Unit 1: Professional Practice in the Digital Economy Unit code F/618/6250 Unit type Core Unit level 4 Credit value 15 Introduction The rapid pace of technological change and development is transforming the way we work. The World Economic Forum highlights that in a world of increasing automation, where smart technologies take on routine tasks there is a need for individuals who can solve complex problems, who are able to communicate well and be resilient, creative and innovative. In the workplace, these skills are needed daily to show proficiency in designated tasks. The continuation of professional development is required to ensure that individuals have a valued set of skills that can be applied to any problem-solving situation or environment. This unit provides a foundation for good practice in a variety of contexts and provides an opportunity for students to examine the evolution and impact of digital technologies on work environments. Students will explore the importance of professional development for career success and the benefits of working towards goals for career success. In addition, problem solving extends the need to. demonstrate transferable and communication skills. Finally, working with others is an integral part of everyday life and the ability to give and receive feedback is a necessary skill to support professional development planning. Therefore, understanding role responsibilities and how to work with peers and colleagues will ensure that there is a better understanding and awareness to support own professional development. On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to explain how work and skills in the digital sector have been influenced by the Fourth industrial Revolution, Justify the use and application of transferable and communication skills for problem solving, and make recommendations on how professional development planning and feedback are used to develop skills to support own future role in the workplace. As a result, they will develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning, and interpretation, which are crucial for professional practice and workplace competence in a digital world. Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Dighal Technologies 8 ‘Specification ~ Issue 2 - September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021 7Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit, students will be able to: LO1 Explore the evolution and impact of digital technologies on work environments LO2_ Examine the importance of professional development for career success LO3 Demonstrate a range of transferable and communication skills used for effective problem solving LO4_ Review ways in which feedback can be used to support professional development planning and role in the workplace. 88 Pearson Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationa in Digital Technologies ‘Specicaion- Issue 2- September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021Essential Content LO1 Explore the evolution and impact of digital technologies on work environments Evolution and impact: Power of digital technology, e.g. internet, mobile technology, social media, digital currency, diversification. impact, e.g. evolving nature of jobs and the workplace, greater automation of repetitive tasks, personal data misuse, digital footprint, fake news. Improvements and trends in the digital sector: Innovation and transformation trends, e.g. digital data (big data, Internet of Things (loT)), applications (software solutions, autonomous vehicles, intelligent processes), digital customer access (social networks, apps, mobile internet), networking (cloud computing, sensor technology, broadband), design (augmented reality, virtual reality, mobile games) Hardware advancement and exponential progress of computing, e.g. number of transistors on integrated circuits (Moore's Law), cost of chip fabrication (Rock's Law), computational power operations/calculations per second Changing work environment: Employment status, e.g. employee, self-employed, contracted Types of contract, e.g. full-time, part-time, fixed-term, agency, freelance, zero- hours contract. Working practices, e.g. remote/virtual working, teleworking, flexi-hours, gig economy, job sharing, working in tandem with robots. Work and skills influenced by Fourth Industrial Revolution and other factors, e.g. generational perceptions; new technologies (automation, robotics, artificial intelligence); digital literacy and education; non-cognitive skills and new opportunities; employment landscape (economic structures, labour market); digital labour platforms and design thinking Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digtal Technologies 8 ‘Specification - Issue 2 - September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021 9LO2 Examine the importance of professional development for career success Career advice, guidance and success factors: Sources of information, advice and guidance, e.g. National Careers Service (nationalcareers.service.gov.uk), UCAS (ucas.com), Prospects (prospects.ac.uk), Institute for Apprenticeships (instituteforapprenticeships.org), Bright Network (brightnetwork.co.uk). Career success, e.g. growth, fulfilment, valued, recognised, health, financial stability, relationships, work/life balance, flexibility, authenticity, integrity. Importance of ongoing professional development: Employer benefits such as a skilled workforce, up-to-date knowledge, a competitive edge through human capital, employee engagement through development opportunities, organisational brand image. Employee benefits such as intrinsic motivation, personal satisfaction, increased employability, added value on CVs and future employment, ownership of role, self-directed approaches gain more buy-in. Professional standards and expectations: Personal presentation and appearance, appropriateness of appearance in specific contexts, e.g. role-appropriate dress code, projecting brand image, uniforms. Importance of projecting the brand image. Maintaining professional standards - conduct in the workplace, representation out of work. Working responsibly and ethically Professional bodies: eg. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, IEEE Computer Society, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), The Institution of Analysts and Programmers (IAP), Institute of Analytics (loA), UK Cyber Security Association (UKCSA), International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Institute of Data & Marketing (IDM). Benefits of professional development: For an individual, e.g. increase confidence, credibility, efficiency, ability to influence and lead, enable networking, achieve career goals For an organisation, e.g. job satisfaction, collective knowledge and expertise, employee retention, future talent and pipeline, workplace engagement. Value of up-to-date knowledge of technological developments. Commitment to continuous professional development to ensure growth Pearson Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digtal Technologies 90 Specification Issue 2 ~ September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021LO3 Demonstrate a range of transferable and communication skills used for effective problem solving Transferable skills: e.g. punctuality, personal effectiveness, self-motivation, working independently and with others collaboratively, taking responsibility, use of initiative, leadership, negotiating skills, assertiveness skills, listening and social skills, attention to detail and accuracy, critical thinking, flexibility and adaptability, interest in industry sector. Time management to include: methodical, thorough and organised behaviour; prioritising workloads; setting objectives; using time effectively; making and keeping appointments; planning and scheduling tasks and activities; managing risks and costs; recording tasks details in line with requirements. Communication skills: Verbal and non-verbal, e.g. awareness and use of body language, voice tone and pace on audience; openness and responsiveness, formal and informal dialogue and feedback to a range of different stakeholders; academic and professional report writing; use of IT to enhance communication; use of source information to undertake research; contributing in meetings; presenting complex information to technical and non-technical audiences. Consideration for inclusion and diversity, adapting communication methods to difference audiences. Problem solving: Effective problem solving, e.g. resourceful and responsible for solving problems, applies structured techniques, (if relevant) creative solutions and methods, ability to adapt to changing contexts within the scope of problem scenario, accurately implement solution to meet requirements. LO4 Review ways in which feedback can be used to support professional development planning and role in the workplace Professional development planning: Writing and designing development plans: SMART planning, contextualised design, appropriate formats for practical application. Cohesive personal and professional development, e.g. developing combinations of skills and competences such as hard skills, soft skills, technical skills, personal demeanour/conduct, appearance and presentation. Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digtal Technologies ‘Specification - Issue 2 - September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021 9192 Proactive learning and evaluation: Being proactive, e.g. taking ownership, requesting advice/guidance, showing initiative in developmental processes and recording learning. Employer involvement: Management support, appropriate notification and consent, agreed monitoring and guidance. Feedback: Different sources of feedback, e.g. informal, formal, peer, customer, manager. Different types of feedback and feed-forward, e.g. constructive (positive and negative), praise and criticism. Encouraging questions in both oral and written communications. Evaluate the importance of progress and seeking feedback on your work Making suggestions, improvernents and giving feedback on others’ work. Respond to feedback positively, make refinements as requested. Individual vs. team performance appraisals. Role responsibilities: Own responsibilities, e.g. personal responsibility, direct and indirect relationships and adaptability, decision-making processes and skills, ability to learn and develop within the work role; moral code and ethical behaviour and conduct; other, e.g. employment legislation, employment rights and responsibilities. Setting and monitoring performance objectives, measurement tools for success and achievement. Professional development planning to include: current performance; future needs; opportunities and threats to career progression; aims and objectives; achievement dates; review dates; learning programme/activities; action plans. Working with peers and colleagues: Build and maintain positive relationships with a range of people; team player. Awareness of wider business environment and own contribution to objectives. Role and responsibilities as part of wider team, department, and organisation. Selecting team members, e.g. specialist roles, skill and style/approach mixes; identification of tearn/work group roles; work to produce products/services. Benefits of working flexibly and effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team. Factors influencing collaboration to support teams, e.g. scale and size of organisation, geographic dispersal, competing objectives and challenges. Pearson Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digital Technologies ‘Specication- Issue 2- September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria LO1 Explore the evolution and impact of digital technologies on work enviro Aments P1 Investigate the evolution of digital technologies. P2 Explain the impact of digital technologies on work environments. M1 Analyse digital sector improvernents and trends, and how they have been affected by changing work environments. Lot and Loz D1 Evaluate the work environment and trends anticipated in the digital sector, making reference to professional development development for career suce LO2 Examine the importance of professional ess. and career success. P3 Examine the key benefits of ongoing professional development for different stakeholders ina specific organisation. P4 Investigate the importance of ongoing professional development for career success. M2 Analyse the benefits of professional development for both an individual and organisation, LO3 Demonstrate a range of transferable and. communication skills used for effective problem solving P5 Demonstrate a range of transferable and ‘communications skills to find a solution toa problem M3 Justify the use and application of transferable and communication skills to solve different problems. LO4 Review ways in which fee the workplace .edback can be used to support professional development planning and role in P6 Discuss the importance of feedback and its contribution to own learning. P7 Produce a professional development plan that outlines responsibilities, performance objectives and required skills for own learning. M4 Analyse professional development planning and different types of feedback to make judgements on how they can be used to support own future role in the workplace. Lo3 and Loa D2 Evaluate professional development planning and how feedback can be used to improve transferable and communication skills to support own future role in the workplace, Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digtal Technologies ‘Specication ~ Issue 2~Septernber 2021 ‘© Pearson Education Limited 2021 93Recommended Resources Textbooks Friedman, A. L. (2012) Continuing Professional Development: Lifelong Learning of Millions. Routledge. Hargie, 0, (2018) The Handbook of Communication Skills, Taylor & Francis. Hook, G. S. (2019) Communication Skills Training: The Ultimate Guide for Public Speaking and Conversation, Persuasion Relationship, Workplace, Interviews, ‘Amazon Digital Services LLC. Jordan, T. (2020) The Digital Economy. Polity Press. Roberts, P. (2013) The Economist Guide to Project Management, 2nd Edition. Profile Books Ltd. Schwab, K. (2016) The Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum. Tapscott, D. (2014) The Digital Economy: Rethinking Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence, 2nd Edition. McGraw-Hill Education, Tindara, A. et al. (2019) Performance Appraisal in Modern Employment Relations. Springer International Publishing. Wentz, F. H. (2013) 10 Things Employers Expect Their Employees to Know. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Winstanley, D. (2005) Personal Effectiveness: A guide to action. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Journals Journal of Education and Work Journal of Work, Employment & Society Websites ons.gov.uk Office for National Statistics (General reference) weforum.org World Economic Forum (General reference) Pearson Levels 4 and 5 igher Nationa in Digital Technologies 94 ‘Specification - Issue 2~ September 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021Links This unit links to the following related units: Unit 19: Business Intelligence Unit 22: Work-based Learning in the Digital Economy Unit 42: Pitching and Negotiating Skills Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in Digtal Technologies ‘Spectication~ Issue 2~Septermber 2021 © Pearson Education Limited 2021