Crossword Genius

Tied up at work acquiring proficiency (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aptitude

'proficiency' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'tied up at work' is the wordplay.
'work' indicates anagramming the letters.
'tied'+'up'+'at'='tiedupat'
'tiedupat' with letters rearranged gives 'APTITUDE'.

'acquiring' is the link.

(Other definitions for aptitude that I've seen before include "Flair" , "fitness" , "Update it, having natural skill" , "faculty" , "Natural gift" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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