Development education has its roots in Europe in response to decolonisation and the need for public support and engagement in international development. From these roots, it grew as a field of educational practice to encompass themes of global citizenship, postcolonialism and critical pedagogy. Global education, on the other hand, has its roots in broader traditions around international education from both North America and Europe. Today both educational fields have come together in many countries under the umbrella of either global learning or global citizenship education. This article reviews this growth from a UK perspective and then outlines an area, namely skills, which has to date had a lower profile than knowledge and values. It concludes by proposing a framework for global skills that is based on the author’s work on pedagogy for global social justice.