Employability Skills Framework: What Training Providers and Employers Need to Know

The new Employability Skills Framework, introduced by Skills England, provides a practical way for education providers, employers, and learners to understand, develop, and recognise the skills that underpin workplace success. Designed to create a shared language around employability skills, the framework helps bridge the gap between what learners can do and how employers recognise those capabilities.

For training providers and employers, the framework offers practical guidance on developing the skills that support successful employment, progression, and lifelong learning.

What Is the Employability Skills Framework?

The Employability Skills Framework provides a consistent approach to identifying and describing employability skills, often described as transferable, core, or essential skills. Rather than replacing existing frameworks, it draws on The UK Standard Skills Classification and aligns with other recognised frameworks, acting as a practical translation resource across education, training, careers guidance, and employment settings.

The framework was created in response to a common challenge: many young people struggle to explain the skills they have gained through education, voluntary work, hobbies, caring responsibilities, sports, and community activities, while employers often find it difficult to assess potential when candidates have limited work experience.

By creating a shared language, the framework helps learners communicate their strengths and helps employers identify skills more effectively.

Why the Employability Skills Framework Matters for Training Providers

For training providers, colleges, independent training organisations, and awarding organisations, the framework provides a clear opportunity to strengthen learner outcomes and improve employer engagement.

Skills England highlights that the framework can support:

• Employability coaching programmes

• Careers education and guidance

• Skills development programmes

• Alignment between existing employability frameworks

• Stronger progression pathways into work and apprenticeships

For organisations delivering vocational qualifications or endorsed programmes, the framework can help ensure learners gain technical knowledge and develop the workplace behaviours and transferable skills employers value.

This aligns closely with employer expectations across apprenticeship programmes, vocational qualifications, and workforce development initiatives.

The 13 Core Skills

The framework is built around 13 core employability skills derived from the UK Standard Skills Classification.

These are:

1. Planning and organising

2. Adapting

3. Working with others

4. Listening

5. Speaking

6. Leadership

7. Learning and investigating

8. Creating

9. Problem-solving and decision-making

10. Numeracy

11. Digital literacy

12. Reading

13. Writing

Together, these skills provide a comprehensive picture of workplace readiness and can be developed through formal learning, work experience, volunteering, projects, extracurricular activities, and everyday responsibilities.

Digital Literacy and AI Skills are Built into the Framework

One aspect is integrating digital literacy and AI-enabled employability skills in all 13 skill areas. Skills England recognises that technology and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly important in recruitment and the workplace.

The framework emphasises the importance of:

• Using AI tools responsibly

• Critically evaluating AI-generated outputs

• Understanding the limitations of AI

• Maintaining human judgement and accountability

• Using technology to support productivity and decision-making

For employers, this means seeking candidates who can use digital tools effectively while still demonstrating critical thinking and professional responsibility. For providers, it highlights the importance of embedding digital and AI awareness across learning programmes rather than treating it as a standalone subject.

How Employers Can Use the Employability Skills Framework in Recruitment

Employers can use the framework to adopt more skills-based recruitment approaches and focus on potential rather than solely on previous work experience.

Skills England states that the framework can support:

• Recruitment for potential

• Skills-based hiring

• Clearer job descriptions

• More effective candidate assessment

• Early career development and retention

For example, employers could assess planning and organising skills through scenario-based questions, evaluate teamwork through examples of collaboration, and explore adaptability through discussions about overcoming challenges and learning from feedback.

This approach can help employers widen access to opportunities and identify talent from more diverse backgrounds.

Supporting Learners to Recognise and Articulate Their Skills

A key message from the framework is that employability skills often develop long before entering work.

Skills England highlights that skills can be developed through:

• Education and training

• Volunteering

• Community activities

• Caring responsibilities

• Sports participation

• Hobbies and interests

• Structured programmes and projects

Training providers and educators can help learners recognise these experiences and translate them into meaningful evidence for CVs, applications, interviews, and career progression.

This is particularly valuable for young people and those entering employment for the first time who may underestimate the relevance of their experiences.

Supporting Learner Progression Through Employability Skills

Skills England states future development will focus on embedding the framework across the skills and employment system, working with the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions to align programmes, services, and data wherever possible.

The long-term ambition is to adopt a shared employability language that helps learners demonstrate their abilities and enables employers to identify, recruit, and develop talent more effectively.

For training providers, employers, and awarding organisations, the framework is an important step towards creating clearer pathways between learning and employment, ensuring learners develop the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving workplace.

What This Means for NQual and Our Approved Centres

The framework is voluntary guidance. It is not a Condition of Recognition and does not change how qualifications are regulated or how we are required to operate. It provides a useful reference point for developing qualifications.

NQual and our Approved Centres might consider mapping qualification content, assessment criteria, and learner support materials to the 13 core skills and whether the shared language could help learners present their achievements to employers.

References

• Skills England. Introducing the Employability Skills Framework (Published 5 October 2026). GOV.UK. [gov.uk]

• Skills England. Employability Skills Framework (Published 5 October 2026). GOV.UK. [gov.uk]

• Skills England. Employability Skills Framework PDF. GOV.UK Publishing Service. [assets.pub...ice.gov.uk]