we hope the skills development activities suggested will give you a range of involvement choices, from self-directed course online, to recreational sport and music – right through to President committee roles and professional certification.
How do I make time for skills development?
When you are studying at Cambridge, your academic studies are a priority. Through your academic studies you will be developing a wide range of skills that are valuable to your future – just taking time to recognise those skills, reflect on how you are using them and how to push them further within your study, is skills development!
Skills development is part of all your activity and so taking time to simply reflect on what you are already doing is useful. For example, if you are involved in playing Sport competitively, take time to consider everything you are practicing: Leadership? Teamwork? Creating an inspiring vision? Self-regulation? Planning and organisation skills? Time management?
Skills development doesn’t have to be about doing more.
This being said, focussing on skills development can offer the opportunity to get involved in new activities, learn new skills that make work easier and actually save you time by making you more efficient (using new digital collaboration tools for example). Getting out and engaging with new activities can also enhance your study, make you feel more connected to your community and make you more employable too.
Whilst skills are best developed by ‘doing’ there is nothing wrong with starting your journey by reading more about a topic or accessing tools online before you apply them in practice.
Online and self-directed resources via your Cambridge CRSID
- Linkedin Learning is now available for all Cambridge students (and staff), alongside existing provision for academic study. This resource, widely used by many leading Universities, offers resources on wellbeing and remote working as well as online courses on creative, technical and professional skills, including leadership and development. You can access it using your Raven login. The site includes information about how to get started and some initial areas that may be of particular interest at this time
- UIS provide a wide range of (usually) free IT training courses, including, but not limited to, developing basic IT skills, photo and image manipulation, desktop publishing, working with spreadsheets, and programming. Have a look at the Training section's website and take the opportunity to gain some new skills or develop existing ones.
- You are likely familiar with your college, department and the central university library – you may not be aware of the depth and breadth of support they offer for skills development related to your academic study. You can access a full list of libraries here and can view the support on offer for training via the Cambridge University Library Training.
There are 9 broad skills areas that can support your preparation to take your next step after Cambridge. Each category has a number of micro-skills within it that you can focus on to a more-or-lesser extent, based on your personal goals. The skills assessment tool can help you identify development areas to focus on based on your current skillset.
It is worth noting that the list of skills a person can develop is wide and vast and so, these 9 categories do their best to capture the broad range of skills that are valuable to develop, based on findings from research into the current and future needs of the labour market. If you have a particular career interest, we recommend you do further research into the specific skills required. As skills demand changes so rapidly, you can expect this list to change and develop from time to time.
- Digital, technology use and technical skills
- Entrepreneurship & Enterprise
- Interpersonal, communication and social skills
- Self-management skills
- Writing, analytical and reporting skills
- Leadership & Management
- Learning, thinking and reasoning
- Planning and organisation skills
- Presentation, negotiation and influencing skills
What impacts the skills I can be developing?
As technology, the environment, politics, globalisation, urbanisation, changing demographics and social inequalities all have an influence on our lives and careers, skills development to adapt to the changes brought on by these influences becomes increasingly important[1]. For example, as AI and automation changes and replaces the role of humans in tasks, those humans will take on new roles requiring new skills. These are likely to be more requirement for ‘human’ skills, such as relationship management, communication, project management, negotiation, empathy and leadership.
[1] Pearson. (2022). The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030: High-Level Findings. Online: Report: https://futureskills.pearson.com/research/assets/pdfs/media-pack.pdf (Accessed: July 2023).
A skill is an ability to do an activity or job well, especially because you have practised it (Cambridge Dictionary). Almost any skill can be developed.
Skills are essentially things we are living and the more we practice them or learn new skills, the more able we to are to adapt to and pre-empt change in the needs of the world around us and be useful to it. At its best, being actively engaged in skills development means we have more choice over doing things we want to do and that those things make us feel fulfilled. The process empowers us to achieve our goals, live well and adapt to change.
When it comes to employment, having a degree is no longer an overriding indicator that a person is suitable for a job role[1] (Pearson 2022, 8). Entrepreneurs too need a complex range of skills to nurture ideas, teams and stakeholders and change with their venture as it grows in the face of challenges and success.
Skills are important because:
- Beyond knowledge, our wellbeing and livelihood often depends on us using a range of skills to achieve our personal and professional goals.
- Successful transitions (in study, career, personal life) are built on continuous skills development.
- They make you confident and autonomous and help you through everyday tasks.
- They equip us for adapting to a changing world. Monitoring our skills development and seeking out development opportunities helps ensure we are equipped for our next step in life.
[1] Pearson (2022) The Future of Skills Online: Report Available at: futureskills.pearson.com
The changing world of work
As technology, digitalisation and AI change the tasks and occupations of humans, it is important that you develop skills that are unique to humans, such as judgement, fluency of ideas and active learning (Pearson) alongside more technical skills, such as coding and programming.
An openness and commitment to life-long learning and reskilling will enable you to adapt and build resilience to an ever-changing employment and economic landscape and find a path that fulfils your purpose by choice and not necessity.
Are skills just about employment?
No! Whilst it is true that employers see internships and placements as predictors of good skills and attributes in a candidate (ISE 2022, 35[1]) your skills development is about much more than making yourself employable.
Skills development is personal to you – it might be that you want to learn technical skills to improve a personal passion project – like learning coding or graphic design for a blog you write or edit. It may be that you want to build your confidence in presenting your papers with more impact. How about developing your influencing skills ready to negotiate with investors to your new venture?
Is my degree just about my academic performance?
No! Whilst academic study is your primary focus at Cambridge and you will want to perform to the best of your ability, there are many skills you will be using every day that are equipping you for your future. Critical thinking, analysis, debate, and discussion, working with accuracy and managing data are just a few core skills that will be of value to any steps to take after study.
Taking time to reflect on your study is an important step in articulating its value to others. Consider everything you are doing: group work, report writing, ethical data collection, industry collaborations, analysis and writing, supervisions, working under pressure and self-management – these activities all make up your experience. Whilst study alone won’t ensure you are fulfilling your skills potential, it is a good place to start when reflecting on your development journey.
[1] Institute of Student Employers. (2022). Student development survey 2022: Supporting the learning and development of entry-level hires. London: Institute of Student Employers.
Environmental awareness
Building a bridge between environmental and sustainability issues and skills development is important to many people in the Cambridge community. Here are some ideas on how you can build a range of skills whilst supporting environment and sustainability projects.
- Join teams participating in the Green Impact Scheme (skills: project management, sustainability communications, time management).
- Different groups and campaigns in Cambridge related to environmental issues: University of Cambridge | Resilience Web
- CUECS (Cambridge University Environmental Consulting Society): student volunteers helping organisations and individuals to alter their practices to be more environmentally-friendly.
- CUSU Ethical Affairs Campaign: Part of the SU campaigns, working with JCRs and MCRs
- College specific projects:
- composting, vegetarian/vegan options, heating reductions, student societies, etc.
- stand (or establish the position) as the Green Officer (or equivalent) on a JCR or MCR committee.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence has an impact on the skills that humans will need to develop, now and in the future.
To ensure we remain useful, valuable, and integral to the workforce it is important to monitor AI’s influence on the industries and roles that we would like to enter. We know that some job roles will be made obsolete by AI, but we also know that jobs will be created - and that the need for ‘human’ skills will also increase (Pearson). You do not need to be a researcher in AI, natural language processing or data science to develop skills using AI. Many of you may already be using Generative AI (such as ChatGPT) to complete writing tasks or find out answers to questions, create presentations or get suggestions on time management, for example. To get started with using AI in common tasks, visit the ‘Professional Development’ section of the skills development pages.
If you are serious about working with AI, then skills within the ‘Digital technology, use and technical skills’ will give you a good overview of suitable skills, but you will find that AI take a range of skills from all categories. Broadly these are technical ‘hard skills’ such as: programming languages, machine and deep learning, mathematics and statistics, natural language processing, libraries and frameworks, data modelling and analytics. ‘Human’ skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and ideation and ethics complement technical skills. Most people who become leaders in this technology will come from a relevant STEM degree, but you should not let your topic of study deter you from learning skills in AI.
The Careers Service has a blog series on using AI tools in your career planning. You can learn more about the basics of AI for students through the LinkedIn Learning course ‘How students can use AI’ (access via CRSID). You can search the UIS training library under the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence’ to see the range of self-guided courses available.
It is important to note that developing different types of skills has different implications depending on your background, responsibilities, abilities, and personality. If you have a condition or divergence that you feel means practicing or developing certain skills is more difficult or needs deeper understanding, consider having a chat with a trusted person before making your skills development plan.
Everyone has difference preferences or needs when it comes to skills development and the activities we can or choose to take part in. That’s why it is important to remember that skills development is not just about ‘joining in’ but can start with simple tasks like reading articles, taking part in online webinars from home and then building up to courses or attending skills sessions.
You may have caring responsibilities, a physical health, mental health, neurodiverse, physical, or sensory condition or disability that you feel inhibits your ability to engage with skills development. A positive task is to start with reflecting on all the skills you have developed through dealing with the circumstances relative to you. Consider having a chat with a trusted person before making your skills development plan. This person could be a knowledgeable friend, your ADRC advisor or support worker, a tutor, adviser, or careers consultant.
If you would rather take the Skills Discovery assessment with a person, rather than online, book an appointment with a Careers Consultant.
- Learn more about how your Director of Studies (DoS) can offer academic support via the Student Support pages.
- Learn more about specialist 1-2-1 study skills support for eligible students via the accessibility and disability resources centre
- Book an appointment with a Careers Consultant via the Careers Service
- Speak to your college or university librarian about skills development support available related to your needs
- World Economic Forum (2023) The Future of Jobs Report 2023 Online: Report Available at: https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/ May 2023
- Institute of Student Employers. (2022). Student development survey 2022: Supporting the learning and development of entry-level hires. London: Institute of Student Employers.
- Institute of Student Employers. (2023). Student development survey 2023: Developing students in the age of hybrid working. Institute of Student Employers
- Pearson (2022) The Future of Skills Online: Report Available at: futureskills.pearson.com
- Dondi, M et al (2021) Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work Online: Report Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/defining-the-skills-citizens-will-need-in-the-future-world-of-work
- Jan D. Vermunt, Sonia Ilie & Anna Vignoles (2018) Building the foundations for measuring learning gain in higher education: a conceptual framework and measurement instrument, Higher Education Pedagogies, 3:1, 266-301, DOI: 10.1080/23752696.2018.148467