The 15 July 2025 is a big date for Skills Builder Partnership: after 18 months of work involving hundreds of organisations and individuals we will be officially launching Universal Framework 2.0. 

Five years ago, we launched the original Universal Framework: a shared model for building the essential skills needed to thrive in learning, work and life. It was an incredible effort bringing together leading education and employer organisations to create one approach that joined up how individuals built essential skills across their entire lives. 

We wanted to solve the apparently intractable problem of how to make sense of essential transferable skills - long called for but often hazy and inconsistently understood. Our goal was to create a model that could be used by individuals, educators and employers alike to understand and build those essential skills.

We’ve been staggered by the response: Since 2020, the Universal Framework has been adopted by more than 950 partners in over 20 countries and used by more than 10 million individuals. 

From the start, we committed to a review after five years: a chance to step back, take stock, and evolve the Framework based on everything we had learned. The goal was to retain what made the original Framework so impactful while ensuring it stayed relevant, inclusive and practical for every learner, educator and employer. That process shaped a year-long review, resulting in a refined and evolved model: Universal Framework 2.0.

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Who was involved?

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We wanted to ensure the Review reflected the breadth of the Framework’s usage: led by the Skills Builder team it drew in insights from individuals representing more than 120 education institutions, employers, impact organisations, and international bodies. There’s a complete list of everyone involved in the advisory groups in our Universal Framework 2.0 Review Report.

Alongside the advisory groups, two rounds of public consultation were held in April and October 2024, enabling feedback from both users and non-users of the Framework. Hundreds of individuals also volunteered for user testing. All of this input helped shape the final version of Universal Framework 2.0.

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How was the review carried out?

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The year-long review process evaluated Universal Framework 1.0 across five key goals: completeness, relevance, usability, consistency of interpretation and inclusivity. To achieve this, we used four distinct lenses:

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• Contextual analysis: We hosted nine roundtable discussions with stakeholders from education, employment, impact organisations and policy, supplemented by wider research. Key themes included the rise of AI and automation, the pandemic’s impact on learning, longer working lives, and increasing demand for transferable skills.

• User feedback: A major public consultation invited responses from those using the Framework in a variety of settings. Feedback confirmed that the Framework was valued for its clarity, practicality and structure but highlighted opportunities to simplify language, improve navigation, and enhance inclusivity.

• Technical analysis: We reviewed data from millions of assessments via the Skills Builder Benchmark and Hub, alongside national survey data. This allowed us to analyse step difficulty, progression patterns, and outlier performance. We also used Large Language Models (LLMs) to check for semantic overlap and identify duplicate or missing concepts.

• International benchmarking: Six leading global frameworks were analysed to ensure the Universal Framework remains both globally relevant and unique. These included EntreComp (EU), O*Net (USA), Meta Skills (Scotland), the Australian Core Skills Framework, and SkillsFuture Singapore. This analysis validated the breadth and relevance of our own Framework, while surfacing opportunities for improvement.

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By combining qualitative insights with computational analysis, the review generated a clear picture of what was working well and where improvements could strengthen the Framework’s utility.

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What’s next?

As we approach the launch of Universal Framework 2.0, we are excited to see the real-world impact it will have. During the review we conducted public feedback, gathered from a wide range of users across various settings and countries. 

The response was overwhelmingly positive: 98% of respondents agreed Universal Framework 2.0 clearly defines what essential skills are, and 100% of respondents agreed the updated framework provides a clear model for progression in essential skills.

From 15 July 2025, the interactive Framework will be available alongside the Handbook for Educators and toolkits for all user groups. 

At the end of August, updated versions of Hub and Benchmark will also be released, fully incorporating the full potential of Universal Framework 2.0 with lots of new resources and cutting edge learning and assessment tools.

The huge amount of effort and dedication that has gone into this review from partners, individuals, and advisors has truly reaffirmed and inspired us about the power of partnership and collaboration. This Framework would not have been possible without that collective commitment to our shared mission. 

To learn more about the Universal Framework 2.0 review process, explore our Frequently Asked Questions, access toolkits and switchover guides, please visit the webpage for Universal Framework 2.0.