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Official launch July 2025

Since 2020, Skills Builder’s Universal Framework (UF1.0) has transformed how essential skills are built and measured for more than 10 million individuals in 20 countries.

After five years of rapid growth and uptake, we have reviewed the Framework as planned for a new iteration for 2025-35: Universal Framework 2.0. We have heard from across our 950 active partner organisations, as well as using data from more than 30,000 individuals.

UF2.0 builds on the successes of the model to date while incorporating the latest research and insights on essential skills development and making it even easier and more effective to use.

We are excited about how UF2.0 opens the next chapter of our collective work towards ensuring that one day, everyone has the essential skills to thrive.

The Framework Review

Universal Framework 2.0 preview

Mapping UF1.0 to UF2.0

Frequently asked questions

The Framework 1.0 Review

Over 12 months, we carried out a complete review of UF1.0 from every angle

We explored users’ experiences through open consultation, engaged experts and partners through roundtables, explored international examples and settings, and analysed thousands of anonymised individual and class assessments against UF1.0.

The result was ten recommendations which evolved the Framework while maintaining its core design and principles. The result is more usable, inclusive, internationally relevant, and future-proofed for the next ten years.

Download Review Report

Universal Framework 2.0 Preview

We are pleased to share a preview of UF2.0.

UF2.0 maintains the structure and skills of UF1.0 and most of the underlying concepts while incorporating ten changes. It has been rigorously tested and validated through public feedback opportunities, user testing, technical review, and then external testing with 1,000 individuals.

Feedback through this process has been overwhelmingly positive for UF2.0 with progress on usability, inclusivity and completeness.

The supporting Handbook which breaks down how each step is built and assessed will be available to partners from early April 2025 and available publicly from Summer 2025.

Download your toolkit

Educators

Employers

Organisations

XLS & CSV Files

Mapping UF1.0 to UF2.0

We want to support all partners to benefit from these changes by making the transition from UF1.0 to UF2.0 at the right time for you over the next two years.

To help you get started, you can download this comprehensive overview of mapping between the two versions of the Universal Framework to support you to make the changes quickly and easily.

There’s also more information below about the changes and logistics in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) further below.

Download Switchover Guide

Download UF2.0 skills icons

Frequently asked questions

The review process

Why has the Universal Framework been reviewed?

The Universal Framework answers the need for a model for building and assessing essential skills that spans individuals’ entire lives. We developed a framework which could be used by educators, impact organisations, employers, and individuals themselves.

Since 2020, Universal Framework 1.0 has been used with more than 10 million individuals through our collective work with hundreds of partners in more than twenty countries.

At launch, we committed to reviewing the Universal Framework after five years in order to ensure that we could learn from its widespread use. We wanted to ensure that the Framework is as complete, relevant, usable and inclusive as possible.

This thorough review over a period of 12 months was designed to create a new iteration: Universal Framework 2.0. This model builds on all of the successes to date, and will further support progress towards our collective mission that one day, everyone builds the essential skills to thrive.

How was Universal Framework 1.0 evaluated?

Five years after its 2020 launch, the opportunity for reviewing the Universal Framework is an important chance to ensure that it remains current and reflects the learning generated by its widespread adoption.

Driven by advisory groups spanning education, impact organisations, employers, sector bodies and international users, the goals of this review were to evaluate and then improve the Universal Framework in five dimensions: completeness; relevance; usability; consistency of interpretation; and inclusivity.

To do so, four lenses will be used: understanding contextual changes since 2020 and their implications; the experience and feedback of its users; a technical evaluation using the huge amount of data that has been generated through assessments against the framework; and comparisons against international benchmarks and examples.

A 12 month programme of work deliberately allowed time for a thorough review and to give space for input, guidance and evaluation in the first phase, and then for iteration and improvement in the second phase.

The full report including the evaluation of Universal Framework 1.0 can be found here.

What did the evaluation of Universal Framework 1.0 show?

The evaluation of Universal Framework 1.0 showed that many of the initial aspirations for the approach had been achieved.

For example, it demonstrated that UF1.0 was supporting educators, employers and impact organisations to better teach and measure essential skills. Users appreciated the clarity that the framework brought to their work and had seen its relevance and impact in a wide set of fields. It was broadly seen as inclusive, practical, relevant and comprehensive.

It also highlighted some potential areas of focus where improvements could be made, including:

Simplifying the navigation of the Universal Framework
Making age- and stage-related expectations clearer
Changing the language of the skill steps to make them easier to understand for individuals outside of education
Adding some concepts including proactively maintaining wellbeing, innovation concepts including prototyping and incubating ideas, and being critical consumers of information

The full report including the evaluation of Universal Framework 1.0 can be found here.

Who was involved in the evaluation of Universal Framework 1.0?

The Review was deliberately designed to encourage input from any partners, wider users and non-users to be able to feed in their perspectives and experiences of using UF1.0. This included through open public consultation in April 2024 and public feedback on the proposed changes to UF1.0 in October 2024. Both of these opportunities to engage were widely promoted across our partners, our wider support base, and through other partners too.

We also opened up opportunities for individuals to be involved in user testing and this was promoted through our newsletters and networks.

Finally, we are grateful for the input and insights of around 120 individuals who participated in roundtable discussions as part of our advisory groups. A full list of individuals involved in these groups can be found as an appendix to the Review Report.

Ultimately, the creation of UF2.0 was led by the Skills Builder Team.

Universal Framework 2.0

What has changed?

Fundamentally, the structure of the Universal Framework, its skills and the underlying concepts of almost all the steps have remained the same. Where changes have been made, they have been in response to the thorough evaluation.

Ten changes have been made:

Revising two of the skill names: Aiming High is now Planning and Staying Positive is now Adapting.
We have paired the skills to make navigation easier: some text
- Collaboration incorporates Teamwork and Leadership;
- Communication incorporates Speaking and Listening;
- Creative Problem Solving incorporates Creativity and Problem Solving;
- Self-Management incorporates Planning and Adapting.
Changing the skill numbering from 0-15 to 1-16: for computational ease and greater clarity.
Changing skill stages: For educators, a four-step range based on ages was seen as a helpful starting point. For other audiences, skills will be organised in four stages: Getting Started (Steps 1-4); Intermediate (Steps 5-8); Advanced (Steps 9-12); Mastery (Steps 13-16).
Skill icons: The look and feel of UF1.0 was popular and so the skills icons and colour palette will be maintained with some changes to support accessibility.
Presentation of the Framework: The top level Framework will now be presented horizontally rather than vertically wherever possible, to better visualise progression.
Steps that could be adapted or replaced: Input from user consultation and technical review highlighted that there were 17 steps that could be adapted or replaced.
Additional concepts or steps: Input from user consultation and analysis of other leading international taxonomies highlighted a small number of concepts which could be perceived to be missing. 11 new steps were created, and 15 concepts were incorporated into the existing step architecture.
Steps ordering: Technical analysis highlighted two sequences of steps in Staying Positive and Leadership for re-ordering.
Step language: Finally, user feedback suggested that the language of the steps could be simplified and each step given a short summary to make navigating the Framework easier.

Why have these changes been made?

All of the changes were made because they helped to better to fulfil the goals of the Universal Framework, including to ensure the Framework’s:

Completeness
Relevance
Usability
Consistency of interpretation
Inclusivity

Proposals for the changes were created based on the initial evaluation of the Universal Framework 1.0. They were then tested through different iterations through public feedback, user testing, technical review, and then external validation.

The Review Report demonstrates the widespread support that these proposed changes have received from public feedback. For example, pairing the steps received a net positive response of +86%, the introduction of summaries of the steps received a net positive response of +81%.

Why should I adopt Universal Framework 2.0?

Universal Framework 2.0 is a meaningful step forwards on Universal Framework 1.0, and will allow educators, impact organisations, employers, and individuals to better understand and build their essential skills.

Particularly, the improvements ensure that UF2.0 is even more:

Comprehensive: UF2.0 is more comprehensive than ever before, incorporating the latest thinking and research about how to build essential skills effectively.
Inclusive: UF2.0 has been designed and refined with experts in inclusive practice in order to ensure that it is as open and inclusive a set of tools as possible.
Usable: UF2.0 incorporates 5 years of learning from the widespread use of UF1.0 with millions of individuals to make it as usable as possible.

We recognise the investment that partners have made in adopting Universal Framework 1.0 and so we will continue to provide some basic support for that framework until July 2027. However, all new Skills Builder Awards, Impact Levels, Excellence Marks and all of our programming will focus solely on Universal Framework 2.0 from September 2025.

We are committed to supporting UF2.0 until 2035 when the next review will take place, ensuring that partners can use the framework with confidence.

How has inclusion been considered in developing Universal Framework 2.0?

One of our key goals in the Universal Framework Review 2025 was to ensure that the framework was as inclusive as possible. Our approach included:

Advisory Groups: Within the groups who attended the Advisory Group sessions, we were keen to ensure there were organisations, employers and educators with particular expertise and insights on inclusion and accessibility. This included specific areas including Neurodivergence and Disability, as well as ensuring a focus on underserved groups and those furthest from education and employment. The organisations invited to be involved in the conversation included Ambitious About Autism, Disability Rights UK, Mencap, Ingeus, National Youth Agency, National Literacy Trust and Oasis Restore.
Expert Advisors: Alongside the Advisory Group sessions, we also held individual meetings with some key stakeholders and influential voices to ensure detailed insight around specific areas of focus. These expert advisors responded to the same question prompts but were also given the platform to share wider observations, feedback and advice from their networks. The advisors also included those with lived experience.
User Testing As part of the User Testing process for the framework revisions, we have also ensured that the feedback we gather comes from individuals from a range of groups and backgrounds, and has inclusion and accessibility as a particular focus.

As the content and format of UF2.0 was finalised, our attention turned to ensuring that this is designed and presented in a way that is accessible and inclusive. We have also created an Expanded Version of UF2.0 with more increments between the steps to support progression.

Are there limitations around using Universal Framework 2.0?

Universal Framework 2.0 is protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives-Non Commercial licence. That means it can be used for non-commercial purposes, so long as it is attributed to Skills Builder Partnership and the Framework itself is not modified. Wider uses of Universal Framework 2.0 require permission from Skills Builder Partnership.

Our tools

When will Hub reflect Universal Framework 2.0?

From September 2025, Hub content will be aligned with Universal Framework 2.0 and content aligned with UF1.0 will not be routinely available. This will ensure that all schools and colleges in our 2025-26 programmes and beyond will be able to make use of the additional benefits of UF2.0.

When will Benchmark reflect Universal Framework 2.0?

From September 2025, it will be possible to use UF2.0 within Benchmark to allow for individuals to assess themselves against the new Framework.

It will still be possible for individuals to assess themselves against UF1.0 until July 2027 when this functionality will be turned off, in order to support partners’ programmes where Benchmark is an integral part.

New features and capabilities on Benchmark will only be available to users of UF2.0.

If you hold an existing product licence for Benchmark, then you will be able to choose whether to continue using UF1.0 from September 2025, to switchover to UF2.0 or to switchover at the best time for you before July 2027.

When will Careers Explorer data reflect Universal Framework 2.0?

As the underlying concepts and principles of UF1.0 and UF2.0 remain the same, the results of Careers Explorer data are unlikely to change. The only change that will happen is that from September 2025, the skill scores will all increase by 1, to reflect that UF2.0 scores from 0-16 are possible.

When will Launchpad reflect Universal Framework 2.0?

We are currently exploring options for supporting individuals to build their own essential skills against UF2.0 but this is unlikely to be a like-for-like replacement of Launchpad content. We are looking forward to sharing more of our plans for this content later in the year.

When will Homezone reflect Universal Framework 2.0?

We originally created Homezone to support home learning during the Covid pandemic. Over time, its usage has naturally decreased and we will be turning off Homezone in July 2025.

In the future, parents and carers who want to explore content to support their children will be able to do so through Hub.

How the changes may affect you and your programmes

When will translated materials be available in my language?

We will be working with our Global Partners to translate materials in core languages and these will be available from September 2025. We are hoping to make improvements to Hub to support educators’ experience of teaching and assessing these skills for their learners.

What does this mean for my Impact Levels?

Impact Levels that have been granted for programmes that are aligned to UF1.0 will continue to be valid if the normal conditions are met until July 2027. We will be indicating on the Impact Directory whether programmes are aligned to UF1.0 or UF2.0 so that schools and college users are well informed.

From spring 2025, it will be possible to achieve an Impact Level for programmes aligned to UF2.0. From September 2025, we will only be awarding new Impact Levels to programmes which are aligned to UF2.0.

What does this mean for my Skills Builder Award?

Skills Builder Awards are valid for three years from award as long as the usual conditions are met. From September 2025, we will only be giving Skills Builder Awards to educational institutions where UF2.0 is being implemented.

What does this mean for my Skills Builder Excellence Mark?

Skills Builder Excellence Marks are valid for one year from the achievement of the Excellence Mark, so long as the usual conditions are met. You can extend your existing Excellence Mark based on UF1.0 until July 2027.

From September 2025, we will only be issuing new Skills Builder Excellence Marks to employers where UF2.0 is being implemented.

I’ve embedded materials to support UF1.0 into my programme - what do I do now?

Partners can continue to use UF1.0 content in their programmes where they have achieved an Impact Level until July 2027. From spring 2025, we will be able to support the process of changing over to UF2.0 content, and we encourage you to reach out to your Skills Builder contact to better understand how we do this.

From September 2025, it will not be possible to achieve a new Impact Level for programmes which are aligned to UF1.0.

What training or support is available to help me with this transition?

We will be providing a series of monthly webinars to help to explain the transition between UF1.0 and UF2.0 which will be available to all partners. You will also be able to work with your Skills Builder contact to ask questions, although we hope that this page and the webinars should be comprehensive.

How does this affect programme and licence costs?

These changes will not affect programme or licence costs, and materials and tools from Skills Builder will not increase as a result of integrating UF2.0.

How does this affect my existing datasets?

The underlying concepts of UF1.0 and UF2.0 are consistent, with minor changes. Our testing using YouGov showed that while the changes we have made to UF1.0 have improved user experience, the profile of the skills has not changed meaningfully.

Therefore, if you are mainly tracking skill scores, then the change you need to make is to +1 to existing UF1.0 skill scores to make them equivalent to UF2.0 skill scores.

If you are tracking progress against individual skill steps, then the data will be less comparable and we advise you to use the Switchover Guide to support you to match that data across.

Further updates

What are your plans for reviewing the Universal Framework in the future?

Having built in so much learning over the last five years, we are not proposing to change the Universal Framework until 2035 - that is, in a decade’s time. We may update the Handbook in 2030 if technological or other changes mean that the explanation for applying that skill step has meaningfully changed. However, the top level skill descriptors will not be reviewed until 2035.