- There are two types of skills we all have, technical skills and transferable skills. Technical skills help us do things like change tires, give injections, or write reports, and we usually learn them through formal structured education. These skills are great, but we can only really use them for one or two jobs, which means that someone who writes reports can't use that knowledge to then change a tire. 

We also have transferable skills, and these are the skills we can use in just about every single job. They also help you in other areas of your life, like in your relationships, or for managing your money, or even for organizing things like holidays. Your transferable skills will help you solve problems, communicate, work with others, come up with new ideas, and adapt to new places. 

And employers love transferable skills, because they help you turn up on time, fit into the team, and get the job done. In fact, employers may be more interested in your transferable skills than in your technical skills, which is why you need to work on both. The good news is that we're all building our transferable skills every day. 

Each time you work on a group project or write an email to a teacher, you're refining your communication and teamwork skills. Things like sport and exercise can help you build resilience, and we also build resilience when we persevere when things are hard. You're even building transferable skills while you work on your technical skills. We need both sorts of skills to thrive at work and in life.