Level up your stats with the UNSW Skills Passport

Maximise the skills you've developed throughout your degree.

Published on the 09 October 2026

UNSW students at a Skills Passport event during Set for Success

What is the UNSW Skills Passport?

During your uni degree, you pick up a heap of useful skills. Some you use a lot and others you didn't even know you had built up.

Couple that with an evolving workforce landscape that increasingly prioritises enduring human skills, and it became clear to UNSW that it needed to help students identify, nurture and articulate the skills in their (metaphorical) toolbox.

Enter the UNSW Skills Passport.

Like a passport that helps you move across borders, the Skills Passport is designed to help you recognise the skills you're developing during your time at university - whether it's through studying, work experience or just living your best life - and how they keep evolving over time as you enter the workforce.

This is all aligned with Australia's proposed National Skills Passport, which is a digital platform where learners can record and share their qualifications and skills throughout their careers.

Hang on, wasn't this an ADA-only thing?

Well, initially yes. The Skills Passport was initially introduced as a pilot program for Arts, Design and Architecture students. After a successful trial period, it will be expanded to all students from 2027 onwards.

What are the benefits of the Skills Passport?

You know how at a job interview, the interviewers tend to ask you, "What's your greatest strength and/or weakness?" The Skills Passport basically helps you answer that loaded question with confidence while ensuring you have the skills to back up your answer.

In the simplest terms, the Skills Passport helps you figure out what your strengths are and what skills you've been developing at UNSW. Once you've figured out your skills and strengths, you are then empowered to keep developing them in real ways - whether it's through coursework, projects or experiences - so that you're well prepared for life during and after uni.

During your time at UNSW, there are nine skills you develop that will carry on through life, work and lifelong learning:

Critical thinking: The ability to make sense of information, question it and use evidence to form your own conclusions by considering different sources and perspectives.
Communication: The ability to share and understand ideas clearly, and adjust how you communicate for different audiences, cultures, contexts and formats.
Creativity: The ability to develop new ideas by building on what you already know and exploring different ways of thinking and doing.
Collaboration: The ability to work effectively with others to achieve shared goals by contributing, listening and taking responsibility while engaging respectfully with diverse perspectives.
Digital literacy: The ability to use digital tools thoughtfully by choosing the right ones, understanding their limits and making responsible decisions about how and when to use them.
Problem solving: The ability to understand and break down challenges, explore possible solutions, and test and refine them.
Organisational: The ability to set goals, plan your work, prioritise what matters, stay on track and adjust when things change.
Self-regulation: The ability to understand your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and adjust your approach to support your learning and wellbeing.
Technical: The ability to work effectively with physical and digital tools and systems by setting them up, using them and managing what they produce.

That's... pretty good, actually

Right?

Which of the nine UNSW skills are your strengths?

So how exactly does the Skills Passport work in practice?

Here's the thing: you're already building up those nine UNSW skills as you progress through your degree and living life as a uni student.

The Skills Passport is helping you 'notice' how everything you're doing is helping your development, and helping to guide you down pathways that can help maximise your potential.

If you're not sure where to start or want to reflect on your journey so far, head over to the Skills Profile Builder to identify where you're currently at with the nine UNSW Skills

If you have an idea of where you're at with your skills, the Skills Passport can help you reflect on where your strengths show up most strongly.

If you want to keep improving your nine UNSW skills, the Skills Passport can point you towards resources that can help your development, whether it's through Employability, Student clubs and societies, Work Integrated Learning or Academic Confidence Essentials.

There's no right or wrong way to approach the Skills Passport, it is here to help you throughout each stage of your UNSW journey!

Use the Skills Profile Builder