RealLife Work Skills

RealLife Work Skills 

A complete 20 lesson printable unit that teaches teens aged 13 – 16 about the everyday things a first job asks of you. RealLife work skills is a complete 20 lesson unit that walks teens through the whole journey: working out what employers value, putting together a simple resume, asking about work, turning up prepared, taking instructions, staying safe, reading a payslip, and handling the day something goes wrong.

Every lesson starts with a real first job moment and builds the habit behind it, so the skills feel practical and achievable rather than abstract. It’s written for Australian workplaces, and it keeps the official stuff - pay, super, tax file numbers, rights and safety - at an awareness level, pointing to the real sources when you need them. The unit finishes with a First Job Readiness Project that brings everything together into a plan a teen can actually use.

What you get:

This is a complete, substantial unit, not a handful of worksheets:

•         20 complete lessons - each lesson is a full 10 pages, not a one page activity

•         A 200+ page student workbook (207 pages: unit introduction, all 20 lessons, and a quick-reference toolkit)

•         A 60+ page Parent & Answer Guide with full worked answers and marking notes for every lesson

•         Over 270 pages of teaching, practice and marking material in total

•         A pull out Toolkit - the key frames on one handy reference sheet

•         A printable Certificate of Completion

•         Two cover options to choose from

Inside the 20 lessons

1.          What Work Skills Actually Mean

2.          Strengths, Interests and Work Fit

3.          First Jobs, Work Experience and Other Pathways

4.          Reading Job Ads and Opportunity Notices

5.          Building a Simple First Resume

6.          Short Cover Messages and Introductions

7.          Asking About Work Opportunities

8.          Preparing for Interviews, Meetings and Trial Shifts

9.          Turning Up Prepared

10.      Time, Transport and Shift Planning

11.      Reliability, Attendance and Communication

12.      Taking Instructions and Asking Good Questions

13.      Workplace Behaviour and Initiative

14.      Customer Service and Speaking to People at Work

15.      Workplace Safety Basics

16.      Rights, Responsibilities and Respect at Work

17.      TFNs, Super and Starting Work Paperwork

18.      Payslips, Pay Questions and Keeping Records

19.      Handling Mistakes, Feedback and Workplace Problems

20.      First Job Readiness Project

How every lesson works

Each lesson follows the same clear shape, so your teen always knows where they are and what to expect:

•         Start Here - a supported entry point with smaller steps

•         Everyday - the main practical level, built around realistic teen scenarios

•         On the Job - a real workplace scenario to think through and respond to

•         Stretch It - an optional challenge that rewards judgement and deciding

•         Real Life Task - apply the skill for real as a keepable work sample

•         Student Self-Review - your teen reflects on what they can now do

Why families choose it

•         Practical, never preachy - real situations teens actually face, in plain Australian English

•         Three levels in every lesson - the same skill, pitched at different levels to suit a range of readiness

•         Evidence you can keep - every lesson leaves behind a work sample, ideal for homeschool records

•         Safe and awareness level - pay, super, rights and safety are kept simple and point to official sources

•         Australian dollars, metric units, spelling and scenarios throughout

Best suited for

Teens aged 13 – 16 getting ready for work experience, a casual job, volunteering or a first placement - including learners who find abstract career education hard to engage with, teens who feel anxious about talking to employers or supervisors, neurodivergent learners who do best when expectations are explained clearly, and homeschooling families who want mature, evidence friendly work samples they can keep.

Format

Instant digital download (PDF). Print it at A4 for a workbook you can write in, or use it on a tablet with a note app. The full unit is supplied as a bookmarked, easy to navigate file, with a matching Parent & Answer Guide.

Schools & Educators

This purchase includes a Personal Use Licence Only. If you intend to use or reproduce these resources with students, an Education Licence is required. Classroom and School licences are available - please contact us for details.

RealLife Learning — practical skills teens can actually use.