Skills Audit Essay

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SKILLS AUDITS By Heather Watson (The Skills Framework) “A key piece of information an organisation needs to improve is to know what skills and knowledge the organisation requires and what skills and knowledge the organisation currently has’ (www.cognology.biz/sawhatis.htm). 1. Introduction What is a Skills Audit? A skills audit is essentially a process for measuring and recording the skills of an individual or group. The main purpose for conducting a skills audit in an organisation is to identify the skills and knowledge that the organisation requires, as well as the skills and knowledge that the organisation currently has. Skills audits are also usually done to determine training needs so an organisation can improve its skills and knowledge. However skills audits are also completed for other reasons such as restructuring and deployment. A skills audit gathers more information than simply your current qualifications level. It firstly identifies the skills matrices for the organisation and then delves into what the current competencies are of each individual against this predefined set of skills required to fulfill a specific role. The outcome of the skills audit process is a skills gap analysis. This information will enable the organisation to improve by providing the appropriate training and development to individuals to cater for the identified skill gaps. The skills audit process will also provide information which can be used for purposes such as internal employee selection and to ensure that the correct person is deployed in each position. 2. Benefits of Skills Audits in the Workplace The key piece of information an organisation needs to improve and to deliver to its Mission Statement and strategy is to know what skills and knowledge the organisation requires and what skills and knowledge the organisation currently has. RTO
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