Key or transferable skills have received increasing attention in undergraduate curricula over recent years. In the Biosciences, most of these skills had been incorporated as an implicit component of the degree programmes. Initial surveys of graduating bioscience students from the University of Leicester indicated that about half were not aware of having received skills training via this route. Following the introduction of specific skills modules into the first and, subsequently, second years, and explicit reference to key skills in all module specifications, there was a marked increase in students' awareness of skills training and in their perceptions of the quality of training received. Students' confidence in their ability to perform skills-related tasks, excepting numeracy, increased between entry and graduation. This increased confidence was also apparent for skills such as group working for which there was no explicit training provided. There was also a trend of increased overall confidence shown by graduates who had taken the skills modules, though this was not significant for any individual skill. Making generic skills acquisition an explicit part of the curriculum clearly raised awareness of the skills that were taught formally and also those that remained implicit. (Contains 4 figures.)