Use cases
Published 27 November 2025
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The UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC) is designed to be a versatile framework that supports a wide range of stakeholders in understanding and navigating the skills landscape. Its use cases span across employers, individuals, career guidance services, and national and local labour market analysts, each benefiting from its structured approach to skills identification.
For employers, the SSC provides a powerful tool to analyse the skills present within their existing workforce. This insight enables them to develop targeted skills plans, adopt skills-based recruitment strategies, and coordinate long-term workforce development initiatives. By aligning strategic decisions with a clear understanding of skill availability and gaps, employers can enhance productivity and future-proof their organisations.
Individuals and careers guidance services can use the SSC to identify transferable skills, evaluate career options, and pinpoint skill gaps. This empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their professional development, including selecting appropriate courses to bridge gaps and exploring opportunities in different geographic regions. The SSC plays a key role in personal career planning and mobility.
In the context of local labour market analysis and forecasting, the SSC enables a detailed examination of the skills within a workforce and helps identify future needs. This information is crucial for training providers, as it offers clearer direction for curriculum development and helps prioritise course offerings to meet emerging demands. Ultimately, the SSC can support a more responsive and strategic approach to national, regional, and local workforce planning.
Figure 4: Summary of SSC Use Cases
Figure 4: Summary of SSC Use Cases
Figure 4 shows the key uses of the SSC by the 3 main user groups: Individuals and careers and guidance services, Employers, and Local labour market analysts.
Individuals and careers guidance services can:
- identify their transferable skills
- evaluate their career options
- identify skill gaps
- choose the best course or courses to close any gaps
- consider opportunities if living elsewhere
Employers can:
- analyse skills within their current workforce
- identify a skills plan
- adopt skills-based recruitment
- coordinate long-term workforce development
- inform strategic decisions
Local labour market analysis and forecasting can:
- analyse skills within the local workforce
- identify future local skills needs
- give local training providers clearer direction on curriculum development and prioritise course supply