About the Skills Review

Applicants who are returning to study or may not have completed high school may be asked to complete a Skills Review.

The results of the Skills Review help us to enrol you in the best programme and courses for your career pathway, which will give you confidence to start your study at a level you can be successful.

Process

After you have submitted your application to study at Unitec, we will review your application and let you know if you need to complete a Skills Review session. 

You will be sent an online booking form to choose a day to complete the online Skills Review quizzes - you can do this from home or come into Unitec to use our computers.

If you complete the Skills Review on campus, one of our staff will also meet with you on campus that day. If you complete the Skills Review from home, we will organise a time to talk with you over the phone.

If you have a disability and would like support such as extra time, a quiet room and/or a reader/writer, please contact Access4Success, disabilityservices@unitec.ac.nz and put Skills Review in the subject line.

The Skills Review has two parts

The Skills Review session has two parts: quizzes to review your skill level, and a conversation with our friendly staff.

Part one: Skills Review quizzes

The quizzes are designed to check your reading comprehension, academic writing, and numeracy skills. This isn’t an exam - we don’t expect you to get all the answers correct. 

The Skills Review quizzes are online. You can complete them at home on your computer, laptop or chrome book. If you don’t have a computer or want some support, you can come to one of our on-campus sessions at the Mt Albert campus.

Part two: Talk with our staff

One of our friendly staff will talk with you after you complete the quizzes. We will talk about your career plans, study options at Unitec and confirm what programme you can enrol in to start your studies at Unitec. If you have already applied for a different programme, we can help arrange a change for you.

You can also use this time to ask about anything to do with studying at Unitec, so you feel confident and prepared to begin study.

Prepare for your skills review quiz

We have some resources to help you prepare.

Practise maths

Suggested Preparatory Maths
Courses in all our pathways include some maths. For all of our programmes, it would be useful for you to practise adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing without a calculator as well as to revise the first steps of fractions, decimals and percentages. 
Some pathways will require you to reach a higher level of mathematical skills before you can go into diploma or degree programmes. If you are interested in our Health Science (Medical Imaging) or Engineering pathways it will be useful to practise your algebra skills.

- Unitec's DIY Maths Revise your understanding of basic maths topics at Unitec's DIY Maths site.

Practise reading

The reading skills review is designed to give us information about how well you understand what you read. Try these sites to review and practice your reading comprehension skills.

- Pathways Awarua This site provides free interactive learning modules on a range of reading topics. Using this site can help you practice your reading skills before you attend the Skills Review session. You will need to create an account before you get started.
- Readtheory.org This site is free and makes it fun to practice reading. We highly recommend you create an account so you can keep track of your practice.

Practise writing

Try the below site to help you review and practice the basic writing skills that will be reviewed.

- Engvid The information on this site will remind you of the difference between 'everyday' English and academic English.

Practise computer skills

You will find it useful to have basic skills in computers and computer applications. Below are links to free online tutorials at GCF LearnFree.org that can help you sharpen skills you will use during your time on this programme.

- Computer Basics - Internet Basics
- MS Word Microsoft Word is a word processor used for writing reports. At Unitec, students have access to Office365, which includes Word.
- MS PowerPoint Microsoft Powerpoint is a slideshow developer used for creating slides for presentations. At Unitec, students have access to Office365, which includes Powerpoint.
- OneDrive and Office Online Learn how to use your personal OneDrive storage space and how to access and navigate the OneDrive interface.

Need help? Contact us

Please email Debbie Roberts, the Bridging Education Student Advisor, who can answer all your questions and help you prepare for the quiz, droberts@unitec.ac.nz

You can also talk with our student support teams: