Skills Taxonomy
A common language for talent
A structured skills classification system that connects roles, organisational capabilities and individual development plans. Over 500 validated technical skills, organised across 20 knowledge domains with three proficiency levels.
The problem
Scaling without a clear skills framework
As organisations expand, the lack of a structured approach to mapping and developing skills creates inefficiencies in workforce planning and limits internal mobility.
- No authoritative source defining the skills required by each position
- Managers and HR use different language to describe the same skills
- Hiring and development decisions are based on inconsistent criteria
- Succession plans lack the specificity needed to be actionable
Why it is critical
Align talent with business needs
Ensures the right skills are identified and deployed to support key organisational goals.
Targeted development
Makes it easier to address skill gaps while creating opportunities for growth and performance improvement.
Agility and workforce planning
Helps businesses adapt to change by providing a clear view of emerging skill needs and internal talent potential.
Framework principles
Equipping your workforce with the skills to drive results
Six principles guide the design and application of the framework, ensuring it is practical, durable and adopted across the organisation.
Act as an Enabler
Designed to empower employees, line managers and HR - not to constrain them. The framework provides structure and content for application by many types of users across the organisation.
Define Competence
Competence is the demonstrated ability to deploy and apply knowledge, skills and behaviour for achieving observable business results. This definition anchors every element of the taxonomy.
Agile and Flexible
Decoupled from organisational structure to create agility. The framework represents a holistic view of all capabilities required within the business - regardless of how they are currently deployed.
Future Ready
Today's organisational structure may not reflect tomorrow's needs. The taxonomy creates a capabilities view agnostic to current deployment, ensuring flexibility for future alignment.
Master List
Intended as a master list from which various capabilities may be combined in different ways to create a picture of success within different functions, teams or jobs.
Practical Application
Designed for practical application, enabling users to adapt and apply it seamlessly across roles, teams and functions to meet real-world business needs.
Skills in context
From roles to individual skills
Skills exist in layers. The framework connects the formal job title to the specific skills that drive performance in that role.
The formal job title in the HR system
The actual responsibilities and activities the person performs
The knowledge areas applied to fulfil the role responsibilities
The specific technical items that make up each capability
Source: The Josh Bersin Company, 2022
Framework structure
Two types of competence, three proficiency levels
The framework distinguishes between technical skills (knowledge) and behavioural competencies (behaviour), and applies different measurement scales to each.
Technical Skills
Technical knowledge is the understanding of ideas, concepts, processes, regulations and technologies related to a particular area of practice. It is possible to deepen technical knowledge - which is why we use a proficiency scale.
Behavioural Competencies
Behavioural competencies are discussed or assessed using a scale of effectiveness. We all display behaviours either effectively or ineffectively. This is why we always refer to effectiveness of behaviour.
The three proficiency levels
Basic
Has had to interact with others who have this knowledge in order to accomplish their own work. Understands the terminology and can engage meaningfully with subject matter experts.
Intermediate
Uses this area of knowledge to get work done, or has used it previously and kept up to date in this field. Can apply the knowledge independently in familiar situations.
Advanced
Deep knowledge of this area; considered a subject matter expert by others. Expert knowledge is backed by high-level qualifications or significant experience. Unlikely that any one person is expert in more than 10 different areas.
These proficiency levels and their definitions remain constant throughout the framework. This reduces complexity when assigning skills required for a position or acquired by an individual.
Types of knowledge
Three sizes of technical knowledge
Technical knowledge can be identified and grouped into three sizes, each serving a different purpose in describing roles and people.
General Business Knowledge
Required across functions and differentiates the level of a position or person in the organisation. For example, all General Managers (regardless of function) should have an Intermediate level of knowledge in Financial Management.
Functional Knowledge
Required within a specific function. Functional knowledge differentiates a position or person in Finance from one in Marketing or Risk. Each functional domain contains skills specific to that field.
Specialised Knowledge
Required when a function is large, complex or core to the business. This layer of knowledge is not represented separately in the model but is combined with Functional Knowledge where present.
Knowledge domains
20 domains, 500+ skills
The framework is divided into 20 knowledge domains that overlap with, but do not mirror, the existing organisational structure. Each domain contains individual technical knowledge items, each with a unique definition and associated common proficiency levels.
Contain knowledge areas required across the business by various functions and job levels. These should be the starting point for defining skills by position or person.
Contain skills specific to a domain of expertise or function. Skills are not duplicated in the model; they are grouped as intuitively as possible.
Emerging Skills
An additional category cataloguing skills not currently required by the organisation but likely to be needed as the business grows and evolves in the medium to long term.
The business case
Why the investment pays off
Role clarity at scale
A structured skills taxonomy ensures clarity on role expectations, helping employees and managers understand what is required for success - without ambiguity.
Strategic workforce planning
Workforce planning becomes data-driven, allowing organisations to identify skills gaps and optimise training resources based on evidence rather than assumption.
Reduced hiring costs
By leveraging existing talent more effectively, businesses can reduce external hiring costs and enhance career development opportunities for current employees.
A common skills language
A shared skills vocabulary improves communication and decision-making, ensuring consistency across teams and creating a foundation for internal mobility.
Our approach
A structured, scalable approach
Defining, implementing and sustaining a skills framework that fits your business needs.
Research-Based Master List
We start with a proven, research-based skills taxonomy developed by Peopletree Group, ensuring a strong foundation of industry-aligned capabilities across all major knowledge domains.
Contextualised for Your Business
We refine and scale the framework to match your organisation's needs, ensuring the right level of detail - whether for specialised functions or broader business units.
Knowledge Transfer and Training
We equip your HR team with the tools and knowledge to modify and evolve the skills framework over time, ensuring long-term usability and relevance as the business grows.
Draft Success Profiles
We deliver a set of draft success profiles, providing a practical starting point for defining roles and competencies that drive business performance.
Skills taxonomy in practice
A national retail bank partnered with Peopletree Group to build a skills taxonomy to support its business turnaround strategy. The organisation needed a clear, structured view of workforce capabilities to determine whether employees had the right skills to execute the new strategy effectively.
We developed a customised skills taxonomy, mapping technical and behavioural competencies to the bank's strategic priorities. We identified gaps, refined role expectations and provided HR with a framework to align talent with business needs.
Part of the ecosystem
The Skills Taxonomy and Talent Genome work together
The Skills Taxonomy covers technical knowledge - what a person knows. The Talent Genome covers behavioural competencies - how a person behaves. Together, they provide a complete picture of what is needed for success in any role.
What a person knows: 500+ technical skills across 20 domains, with 3 proficiency levels.
How a person behaves: 60 behavioural competencies across 18 clusters, assessed by effectiveness.
What the organisation needs: translates strategy into capabilities and then into leadership competencies.
Ready to build your skills framework?
Start with our validated skills taxonomy and adapt it to your organisation's specific needs. Our team will guide you through every step of the process.