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Discover your essential skills with Benchmark

How skilled are you? Find out where success comes from, and unlock your potential with Skills Builder Benchmark.
Assess your skills now

What are the essential Skills?

Skills Icon: ListeningSkills Icon: SpeakingSkills Icon: Problem SolvingSkills Icon: CreativitySkills Icon: Staying PositiveSkills Icon: Aiming HighSkills Icon: LeadershipSkills Icon: Teamwork

There are eight essential skills: Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership and Teamwork.

They allow us to do almost any job, anywhere and can be built throughout a person's lifetime.

Having strong essential skills can allow individuals to perform better in education, earn more at work, and have greater life-satisfaction overall.

Introducing Skills Builder Benchmark

Discover your essential skills

Skills Builder Benchmark can provide a snapshot of your current skillset and identify new areas for growth.

Simple, achievable progress

Each skill is broken down into themes, and then smaller steps, so you can make quick and easy reflections.

An illustration of a laptop displaying the Skills Builder Benchmark

Boost employability

Essential skills are highly transferable and can be help us succeed in any job, anywhere.

For any kind of user or context

Skills Builder Benchmark can be used by anyone in any setting to assess their essential skills.

Skills Builder Benchmark helps everyone understand their essential skills strengths and developments areas – plus offers admin access for organisations who want to see individuals’ skills data, to plan training opportunities and measure impact.

Go from absolute beginner, to complete mastery

Each skill is broken-up into four stages. This gives you simple, achievable steps for whatever level you’re at. Essential skills can be learned by anyone at any age, and can be started at any level.

The Beginner level icon - a very small network of four bright, multi-coloured, circular nodes connected with lines
Beginner
The Intermediate level icon - a small network of six bright, multi-coloured, circular nodes connected with lines
Intermediate
The Advanced level icon - a medium-sized network of eight bright, multi-coloured, circular nodes connected with lines
Advanced
The Mastery level icon - a large network of thirteen bright, multi-coloured, circular nodes connected with lines
Mastery
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Benchmark for Individuals

For individuals who want to understand their own essential skills strengths and development areas.

Benchmark for Employers

For businesses who want to understand essential skills across their workforce, or measure the impact of their outreach provision.

Skills Builder Partners are able to access admin licences at an additional cost as part of the Employers Programme.

An image of a group of colleagues having a discussion. In the background is a laptop with Benchmark loaded onto it.
An image showing a team of volunteers enjoying a fun training day activity, with Benchmark loaded onto their laptops.

Benchmark for Impact Organisations

For impact organisations who want to measure the impact of their programmes and provision.

Skills Builder Partners are able to access the admin dashboard at an additional cost as part of the Impact Programme or the Impact Academy.

Benchmark for Educators

For educators in secondary schools, colleges and universities, who want to support students to reflect on their own essential skills, and measure progress.

For schools and colleges, Benchmark admin licences are available through Digital Membership and Accelerator programmes.

To find out more about Benchmark for MATs and universities, get in touch.

An image of three university students gathered around a laptop to discuss their essential skills.