About the project
Skills and the need for a standard classification
The term ‘skill’ is used when describing various aspects of work, including the jobs held by workers, their education, training and work experience, the state of labour markets, the nature of training schemes, advice given to job seekers, and in employer recruitment processes. Despite its wide use as a concept, a standard classification of skills has not been developed in the UK that meets the needs of the wide range of users of information on skills, particularly labour market analysts, employers seeking to recruit workers, and those assisting job seekers.
A standard classification is one that is accepted by all potential users within the UK.
To achieve this aim, it must have a clear and logical structure, use terminology that is well recognised and easily understood, and it must meet the needs of job seekers, employers, employment agencies, careers advisors, and all who have an interest in the links between the training and education courses and employment
Phases 1 and 2 of the development
The project was designed in the first phase undertaken in 2023. Plans for production of the UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC) were set out in the report from this phase, which described the consultation with stakeholders on the conceptual basis of the classification and the methods for its construction, including the linkages to classifications of occupations and qualifications.
The phase 1 report is available here.
The overarching objective is to ensure that the future demand for skills can be clearly recognised and understood, facilitating plans to address skills gaps and labour shortages.
The project is now in phase 2 and the Interim Development Report detailing how the SSC has been developed, and how it will be maintained is available hereLink opens in a new window. The SSC is being developed through a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) methods, expert validation, and stakeholder engagement.
Funding for the project
The Department for Education (England) is funding the research and stakeholder engagement required to create the UK Standard Skills Classification. Additional support has been provided by the Gatsby Foundation.
The research team
The work will be conducted by a consortium of researchers led by Professor Peter Elias and Dr Jeisson Cardenas-Rubio at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research, Professor Andy Dickerson at the University of Sheffield, and Neil Bachelor Omnifolio C.I.C., a not-for-profit online profiling and job-matching service. Other IER staff engaged on the project include Rosie Day, Luke Bosworth, Stefanie Poole and Lynne Marston.
Project management and the Advisory Group
Progress on this important project is monitored closely by staff at Skills England. An Advisory Group meets monthly to receive updates on progress and to provide information and advice to the research team as it sees fit. All four nations of the UK are represented on the Advisory Group, together with the Office for National Statistics
Organisations represented on the Advisory Group:
- Skills England
- The IER Research Team
- The Department for Education (DfE)
- The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
- The Welsh Government
- The Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland
Links to data sources
Seven different sources of information were gleaned to gather existing information on occupations, job tasks and skills. This information was either publicly available or supplied by the organisation concerned for the purpose of creating the Standard Skills Classification. These sources are listed below. Additionally, an up-to-date database comprising 8 million job adverts was used for validation purposes.