At Skills Builder Partnership, we know that educators value essential skills, with 92% recognising their importance in preparing learners for life and work. Yet only 24% feel these skills are taught sufficiently in education. With strong links to employment, earnings, and wellbeing, it's clear there is more that needs to be done to provide learners with the opportunity to build and reflect on their essential skills.

Skills Builder Benchmark is designed to bridge that gap. It provides learners with a structured way to reflect on their strengths, set goals, and track progress. At the same time, it gives educators valuable insights to personalise support and strengthen the role of essential skills within their curriculum.

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In this webinar:

Attendees heard from Education Associate and Digital Membership lead Lauren Loveless, who modelled how Skills Builder Benchmark can be used by both learners and educators to assess essential skills and measure progress. Fellow Education Associate Daniel Langford shared best practice from Skills Leaders, highlighting how schools have successfully embedded Benchmark into their provision, and pointed attendees towards useful resources to maximise the platform's impact.

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Top tips for making the most of the Skills Builder Benchmark platform

 Provide structure:

• For first-time users, run Benchmark assessments in a group or classroom setting if possible.
• Use Workbooks or Skill Passports for learners to gather evidence before assessing, and have regular conversations with learners about where they've used particular skills.
• Reassure learners that they can stop at a stage if it feels too advanced (though full completion provides a more rounded profile).
• Group and organisation admins can use assessment periods to bring consistency and structure to independent skill assessments.

 Build a cycle of reflection and growth:

• Encourage learners to use their top 3 strengths and development areas to choose a skill step to focus on.
• Support them in setting SMART targets based on this-ask them to consider the context and setting in which they will apply this.
• Encourage learners to download and refer to their skill reports, as well as using their radar graph, to track skill growth and development.

Use the data:

• Use assessment scores and heat maps to identify gaps and target support -whether for a specific skill or group of learners.
• Admin users can download and analyse individual, class, or (with an organisation admin license) cohort data to spot trends.
• Tailor teaching plans around areas of lower performance to build the essential skills and skill steps that are needed most.
  

Take a targeted approach:

•  Benchmark assessments can be used to support mentoring and interventions with targeted learner groups.
• Group and organisational admins can use heat map analysis to pinpoint the specific skill steps in need of development. Link interventions to these for more precise essential skill building.

 Support staff development too:

• Benchmark isn't just for learners — staff can use it to reflect on their own essential skills in professional contexts.
• This supports staff development while also increasing confidence in teaching essential skills.

Connect Benchmark with other Skills Builder tools and resources:

Use Benchmark alongside other Skills Builder tools and resources to provide a complete picture of essential skill development:

• The Universal Framework- for practical strategies to build each skill step across contexts.
• Skills Builder Launchpad-for learner-led activities tailored to their development areas.
• Skill Passports-to collect evidence linked to chosen skill steps.
• Workbooks- for focused practise and reflection following assessment.
• Reflective Log- to support goal-setting and reflection, linked to a project or experience.

With the right support and structure, Skills Builder Benchmark can transform how essential skills are built, tracked, and celebrated. You can find out more in the webinar recording below.