Skills for study, life and your future
Your degree builds more than knowledge — it builds skills that matter beyond university.
Start with this 2-minute overview to see how the ADA Skills Passport makes your learning visible — then explore how it works and what it means for you.
What is the ADA Skills Passport?
Students often struggle to identify their strengths, undervalue their skills, and feel uncertain about how to communicate them.
The ADA Skills Passport is a student-centred framework and toolkit that makes skills visible and meaningful. For students, this means clearer language to understand your learning, talk about it with confidence, and make choices that suit your goals.
It provides a common language for skills, aligning with industry and Australia-wide initiatives like the upcoming National Skills Taxonomy and National Skills Passport.
The nine enduring human skills
These are enduring human skills you’ll carry with you into work, life, and lifelong learning.
Critical thinking
To understand and evaluate information, evidence, observations, and arguments in a clear and logical manner.
Communication
To effectively express ideas and information and respond to people of diverse cultures and backgrounds through modes of listening, reading, writing, and other forms of interaction.
Creativity
To innovate new possibilities to develop and produce original and novel ideas, approaches and solutions.
Collaboration
To work effectively and cooperatively with diverse individuals or teams and/or take the initiative to lead, guide and motivate others.
Problem solving
To identify problems, develop and evaluate possible solutions, and select and implement effective and efficient solutions, including analysis of their impact and iteration.
Organisational
To develop specific goals and plans and manage and coordinate various resources to prioritise, organise and accomplish work.
Self-regulation
To monitor and control one’s own psycho-social resources and behaviours, including self-awareness, attention, emotions and values.
You’re already building these skills
Many students develop strong skills through their studies - but don’t always recognise or know how to describe them. This is a common experience, not a personal gap.
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Think about the last time you worked in a small group to solve a problem or discuss a reading.
Instead of focusing on the topic you discussed, consider the Communication and Collaboration required. Did you help a classmate understand a concept, or did you navigate a disagreement? How did you adapt your communication or approach for others in the room? Recognising these moments helps build the confidence to describe your interpersonal impact to future employers. -
Reflect on the process of finding and synthesising information for your latest essay or report.
This task builds Critical Thinking and Organisational skills. Ask yourself: “How did I decide which sources, methods, or ideas were most credible?” and “How did I organise complex data into a logical argument?” This turns a standard assessment into evidence of your ability to manage complex information. -
Think about your involvement in student societies, volunteering, or part-time work.
There is no single “right” pathway to building skills. Reflect on the Collaboration and Self-regulation you practiced while helping a peer or organising an event. What challenges did you manage, and how did you respond to them? These non-academic experiences are often where enduring human skills are most visible and deeply developed.
Support for building and articulating your skills
The ADA Skills Passport is complemented by a range of UNSW programs and services that support skill development. These resources provide additional opportunities to build experience, reflect on learning, and articulate your skills beyond the classroom.
Start building awareness now
Start thinking about where you are building these skills right now.
Get familiar with them and reflect on them as you move through your courses.
Check out all the resources available to you.
This is just the beginning
The ADA Skills Passport will continue to grow alongside your studies, including new tools launching later this year to help you track and showcase your skills.
