3. Develop skills descriptionsand pr oficiency levels,reinforcinga commonlanguage acrossthe organizationBusinesses and the education industry Organizations should leverage the granular lev- els of their skills taxonomy to create detailed skill descriptions and proficiency levels, according to need, establishing a standardized approach that reinforces a shared skills language across the organization. For businesses, this means breaking down roles into specific skills and competencies, assigning proficiency levels to each skill to guide employ-ee development, and setting clear expectations for skill growth. This approach helps employees identify gaps and follow structured learning and career progression paths. In the education sec-tor, it involves aligning courses with skill levels and assessing acquired skills, ensuring targeted upskilling and professional advancement. Assigning proficiency levels to each skill – such as beginner, intermediate or advanced – can be particularly valuable when defining career paths and identifying development opportunities, providing employees a clear understanding of where they stand and what skills they need to progress. This structured approach guides em-ployee development, supports performance re-views and allows managers to set clear, meas-urable expectations for skill growth. Governments Leveraging the granular levels of the skills taxon- omy to break down industries and occupations into critical core skills and proficiency levels ena-bles governments to create a structured frame-work for workforce development, outlining the essential skills and proficiency levels required for each sector. Developing skill descriptions helps standardize expectations for employers and job-seekers, support interoperability across different taxonomies, and promote greater transparency in the labour market. These descriptions can be delivered through Rich Skills Descriptors (RSDs) – metadata packages that are both human- andmachine-readable – enabling smooth integrationacross systems. Governments can further use this granular map- ping to identify and recommend accredited learning providers that align with industry stand-ards, ensuring that training programmes meet current labour-market demands. By targeting upskilling and reskilling efforts, governments can improve workforce readiness and support eco-nomic resilience.See: –Key insight 4 for an exam ple o f how to use the Global Skills Taxonomy to develop profi- ciency levels. –Key insight 5 to learn how to embed skills and proficiency levels in j ob de scriptions. Find out: –How HSBC leverages its skills taxonomy to assess skill needs and proficiency levelsacross diverse business units. –How the Sultanate of Oman and government of Singapore leverage skills taxonomies to connect enhance workforcereadiness through learning. Global Skills Taxonomy Adoption Toolkit 36

Global Skills Taxonomy Adoption Toolkit 2025