There are many definitions broadly similar to the following example:

"A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace - to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy."  CBI

It involves understanding what a job entails on a day to day basis, the context of the job - how the organisation works in terms of its aims, its structure and "work culture". It's an iterative process of learning, reflecting and getting experience. It involves gaining skills that are specific to the particular industry/employment sector you want to work in as well as more general employability skills defined as qualities like:

• verbal and written communication
• numeracy
• information technology
• negotiating/persuating
• flexibility/adaptability
• teamworking
• leadership
• organising/planning
• analysing and problem solving
• managing your own career and professional development.

You may see references to "key skills", "core skills" or "transferable skills" because they are important across all employment sectors and all types of organisations.

It's also about understanding where a particular organisation fits in the industry sector/market where it operates.  So you need to focus on developing commercial or business awareness, and understand the wider context of the graduate job market - globally as well as more locally.

Personal Development Planning (PDP) is nothing mysterious or scary!  LEAP (Learning and Professional Development) is the PDP process that Swansea University offers to students;  It's something to help you make the most of your time at university and  develop you skills so that you can ultimately get your dream job!  The "Your LEAP" course that registered students can access through Blackboard offers lots of help with this.

Your degree ... what next? on  the Graduate Prospects website provides help with:  identifying and reviewing your skills, and developing your skills awareness in the context of your interests, personality, values and what motivates you.

My Potential offers a range of self-assessment tools to help you check your skills in areas such as numeracy, literacy and verbal reasoning, and also to analyse what motivates you, what 'makes you tick' and what your learning style is - the way in which you learn most easily can provide very useful clues as to the kind of working environment that would suit you best. 

See our page on analysing your work values to help you develop an insight into your personal beliefs and attitudes that will inluence your career choice.  Also see our page on ethical careers if this perspective is important to you.

Online career guidance systems can help you build a profile of your skills, interests and personal qualities, and relate these to possible career and lifestyle options.

Getting the most from your student job is a working document which you can download and which allows a you to learn about work and yourself from even the most menial of tasks.

Learning and Leisure Activity   is a practical handout which you can use to develop your skills and qualities from any and all leisure time activities;

Additional resources:

Information from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education:  Information about the intellectual and key skills gained from a degree is given on the website of The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. At the home page scroll down to the section on Academic Standards and Quality and follow the 'Academic Infrastructure' link; then on the next page click on the 'Benchmark statements' link in the diagram. The documents can be quite detailed, but if you look for the skills sections they are absolutely excellent for helping to identify the skills (rather than knowledge) gained through degree study.

Developing Employable and Entrepreneurial Graduates on The Council for Industry and Higher Education's website.  The CIHE's mission is, "To foster close working and understanding between business and higher education so that world-class learning and research can improve the international competitiveness of both sectors and the capabilities of graduates and those already in the workforce."  Employability & Enterprise is one of their "Key Themes".

The Higher Education Academy aims to support Higher Education Institutions in various ways to help them provide the best possible learning experience for all students.  The Employability section of The Higher Education Academy's website presents a range of perspectives on links between employability and effective student learning. 

See the section "About employabiity" in Future Fit published by the CBI in March 2009.  It outlines their views on what employabiliity is, why it matters, what employers want and what employers and universities are doing to develop graduates' employability.  See also the CBI's Higher Education website.

See the Employability Challenge report published in July 2009 by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills which aims to support improvements in developing employability skills throughout the UK.