The skills section is the part of a UK CV that quietly decides whether you get read. It is where an applicant tracking system looks for the keywords from the job advert, and where a busy recruiter glances to confirm in five seconds that you can do the job. Yet most people fill it with vague words — "hardworking", "team player", "good communicator" — that say nothing and match nothing. This guide explains which skills actually belong on a UK CV in 2026, how to choose them for your specific role and industry, and how to phrase them so they pass both the software and the human. It works the same way whether you are a carer, a chef, an electrician, a teaching assistant, an accountant or a software developer.
Hard skills vs soft skills — and why both matter
There are two kinds of skill and your CV needs both, used differently. Hard skills are specific, teachable and often certified: medication administration, HACCP food safety, 18th Edition wiring regulations, double-entry bookkeeping, phlebotomy, SQL, forklift (counterbalance) operation, safeguarding Level 2. These are what an applicant tracking system searches for, because they are concrete and easy to match against a job description. Soft skills — communication, problem-solving, leadership, reliability — matter to the human reader but are worthless as bare claims. The fix is to prove them in your experience bullets rather than list them as adjectives: instead of "good communicator", write "handled 40+ customer calls a day and resolved complaints at first contact". Put your hard skills in the skills section; demonstrate your soft skills in your achievements.
Find your real skills from the job description
The single most effective technique is to mine the job advert. UK employers write adverts listing exactly the skills and certifications they want, and the applicant tracking system is usually configured to look for those same terms. So before writing your skills section, read the advert and underline every concrete requirement — qualifications, systems, regulations, licences, named competencies. Then make sure the ones you genuinely have appear on your CV using the employer's wording. If the advert says "manual handling" do not write "lifting"; if it says "EYFS" do not only write "early years". This is the heart of writing an ATS-friendly CV: you are matching language, not inventing it. Never claim a skill or certificate you do not hold — it will surface at interview or reference stage.
Skills that matter by industry (UK examples)
Because the right skills are role-specific, here are concrete, non-tech examples Atlas sees employers screen for across UK industries — the kind of terms our CV skill matcher recognises and looks for:
- Healthcare & care: care planning, safeguarding, medication administration, manual handling, Care Certificate, DBS, infection control, person-centred care, NMC registration.
- Construction & trades: CSCS card, 18th Edition, NVQ Level 3, working at height, asbestos awareness, blueprint reading, plant operation, gas safe.
- Hospitality & catering: food hygiene Level 2, HACCP, allergen awareness, EPOS, cellar management, table service, kitchen prep.
- Education: safeguarding, EYFS, phonics, SEN support, behaviour management, QTS, lesson planning.
- Office, finance & admin: bookkeeping, Sage, Xero, payroll, reconciliation, Excel, minute-taking, diary management, AAT.
- Logistics & driving: forklift licence, HGV Class 1/2, CPC, manual handling, stock control, warehouse management systems.
If your trade is not here, the principle holds: list the licences, regulations, systems and certifications a hiring manager in your field would recognise instantly. For a starting point tailored to your role, see our free CV templates by job.
How many skills, and how to lay them out
Aim for roughly eight to twelve skills — enough to cover the advert's key requirements without becoming a meaningless wall of words. A grouped or two-column list near the top of the CV works well: it is scannable for the human and parseable for the software. Avoid skill "rating bars" (the five-dot graphics) — applicant tracking systems cannot read them and they often look arbitrary. Do not pad the list with generic traits; every entry should be something an employer could verify or test. And tailor the list per application — reordering and swapping a few skills to match each advert takes minutes and makes a real difference, which is exactly the kind of repetitive tailoring our guide on passing AI resume screening shows is worth automating.
Common mistakes to avoid
Three errors sink skills sections. The first is vagueness — "good with people" matches no search and impresses no one; name the actual competency. The second is burying skills in prose so the parser cannot extract them; keep a clear, labelled skills section as well as proving skills in your bullets. The third is one generic CV for every job; a fixed skills list cannot match adverts that all ask for slightly different things. Treat the skills section as the most adjustable part of your CV, retuned to each role from the advert's own language. Get that right and you clear the software screen and give the recruiter the five-second confirmation they are looking for.
FAQ
- What skills should I put on my CV in the UK?
- List the concrete, role-specific hard skills and certifications a hiring manager in your field would recognise — for example care planning and safeguarding for care work, CSCS and 18th Edition for trades, Sage and reconciliation for finance — using the same wording as the job advert. Prove soft skills like communication in your experience bullets rather than listing them as adjectives.
- How many skills should a CV have?
- Around eight to twelve is a good target — enough to cover the advert's main requirements without becoming a meaningless list. Quality and relevance beat quantity; every skill should be something an employer could verify or test.
- Should I list soft skills like teamwork?
- Don't list them as bare claims — "team player" matches nothing and convinces no one. Instead demonstrate soft skills through achievements in your experience section, and reserve the skills list for specific, searchable hard skills and certifications.
- Do I need to change my skills for every job?
- Yes — tailoring is the point. Reorder and swap a few skills to match each advert's wording, because the applicant tracking system searches for the exact terms in that job description. A single fixed skills list can't match adverts that all ask for slightly different things.
Atlas reads each UK job advert, matches it against the real skills in your background — including care, trade, hospitality and finance certifications, not just tech — and shows you exactly which to feature and which gaps to close. Create a free account to build a skills section tuned to every role you apply for.