How should I use RAPID?

You should complete the Skills Audit function of RAPID. The Skills Audit requires you to assess your own level of competence for each stated skill.

Further advice is available to assist you in this process.

The Skills Audit covers three different categories of skill: Key skills, Personal skills and Professional skills.

At this stage, you can decide which of these skills you wish to audit.

If you audit a broad and comprehensive range of skills, your strengths and weaknesses should become more apparent.

When assessing your competence in a particular skill, you will find the following information presented:

• Category of Skill: e.g. Key Skill
• Skill area: e.g. Communication
• Specific skill: e.g. Making Presentations
• Four statements to help you assess your level of competence in this skill

You will also be presented with the following prompts:

• A prompt to recall and reflect upon your experiences before deciding which statement best describes your current level of competence
• A prompt to indicate your chosen statement in the grid provided
• A prompt to record evidence that supports the claim of competence that you have made in the grid provided. You can record up to three separate pieces of evidence
• A prompt to state the location of each piece of evidence cited.

Example of the format

You may wish to consider the following points when completing your Skills Audit:

• When considering which statement best describes your competence in a specific skill, it is best to not agonise over your decision. If you cannot confidently say that your competence covers the description given for a particular statement (e.g. statement C), then you should only claim competence at the previous statement (e.g. statement B).

• Only specify evidence that supports the description of competence given in a statement. Evidence should be as specific as possible. Stating an A-level in Maths to support a claim of competence in a Numeracy skill is, by itself, not sufficient, because it does not guarantee that you can perform that particular skill to the level of competence claimed. An example of an exercise completed or a problem tackled (that is supported by an objective assessment of the work) would be much better.

• You could adopt an indexing system to cover the location of any evidence that you cite.

• As general guidance, your level of competence is most likely to fall within the range A-B if you are at the beginning of your planning studies, B-C if you are nearing the completion of your planning studies, C-D if you are a graduate with at least 12 months experience in a managerial capacity. Your competence will also vary according to the type of skill concerned (e.g. a recent graduate may have a high level of competence in the Key and Subject Specific skills but a relatively low level of competence in the Personal and Professional skills.

You may wish to consider the following points when following the SPEED process:

• Use your Skills Audit to help identify strengths and weaknesses. This should reveal what may be your skill development needs and goals. You can then decide which skills you need to develop and / or what evidence you need to support your claims of competence.

• When producing an Action Plan, identify task(s), set targets, and produce a timetable of activities. Monitor and revise your plan as you seek to carry it out.

Additional advice on action planning is available here

• On completion of the activities listed in your skill development plan, you should spend some time reflecting upon the activities you have been engaged in. Try to identify what aspects of the methods you have used worked and which did not. Consider whether your activities revealed skills and competencies that you had not anticipated.

Additional advice on how to review, reflect upon, and evaluate your activities is available

• Do not forget to record all development of skill competence. In addition, remember to store any evidence that you have generated safely.