develop skills — improve abilities
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to gradually get better at something by learning or practicing it over time.
Say it like a native
Textbook Employees should cultivate their competencies.
Native You can develop your skills on the job.
'Cultivate competencies' is corporate; 'develop your skills' is the natural phrase.
Pattern: develop + skills (in something/at doing something)
In use
- She took extra classes to develop her language skills.study
- In my opinion, volunteering is a great way to develop skills that are useful for future jobs.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ I want to develop my skill in cooking.
✓ I want to develop my cooking skills.
Plural 'skills'; 'cooking skills' or 'skills in cooking'.
Common collocations
develop skills— new, your, social, language
Don't confuse it
Different from 'have skills' (already possess) or 'learn skills' (start to acquire). 'Develop skills' focuses on improvement over time.