Skills for English Partner Institutions

Start your journey with Skills for English
Accepted for international study in the UK and internationally

Institutions

Skills for English is a suite of English language assessments developed in partnership between the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and PSI. The tests are accepted by colleges and universities across the world and approved by the UK Home Office as a Secure English Language Test (SELT). Skills for English supports test takers and institutions worldwide to benchmark their English language proficiency for study, work, and settlement purposes.

Our team of recognition consultants are available to talk you through the tests, including mapping to the CEFR and your institution’s needs, security, and results verification. For more information, or to arrange a consultation, please contact our recognition team [email protected]

Skills for English B1 and B2 Four Facet tests are also approved by the Irish Government for study visa purposes.

Online results portal

As an accepting institution, you can verify any Skills for English result securely online, using our results portal. To receive access, please reach out to [email protected].

Test specification

Download the Skills for English Test Specifications for in-depth explanations about how the tests are structured, delivered and assessed.

Skills for English Test Specification V7.1

Accept Skills for English

Benefits of recognizing Skills for English tests:

  • Acceptance of one of the most cost-effective, reliable, English language tests on the market
  • Access to new markets for student recruitment with our strategy to expand test centre networks to underrepresented regions like Libya, Bolivia, and Côte d’Ivoire, complementing coverage across high-demand areas like China and India
  • Confidence in the gold-standard security measures delivered by PSI, with Home Office approval for all Skills for English test centres delivering the test as a SELT (Secure English Language Test)
  • Availability of secure, online verification services for all Skills for English test results
For information on recognizing Skills for English tests download ‘Recognizing Skills for English – a guide for accepting institutions’  

Recognize Skills for English

A test you can trust

Skills for English combines the expertise of two of the leading names in qualification and certification.  Tests are delivered by PSI, a global leader in workforce solutions for over 70 years and assured by SQA: The Scottish Qualifications Authority, executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. 

“SQA Assured” means that SQA have undertaken an audit of Skills for English test content and PSI’s assessment development processes and are satisfied that the tests and the processes are aligned to SQA’s principles set out in the SQA Awarding Body Code of Practice (published March 2017).

UK ENIC ‘approved’: Skills for English assessments were evaluated and approved by UK ENIC in 2020. Approval covers all aspects of test development, administrations and results including alignment with CEFR.

Qualification comparison table

Skills for English: SELT is mapped to the ‘Common European Framework of Reference for Languages’ (CEFR) for UKVI purposes, but you can also see how it maps to other international English language qualifications.

* All Skills for English tests are mapped to CEFR levels. The information showing mapping of IELTS, TOEFL and PTE Academic is taken from their respective websites and is correct at the time of publication

Memberships and associations

PSI works with a number of international assessment bodies and organisations, including ALTE, EALTA, LTRC, IATEFL, EnglishUK, EAQUALS, Edvoy, IHWO, Australia IEAA and BELTA.

Complementary services materials

Complementary services materials are available on the teaching Skills for English page.

Description of marking process

Reading and listening are automatically marked during the test session itself

Speaking and writing are recorded digitally during the test session and marked by trained and qualified assessors (who have no visibility of your candidate’s personal details) after the test is finished.

See the test specification for more details.

Which test would you like to book?