Employability / Time and Stress Management Skills
Section 1. Employability Skills – What are they? Why are they important?
Section 2. Time Management Skills
2.1 What are time management skills?
2.2 Why are time management skills important?
2.3 How to improve time management skills
Section 3. Stress Management Skills
3.3. Taking Control: Avoiding and Managing Stress
Section 4. Time Management Group Activities
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-ANTE SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-POST SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC MODULE’S TRAINING ELEMENTS
TRAINING MODULES Employability Skills 3/4: Time and Stress Management Skills
|
Prepared by SARONIS S.A.
March 2020

Employability / Time and Stress Management Skills
Section 1. Employability Skills – What are they? Why are they important?
Section 2. Time Management Skills
2.1 What are time management skills?
2.2 Why are time management skills important?
2.3 How to improve time management skills
Section 3. Stress Management Skills
3.3. Taking Control: Avoiding and Managing Stress
Section 4. Time Management Group Activities
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-ANTE SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-POST SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC MODULE’S TRAINING ELEMENTS
Employability / Time and Stress Management Skills
Learning objectives:
After following this Module, participants should be able to:- Define Employability Skills – What are they? Why are they important?
- Understand their meaning of Employability Skills and how they help.
- Understand the meaning of Time Management and why it is important.
- What are Time Management Skills?
- Know how such skills may be improved.
- What is Stress, how one may avoid it and how it may be controlled.
Type of Employability Skill | Its meaning | How does it help? |
Social and Communication skills | The ability to explain what you mean in a clear and concise way through written and spoken means. To listen and relate to other people, and to act upon key information / instructions. | I participate in an employees’ group appointed by the firm’s management to discuss and produce recommendations on an intended revision of working hours. My communication and interpersonal skills help me greatly in presenting and supporting my views on the specific subject. |
Problem solving skills | The ability to understand a problem by breaking it down into smaller parts, and identifying the key issues, implications and identifying solutions. To apply your knowledge from many different areas to solving a task. | As part of a team of technical personnel, I had to evaluate the information of a map and the weather forecast to decide which the best route to a set checkpoint was. |
Initiative and self-motivation | Having new ideas of your own which can be made into a reality. Showing a strong personal drive and not waiting to be told to do things. | At a temping job over the summer, the manager was not around to see me on my first morning, so I introduced myself to the other team members and offered my services until my manager arrived. |
Stress and Time management | Handling stress that comes with deadlines and ensuring that you meet them. | On a house building project, we ran out of essential materials shortly before the delivery deadline. We all feel very stressed and available time to address the problem is very limited. |
Organisational skills | Being organised and methodical. Able to plan work to meet deadlines and targets. Monitoring progress of work to ensure you are on track to meeting a deadline. | I was part of a group of firm’s employees in charge of organising the annual meeting of sales people from the entire country. This organising committee had to devise a project plan so that we could keep on track with planning. |
Teamwork | Working well with other people from different disciplines, backgrounds, and expertise to accomplish a task or goal. | I am part of my firm’s interdepartmental team that meets every month to discuss various issues. We often do activities as teams. |
Ability to learn and adapt | To be enthusiastic about your work, and to identify ways to learn from your mistakes for the benefit of both you and your employer. | In the engineering department of my firm we had to make certain parts move as fast as possible as possible on a conveyor belt. I couldn’t make mine go any faster so asked for help to improve the shape of the part containing tray – it went substantially faster on the next attempt. |
Numeracy | The ability to use data and mathematics to support evidence or demonstrate a point. | Our Oversees Projects’ Manager guided us through an activity to build a road to help communities in a foreign country. We calculated the road cost per mile and if it didn’t reach the next town, we had to redesign it to fit the budget. |
Valuing diversity and difference | Knowing the value of diversity and what it can bring. Understanding and being considerate of the different needs of different individuals. | Getting involved in activities, which involve people that are different from you in terms of age, gender, nationality, race, disability etc. |
Negotiation skills | To take on board other people’s feelings and express your own requirements in an unemotional clear fashion to achieve a win-win outcome. | I had to present a new version of an existing piece of equipment, to a panel of clients, and negotiate the new higher prices, arguing that the additional cost would be absorbed by the new version’s higher productivity. |
- Introducing Employability Skills (3.36 minutes)
- Essential Skills of Employability (3.28 minutes)
- Employability Skills video (5.08 minutes)
- Employability Skills Demo (6.17 minutes)
Section 2. Time Management Skills*
Managing your time well can help you improve in your career. Organizing each day helps you to complete work on time, stay engaged during important meetings and give you space to be creative and proactive in your tasks. Having strong time-management skills can ultimately lead to accomplishing key goals and advancing in your position. In this Module, we will discuss the meaning of time management, why it is important and how you can both improve upon and showcase your skills during the job search.2.1 What are time management skills?
Time management skills include a variety of skills that will help you manage your time well. Some of the most important time management skills include:- Organization. Staying organized can help you maintain a clear picture of what you need to complete and when. Being well-organized might mean maintaining an up-to-date calendar, being able to locate certain documents easily, having a tidy environment and taking detailed, diligent notes.
- Prioritization. Assessing each of your responsibilities for priority is key in being a good time manager. There are many ways to prioritize what you need to accomplish. You might decide to complete fast, simple items followed by longer, more involved ones. Alternatively, you might prioritize your tasks starting with the most time-sensitive, or a combination of both.
- Goal-setting. Setting goals is the first step to becoming a good time manager. Goal-setting allows you to clearly understand your end goal and what exactly you need to prioritize to accomplish it. Setting both short and long-term goals can lead to success in your career.
- Communication. Developing strong communication skills can allow you to make your plans and goals clear to people you work with. It also allows you to delegate, which lets you focus on completing the most important, relevant tasks that align with your goals.
- Planning. A fundamental part of time management is planning. Being efficient in planning out your day, meetings and how you will accomplish things will help you stick to your schedule.
- Delegation. Being a good time manager means only completing work that will help you and your company accomplish goals. While this skill is most often done by managers, you can also practice delegating tasks if you are managing a project. While it can often be difficult to say “no” when someone asks you to do something at work, it is important to practice having boundaries to manage your time well and ultimately accomplish your goals.
- Stress management. When practicing good time management, you should also be attentive to your mental health. Handling stress in a positive way can help you stay motivated and perform well when going through your schedule. You might do this by including small breaks throughout your day, or by rewarding yourself in small ways as you accomplish tasks. More on Stress Management Skills you may find in subsequent sections of this Module.
2.2 Why are time management skills important?
Time management skills are important because they help you structure your work in a way that allows you to accomplish goals. For example, if your goal is to get a job, you need time to update your resume, search for openings, apply, research companies and prepare for interviews. Setting aside specific amounts of time per day will help you complete the necessary steps to getting a job. Alternatively, if already have a job, you likely have a variety of responsibilities to help the company achieve certain goals. Maintaining your calendar, meetings and tasks is necessary to be successful in your role. Being fully present and focused results from strong time management skills. For example, if you are running late to a meeting and must work on a project you forgot was due while people are speaking, you might miss important information that could help you be better at your job. Managing your time well also allows you to have space to be creative and proactive with your goals. When you have a specific time set aside to complete your tasks, you can also allow for time to think about the big picture for yourself and your company.2.3 How to improve time management skills
Working on your time management skills can help you be a better employee and strong candidate when you apply for new opportunities. Here are a few ways you can improve your time management skills:- Set short and long-term goals. Practicing regular goal-setting can help you clearly understand exactly what you need to accomplish to achieve certain results. To hit larger, long-term goals, identify smaller milestone goals along the way. For example, if you have a goal to be promoted within six months, you might need to set smaller goals to improve on certain skills. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. For more on setting goals, visit
- Manage your calendar. Setting time aside to complete the most important tasks on your list is important for managing your time. You might consider blocking off certain brackets of time on your calendar on a regular basis so you are guaranteed to have time in your schedule without distractions or meetings. You should also consider whether or not attending certain meetings is beneficial. If you feel you will not add value or contribute in any certain way, you should feel empowered to decline certain meetings. If you do this, use discretion and be polite–you might consider sending the meeting owner an email letting them know why you have declined.
- Prioritize your assignments. Prioritization is a difficult skill but gets easier with practice. You can practice prioritization by making to-do lists. Writing or typing out everything you need to get done can help you physically prioritize the tasks that are most urgent or easy to get out of the way. If you need help, you might consider asking your manager or a colleague who is good at prioritizing how they would complete work. Understanding due dates and how the task affects others and business goals can help you to get certain things done ahead of others.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2NNIiDGOoQ
- https://www.calendar.com/blog/ted-talks-on-time-management/
Section 3. Stress Management Skills*
3.1. Introduction to Stress
It is generally accepted that a small amount of stress can help you to function effectively. It adds a sense of urgency to whatever you are doing, and helps to provide motivation. However, when most people talk about stress, they mean ‘too much stress’. Stress in these terms is generally a response to an inappropriate level of pressure: it may, for example, be triggered by not having enough to do, as well as having too much to do. Stress triggers several hormonal responses within the body, including your ‘flight/fight’ or adrenaline response. This is fine if you need to run away fast from a wolf, for example, but it’s not so great if you need to have a calm and effective meeting with your boss. It also has an effect on how you react to other people and, therefore, on your interpersonal relationships. It is important to learn to recognise your stress triggers, and find effective ways to manage your stress to avoid it negatively affecting your life or even making you unwell! The ‘Stress and Stress Management’ section of Skills that you need to develop, is split into four subsections which will help you to better understand stress and its relationship with you and others:3.2. What is Stress?
Stress can be described as the distress that is caused as a result of demands placed on physical or mental energy. Stress often affects behaviour, so that stress in one person is also likely to put stress on those around them, whether family, friends or colleagues. Different people find different things stressful, and can also cope with different levels of pressure before becoming stressed. For example, some people find it very stressful to be among large numbers of people and avoid crowds. Others like nothing better than the idea of a music festival, with thousands of people close together for a few days. Some people find too much work stressful, while many others would say that it is stressful not to have enough to do. It is therefore important to remember that stress is personal, and not judge others by your standards of stressfulness. Read more at: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/stress.html. The material will help you understand how stress can arise, and how to recognise its signs and symptoms. It also suggests some events which may prove particularly stressful, including the death of a close friend or partner, divorce, marriage and job loss. ______________________________________________________________________________ *Adapted from: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNR5I-a6lRDp3a1ysXyGqhkizPxwYw%3A1579598278926&ei=xsEmXoeTOM6EmwXb2YQw&q=stress+management&oq=+Stress+&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.35i39j0i67j0i131j0i67j0l2j0i67j0l3.81196.84279..88890…1.0..0.129.1033.0j9……0….1..gws-wiz…..10..35i362i39j35i39i19.lEPVYmuparU3.3. Taking Control: Avoiding and Managing Stress*
One of the most stressful issues of all is a sense that “you are losing control”! It is important to take control of your stress levels and put in place an active system to manage them. See below some tips on how you can do this. Discuss them with colleagues, see how widespread various causes of stress are and reflect on how you can best adopt the tips provided here.- Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine. Avoid, or at least reduce, your consumption of nicotine and any drinks containing caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and so will increase your level of stress rather than reduce it. Alcohol is a depressant when taken in large quantities, but acts as a stimulant in smaller quantities. Therefore, using alcohol as a way to alleviate stress is not ultimately helpful.
- Indulge in Physical Activity. Stressful situations increase the level of stress hormones. When you feel stressed and tense, go for a brisk walk in fresh air. Try to incorporate some physical activity into your daily routine on a regular basis, either before or after work, or at lunchtime. Regular physical activity will also improve the quality of your sleep.
- Get More Sleep. A lack of sleep is a significant cause of stress. Unfortunately, though, stress also interrupts our sleep as thoughts keep whirling through our heads, stopping us from relaxing enough to fall asleep.
- Try Relaxation Techniques. Each day, try to relax with a stress reduction technique. There are many tried and tested ways to reduce stress so try a few and see what works best for you.
- Talk to Someone. Just talking to someone about how you feel can be helpful. Talking can work by either distracting you from your stressful thoughts or releasing some of the built-up tension by discussing it.
- Keep a Stress Diary. Keeping a stress diary for a few weeks is an effective stress management tool as it will help you become more aware of the situations which cause you to become stressed.
- Manage Your Time. At times, we all feel overburdened by our ‘To Do’ list and this is a common cause of stress. Accept that you cannot do everything at once and start to prioritise and diarise your tasks. Make a list of all the things that you need to do and list them in order of genuine priority. Note what tasks you need to do personally and what can be delegated to others to do. Record which tasks need to be done immediately, in the next week, in the next month, or when time allows. On “Time Management”, read again the previous sections of this Module.
- Learn to Say ‘No’. A common cause of stress is having too much to do and too little time in which to do it. And yet in this situation, many people will still agree to take on additional responsibility. Learning to say “No” to additional or unimportant requests will help to reduce your level of stress, and may also help you develop more self-confidence. To learn to say “No”, you need to understand why you find it difficult. Many people find it hard to say “No” because they want to help and are trying to be nice and to be liked. For others, it is a fear of conflict, rejection or missed opportunities. Remember that these barriers to saying “No” are all self-created. You might feel reluctant to respond to a request with a straight “No”, at least at first. Instead think of some pre-prepared phrases to let other people down more gently. Practice saying phrases such as:
- Rest If You Are Ill. If you are feeling unwell, do not feel that you have to carry on regardless. A short spell of rest will enable the body to recover faster. If you think you may be depressed, then it is important that you seek help!
3.4. Stress in the Workplace
While many life events can be stressful, there is also no doubt that workplace stress is a misery for many people. Stress at work can lead to problems not only for the individual concerned, but in others through working relationships, and even for the company itself when stressed employees come into contact with customers. Workplace stress can also arise from Workplace Bullying. Like any other form of bullying, this needs to be addressed swiftly and effectively.Section 4. Time Management Group Activities*
Time management activities are helpful in teaching a group how to manage time better and be more productive. When employees in a firm (or even volunteers, etc.) are not productive enough that not only hurts them in their careers, but it also hurts the company or organization. It means less work done, less profits and less impact. And it brings more stress and frustration. Some interesting and easy time management activities are presented here.- The Mayo Jar. The mayo jar activity demonstrates the importance of doing the most important tasks first. You have an empty jar and some large rocks, smaller rocks, gravel, sand, and water. Depending on what objects you put in first determines how much of the other items you can put in afterward. If you put sand in first, nothing else will fit (except some water), but if you start with the big rocks (our most important tasks) and go down, you can fit some of everything in.
- Delegation Skill Practice. In this time management activity, the scenario is that you have a new assistant and can now delegate some of your tasks to the assistant. The group is divided into groups of 3: a delegator, an employee, and an observer. The delegator practices delegating and the observer has a sheet that helps give feedback on how well the delegator did and what they need to do to delegate well. Each person gets a turn.
- Lists & Priorities. In this activity, you have a list of tasks each worth a varying amount of points. You divide the group into teams and they have 10 minutes to finish the tasks. Afterward, you tally the points. Then you discuss with them how they prioritized and so on.
- Breaking Bad Habits. In this exercise, the group works in pairs. Each person writes on a piece of paper what stops them from managing their time more effectively. Then the two work together to come up with solutions. You then can bring it before the group in turns.
- Performance Review (What I did yesterday). Each person writes out 10 tasks they did the day before. Then on another paper, they write out five topics they think they will discuss at their next performance review. They then look at both papers to see if their tasks match what is important for their performance review.
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-ANTE SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
For the specific type of Skills: EMPLOYABILITY / TIME AND STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS, which the series of sessions you are going to participate aims to upgrade and for which specific Learning Objectives have been set, HOW would you rate your existing knowledge?My knowledge is practically non-existing | I know very little | I consider my knowledge to be moderate | I consider my knowledge to be rather adequate | I claim to have a very good knowledge | |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
MODULE 3/4: Employability / Time and Stress Management skills | |||||
· Learning Objective 1 | |||||
· Learning Objective 2 | |||||
· Learning Objective 3 | |||||
· Learning Objective 4 | |||||
· Learning Objective 5 | |||||
· Learning Objective 6 |
- Define Employability Skills – What are they? Why are they important?
- Understand their meaning of Employability Skills and how they help.
- Understand the meaning of Time Management and why it is important.
- What are Time Management Skills?
- Know how such skills may be improved.
- What is Stress, how one may avoid it and how it may be controlled.
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EX-POST SELF ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING PARTICIPANTS’ SKILLS
For the specific type of Skills: EMPLOYABILITY / TIME AND STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS , which the series of sessions that you have attended aimed to upgrade and for which specific Learning Objectives had been set, How do you NOW rate your knowledge?My knowledge is practically non-existing | I know very little | I consider my knowledge to be moderate | I consider my knowledge to be rather adequate | I claim to have a very good knowledge | |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
MODULE 3/4: EMPLOYABILITY / TIME AND STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILLS | |||||
· Learning Objective 1 | |||||
· Learning Objective 2 | |||||
· Learning Objective 3 | |||||
· Learning Objective 4 | |||||
· Learning Objective 5 | |||||
· Learning Objective 6 |
- Define Employability Skills – What are they? Why are they important?
- Understand their meaning of Employability Skills and how they help.
- Understand the meaning of Time Management and why it is important.
- What are Time Management Skills?
- Know how such skills may be improved.
- What is Stress, how one may avoid it and how it may be controlled.
SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ASSESSMENT OF SPECIFIC MODULE’S TRAINING ELEMENTS
Having attended training sessions aiming at helping you upgrade your Employability / time and stress management skills; how do you rate the various elements of your training?Very Poor | Rather Poor | Acceptable | Very satisfactory | Excellent | |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
Training Material | |||||
· Training Handouts distributed | |||||
· Multimedia presented | |||||
· Other resources suggested | |||||
Training Methods Used | |||||
· Face-to-Face lectures | |||||
· Group Activities & Discussions | |||||
· Customised Learning Platform | |||||
Trainers involved | |||||
· Knowledge of the subject | |||||
· Level of preparedness | |||||
· Effectiveness in knowledge transfer |