An Introduction to Transferable Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes
Transferrable knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) are things you know (knowledge), are proficient at (skills) or personal qualities and approaches (attitudes), that are widely valued across employment settings and can transfer from one job to another. You probably understand what knowledge is (knowing what knowledge is, is an example of knowledge) but let’s take a moment to examine skills and attitudes.
Attitudes refer to your personal qualities and how you approach things, whereas skills involve doing something to a certain standard. As noted in the previous chapter, your attitudes can set you up to develop your skills. Curiosity is an attitude that can help you be open to learning about other ways of doing so help you to develop your intercultural skills.
Transferrable skills are abilities that can be used across employment settings and can transfer from one job to another. It is important to note that your transferable skills don’t just come from formal work or education settings; you can gain KSAs from many parts of your life, especially when you are constantly exposed to new ways of doing and thinking about things in your host culture. Figure 2.1 below highlights the various areas of your life where you may have acquired transferable KSAs, including academics, work, volunteering, social interactions, extra-curriculars, hobbies, and daily living.
Figure 2.1: Areas of your life where you may have acquired transferable KSAs
To begin unpacking the KSAs you developed while you were away, start thinking about the following questions. Some questions and examples are given in Table 2.1 below to get you started.
| Find your transferable skills by thinking about… | Example | Skill Categories |
|---|---|---|
| What you had to do | Label samples in a lab in Germany |
|
| What problems you had to solve | Getting the bus to the lab every day using an unfamiliar bus system in a different language |
|
| What new things you learned | I gained some German language skills |
|
| What differences you encountered | I navigated a different work culture |
|
Learning Activity: Unpacking Your Own KSAs
Now that you’ve learned about KSAs, it is time to reflect on your own. Use the Unpacking KSAs Worksheet [DOCX] to think about your own experiences learning abroad and provide examples of things you had to do, problems you had to solve, new things you had to learn, and differences you encountered.
Next, categorize using the following skills:
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- Creativity
- Critical thinking
- Integrating ideas and information
- Open-mindedness
- Adaptability
- Interpersonal skills
- Intercultural skills
- Discipline specific skills
- Communication skills
- Working across difference
- Perspective-taking (understanding from someone else’s perspective)
- Others?
