A new comprehensive way of identifying and describing skills needs will help employers, training providers, job seekers, and people looking to upskill to get the best from the system.
The national framework, called the UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC), was officially launched at a special event at the Shard on 30 April.
The innovative new tool will make it much easier to match people to job opportunities and target skills investment where it matters most.
It offers the most detailed, data driven picture yet of the UK labour market, and marks a significant step forward in how we think about and discuss skills in the UK.
Created by the University of Warwick’s Institute for Employment Research (IER) and the University of Sheffield, in partnership with Omnifolio on behalf of Skills England, the SSC is a standardised set of categories that identify the skills, knowledge and tasks required across UK occupations.
Providing linkage between skills, occupations and knowledge, the SSC allows users, including employers, training providers and job seekers, to confidently identify needs and plan provision using a simple, common language.
Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, said
We all need to communicate better about skills needs and skills training. The new UK Standard Skills Classification should bring much needed clarity and consistency to how people do that. This is a major step forward which will improve planning and support more people than ever, who stand to benefit from the skills system, to sign up and get involved.
Peter Elias CBE, Professor of Employment Research, the University of Warwick’s Institute for Employment Research, said
For the first time in the UK we now have a common and comprehensive language via which we can talk about skills and exchange data and information. Given that occupational skills are continually evolving we are providing a classification which is both flexible and robust.
Skills England hopes the SSC will be widely used and has made it freely available (through an Open Government Licence). Everyone can access it using the UK Skills Explorer Digital tool where all the data and details are available for download.
A report explaining how the SCC has been developed, its uses, and proposals for how it could be maintained, has also been published by Skills England.
Employers will find the SCC really useful for assessing current workforce capabilities, identifying skills gaps and planning more effective skills-based recruitment.
Mayoral Combined Authorities, wider local authority skills planners, and national organisations involved in labour market analysis can use the SSC to understand local skills needs, forecast future demand, and guide training providers on curriculum priorities and development.
It will also in time be useful to individual job seekers and careers advisers to identify transferable skills and what new skills need to be learned for a career change.
The SCC’s publication is an important step towards the UK’s ambition of creating a skills system that will be much easier to understand and engage with.
Dr Michael Englard, CEO of Skills Builder Partnership, said
The Standard Skills Classification is a major breakthrough which can provide the actionable intelligence that employers, educators and young people need. The detailed view of core or essential skills – those highly transferable skills that everyone needs to do almost any job – brings welcome visibility to this crucial area which underpins productivity, growth and future opportunity.
Professor Andy Dickerson, University of Sheffield, said
By integrating directly with existing data on education and employment, the Standard Skills Classification helps turn fragmented information into a precise roadmap for skills. In this era of rapid AI and green transformation, it provides the foundational infrastructure for a more agile and responsive British workforce.
Alex Hall-Chen, Principal Policy Advisor for Sustainability, Skills, and Employment, Institute of Director, said
For employers, a shared and practical language of skills is crucial. The UK Standard Skills Classification represents significant progress towards clearer workforce planning, better-targeted training, and stronger alignment between business needs, training, and the labour market.
John Yarham, CEO, The Careers & Enterprise Company, said
At the Careers & Enterprise Company, we see the difference it makes when young people can connect their education to real opportunities in the world of work. Through our work with schools and employers, we know how important it is to get this right, improving outcomes for young people while helping to close skills gaps.
We welcome the Standard Skills Classification as an important step forward, creating a shared language that strengthens understanding between education and employers and helping ensure every young person is equipped to take their best next step.