B. Exploring and Preparing for the World of Work · Exploring and Preparing for the World of Work

Transferable Skills: Where They Come From and Where They Lead

B1 B1.2About 65 minutes

Learning goals

I can name Ontario's seven transferable skills and give an example of each.
I can explain how transferable skills are developed through school, extracurricular activities and the community.
I can analyse how transferable skills prepare people for future opportunities, especially when work keeps changing.

Words to know

transferable skills
Skills you can carry from one setting to another and use in many different jobs and parts of life, such as communication and problem solving.

technical (job-specific) skills
Skills needed for a particular job, such as wiring a circuit or using accounting software.

extracurricular activities
Activities outside regular classes, such as teams, clubs, arts groups and student council.

global citizenship
Understanding how people and places around the world are connected, and acting responsibly toward people and the planet.

digital literacy
Using digital tools safely, effectively and responsibly, and judging the information you find online.

evidence
A specific example that shows you have a skill: what you did and what happened.

Hook: what's in your backpack?

Imagine every skill you have is a tool in a backpack. Some tools work in only one place: a hockey stick is great on the ice and useless in a chemistry lab. Other tools work almost everywhere: a phone, a water bottle, a good pair of shoes.

Transferable skills are the "go-everywhere" tools. Lesson 1 showed that trends like AI and the green economy keep changing which jobs exist. When jobs change, technical skills can go out of date, but transferable skills come with you. That is why the curriculum asks you to explain how transferable skills are developed in school, extracurricular and community activities, and analyse how they prepare people for future opportunities.

Ontario's seven transferable skills

If you took Grade 9 technology, you met this list. Here it is again, with what each skill looks like:

Critical thinking and problem solving: analysing information, asking good questions, and finding and testing solutions.
Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship: coming up with new ideas and turning them into action, from a new club event to a small business.
Self-directed learning: setting goals, managing your time, staying motivated and learning on your own. (You practised this in Unit A.)
Collaboration: working with others toward a shared goal, sharing tasks and handling disagreements respectfully.
Communication: listening, speaking, reading and writing clearly, in person and online, for different audiences.
Global citizenship and sustainability: understanding different cultures and perspectives, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories, cultures and contributions, and acting fairly and sustainably. (You may also see the related term global competence.)
Digital literacy: using technology well and safely, and judging online information. (Sometimes called technological fluency.)

Transferable skills vs. technical skills. A carpenter's skill with a mitre saw is a technical skill. Their ability to explain a quote to a customer is a transferable skill. Most jobs need both.

Skill	At school	Extracurricular	In the community
Critical thinking and problem solving	Designing a science investigation	Planning a team's strategy	Figuring out a bus route to a new job
Innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship	A media arts project	Organizing a new club fundraiser	Running a small lawn-care or babysitting business
Self-directed learning	Studying for a test without being reminded	Practising an instrument	Learning a recipe or a language from an Elder or relative
Collaboration	Group project	Sports team, band, robotics club	Volunteering at a food bank
Communication	Class presentation	Student council speech	Helping customers at a part-time job
Global citizenship and sustainability	Learning about Indigenous perspectives in history or English	Eco club	Community clean-up, cultural events
Digital literacy	Researching with reliable sources	Editing videos for the school's social media	Helping a grandparent set up a video call

Every row shows the same skill being built in three different settings.

Each line links an experience to a skill it builds. A food bank shift, for example, builds communication, collaboration and global citizenship.

How transferable skills prepare you for the future

1. They help you get your first job. With little work experience, your transferable skills are what you have to offer. "I was captain of my soccer team" can show collaboration and communication.

2. They let you move between jobs. Most people change jobs several times. Skills like problem solving and communication go with you from a summer camp to a retail store to a college placement.

3. They protect you when work changes. When AI or new machines change the tasks in a job, people who can learn new tools (self-directed learning, digital literacy) and do what machines can't (communication, collaboration, judgment) adapt more easily. Lesson 1 showed that many jobs are "highly complementary" with AI: the humans in those jobs bring the transferable skills.

4. They support further learning. Apprenticeship, college and university programs all expect you to manage your time, work in teams and communicate clearly.

5. They matter in life, not only in work: in your family, your friendships and your community.

The same transferable skill shows up in very different jobs. That is what makes it transferable.

Worked example

Let's map an experience to skills and opportunities

Amira is in the school robotics club and helps at her family's restaurant on weekends. Show how these experiences build transferable skills, and connect them to future opportunities.

Step 1: List what she actually does. Robotics: works in a team of four, writes code for the robot, fixes it when it fails at competitions. Restaurant: takes phone orders, handles busy Saturday rushes, explains menu items to customers.
Step 2: Name the skills. Robotics builds collaboration, digital literacy and critical thinking and problem solving. The restaurant builds communication and problem solving under pressure.
Step 3: Add evidence. "When our robot's arm failed at a competition, I found a loose sensor wire and we fixed it before the next round." "I take about 20 phone orders on a Saturday and read each order back to avoid mistakes."
Step 4: Connect to future opportunities. These skills fit a co-op placement in a tech company, a summer job in customer service, an engineering technology or computer science program, or even running her own business someday.
Step 5: Notice the overlap. Problem solving appears in both settings. Her strongest transferable skill shows up in very different places.

Amira's experiences build collaboration, communication, digital literacy and problem solving, each backed by evidence. These open doors to work, co-op and postsecondary programs, and will still be useful if specific technologies change.

Skills need evidence

Saying "I have good communication skills" proves nothing. Saying "I read every phone order back to the customer, and I made almost no order mistakes in two months" shows it. Always pair a skill with evidence: what you did and what happened. You will practise this in the next lesson.

Just for fun

Transferable skills are the hoodie of your résumé: they go with everything, they work in every season, and you never really outgrow them.

Hands-on activity

Skills-from-everywhere map

You need: a large sheet of paper and coloured pencils or markers (or a drawing app).

In the centre, write your name.
Draw three branches labelled School, Extracurricular and Community and family. Under each, list at least two things you actually do (a course, a team, a chore, a volunteer role, a cultural or faith community activity, caring for siblings, a part-time job).
For each activity, write the transferable skills it builds, using the seven skill names.
Circle the skill that appears most often. That is probably one of your strongest.
Ask a family member: Where have you seen me use this skill? Add their example.
At the bottom, write one future opportunity (a job, program or volunteer role) where your strongest skill would help.

What to look for: at least six activities, correct skill names, at least one example contributed by someone else, and a realistic link to a future opportunity. Family and community responsibilities count as much as school activities.

Your turn

Name Ontario's seven transferable skills.

What is the difference between a transferable skill and a technical skill? Give an example of each.

Give one school, one extracurricular and one community activity that builds collaboration.

Which transferable skill is shown when a student teaches herself video editing from online tutorials?

Explain one way transferable skills help people when technology changes their job.

Rewrite this weak statement with evidence: "I'm a good problem solver."

More practice: warm-up

What makes a skill "transferable"?

Which skill involves using technology safely and judging online information?

Name two places outside school where you could build communication skills.

Which skill is shown by starting a small dog-walking business?

True or false: transferable skills only come from paid jobs.

More practice: on your own

Choose one of the seven skills and explain how it would be useful in three different careers.

How can learning about First Nations, Métis and Inuit histories and perspectives build transferable skills?

Why might an employer hiring a 16-year-old care more about transferable skills than work experience?

Explain why transferable skills may become more important as AI spreads.

A student says, "I don't do any extracurriculars, so I have no skills." How would you respond?

Challenge

Analyse how a student who works at a summer camp could use the skills from that job in two very different future opportunities.

Pick a trend from Lesson 1 and explain which two transferable skills would help a worker most in adapting to it. Justify your choice.

Some people say transferable skills are "soft skills" and less important than technical skills. Evaluate this claim.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is a transferable skill?

A student organizes a new recycling program at school. Which skill is shown most strongly?

Where can transferable skills be developed?

Why do transferable skills help people when work changes?

Which statement gives the best evidence of a skill?

Teaching yourself to play guitar from online lessons mainly shows:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation B1.2 asks students to explain how transferable skills are developed through school, extracurricular and community experiences, and to analyse how these skills prepare people for future opportunities. The seven Ontario transferable skills were introduced in Grade 9 technology for students who took it; this lesson goes further, into where skills come from and why they matter as work changes.

How to help at home: Point out the skills you see your teen using at home: translating for a relative, caring for siblings, cooking for the family, fixing a bike, organizing a family event. Many teens don't realize these count.

Common difficulties:

Listing skill names with no evidence. Ask, "When did you do that? What happened?"
Thinking only paid work counts.
Confusing technical skills (specific to one job) with transferable skills (useful in many).