Developing a UK Skills Taxonomy

At present, there is no UK-specific skills taxonomy encompassing skills, qualifications, and occupations (and the mappings between them). Different stakeholders use different taxonomies, some developed using novel approaches and others based on existing taxonomies developed in other countries (ESCO - Europe, O*NET - US) which aren't necessarily suitable for the UK labour market. Consequently, the language used to describe labour market information (LMI) is inconsistent, making it difficult to identify the demand for and supply of skills and mismatches between the two.

The Unit for Future Skills within the Department for Education, is seeking to establish a UK-specific taxonomy that will enable the department (and government more widely) to better organise and describe LMI and extract greater insights from it. This will greatly improve our understanding of what jobs require which skills, and which qualifications provide different skills. This in turn will help identify skills mismatches, allowing policy makers, education providers, employers etc to respond appropriately.

The project will be comprised of two phases. Phase 1 will focus on developing use cases through stakeholder engagement, scoping out the details of any proposed methodology (or methodologies) - including the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed approach(es) - and developing a detailed workplan for the development of a UK skills taxonomy. Phase 2 will focus on the actual development of the taxonomy, alongside a programme of user testing. There will be a review point at the end of phase 1 to evaluate outputs for quality and feasibility and decide whether the department will proceed with phase 2 of the project.

Bidders will need to demonstrate expertise in the subject matter area and a knowledge of the UK education system. Project management skills for a work programme spanning multiple years, and adequate resource to undertake and deliver a large-scale project are also essential. They will also need demonstrate evidence of wide-ranging research and analytical skills (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, data analytics) and the ability to produce high quality analysis to pre-agreed timelines.

Please note that £50,000 is for Phase 1 - there is additional budget for Phase 2

This opportunity will be conducted under the Crown Commercial Service's RM6126 Research & Insights DPS. You must be registered as a supplier on RM6126 Research & Insights DPS to have the opportunity to be selected to receive the Bid Pack / invitation to tender for this competition. Details of how to register are provided in the links section of this notification.

The formal Call for Competition will be conducted via the Department for Education's Jaggaer e-Tendering Portal. You must also be registered on Jaggaer to receive an invitation to tender, ask clarification questions and submit a bid. Further information about how to register on Jaggaer can be found in the links section of this notification.

Additional information: Please note that £50,000 is for Phase 1 - there is additional budget for Phase 2.

You must be registered as a supplier on RM6126 Research & Insights DPS to have the opportunity to be selected to receive the Bid Pack / invitation to tender for this competition. Details of how to register are provided in the links section of this notification.

The formal Call for Competition will be conducted via the Department for Education's Jaggaer e-Tendering Portal. You must also be registered on Jaggaer to receive an invitation to tender, ask clarification questions and submit a bid. Further information about how to register on Jaggaer can be found in the links section of this notification.