Professional Skills for Government

How does the framework look?

The PSG competency framework is divided into the four separate but supporting areas listed below, and you should seek to develop skills in each of these.

Leadership

Civil Service leadership qualities sit at the centre of the framework. These are to:

  • provide direction for the organisation
  • deliver results
  • build capacity for the organisation to address current and future challenges
  • act with integrity (and this lies at the very heart of leadership within the Civil Service).

To find out how these qualities apply to your role, ask your line manager or HR team.

Core skills

Every civil servant needs certain core skills to work effectively.

At Grade 7 the four core skills are:

  • people management
  • financial management
  • analysis and use of evidence
  • programme and project management.

In addition to these skills, those in or aspiring to the SCS need to demonstrate skills in communications and marketing, and strategic thinking.

For those below Grade 7, Government Skills is currently leading a project to develop a common core skills framework across all departments. As the project develops, this website will include more information on the extended framework and what it means for you.

Professional skills

Job-specific professional skills are related to the work you do. Everyone in the Civil Service requires some professional skills to do their job, whether they work in policy development, operational delivery or corporate services, or provide expert advice (for example, scientists, economists and communicators).

This area of the PSG competency framework is supported by Heads of Profession, who set standards for all professions in the Civil Service. For more information, see Professions.

Broader experience

For SCS members and those aspiring to the SCS, both depth and breadth of experience are important. Deep professional knowledge is valuable, but as you progress in your Civil Service career, breadth of experience becomes increasingly important. Heads of Profession are leading work to define what broader experience looks like in each professional context. This experience could be gained within your profession, within another part of the Civil Service or in other sectors.

If you want to know how gaining broader experience can benefit your career, take a look at Case studies.