> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Labels
> Learn how to create, organize, and apply labels in SkillsDB — a flexible tagging system for categorizing skills, careers, training resources, and certifications.
**Quick Summary:** Labels are color-coded tags you apply to skills, careers, training resources, and certifications to organize, filter, and group records across SkillsDB. Admins manage the label library; managers and employees can apply labels to records within their access.
# Overview
Labels in SkillsDB are a flexible tagging system that lets your organization categorize and cross-reference records across the platform. A label is a named, color-coded tag that can be attached to four entity types: **skills**, **careers**, **training resources**, and **certifications**. Once applied, labels appear throughout SkillsDB in tables, grids, and filters — giving admins, managers, and employees a consistent way to group and locate related content.
Labels support a **parent-child hierarchy**. A top-level label (for example, "Compliance") can have sub-labels (for example, "Safety", "Data Privacy", "Financial"). Sub-labels can themselves have further children. This means your organization can build a structured taxonomy that reflects how you think about skills and roles — without flattening everything into a single alphabetical list.
Each label carries a **color** that appears as a small circle indicator wherever the label is displayed. Colors help users visually distinguish labels at a glance, particularly in dense tables and grids.
Administrators manage the full label library — creating, editing, reordering, and deleting labels. Managers can apply and remove labels from records within their access. Employees can add labels to their own profile entries for skills, certifications, and training.
***
## Prerequisites
Before creating or managing labels, ensure you have:
* **Permission level:** Administrator role in SkillsDB
* **Access required:** Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar under the Company section
**Note:** The **Labels** navigation item is only visible to users with administrator access. Managers and employees interact with labels through label selector components embedded in skills, career, training, and certification pages — not through the dedicated Labels management page.
***
## Understanding Label Structure
Labels in SkillsDB are organized as a **hierarchical tree**. Every label is either a top-level label (no parent) or a sub-label (child of another label). There is no enforced limit on tree depth — a label hierarchy can be as shallow or as deep as your organization requires.
| Level | Description | Example |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Top-level label** | A root category with no parent | "Compliance", "Technical Skills", "Leadership" |
| **Sub-label** | A child of a top-level or deeper label | "Safety" (under "Compliance"), "Python" (under "Programming") |
| **Deeper sub-label** | A child of a sub-label | "OSHA Certification" (under "Safety" under "Compliance") |
When a top-level label is deleted, its sub-labels are permanently deleted along with it. When a sub-label is deleted, only that sub-label is removed; its siblings and the parent label are unaffected.
Each label has a **name** (up to 50 characters) and a **color** (a hex color selected from the color picker). The color defaults to blue if none is chosen.
***
## Managing the Labels Library
To access the labels library select **Labels** from the left sidebar navigation (under the Company section). The Labels page displays all labels in your organization as a hierarchical tree. Top-level labels appear at the root; sub-labels are nested beneath their parents and can be expanded or collapsed.
#### Label tree features
Each label row in the tree includes:
* **Color indicator** — A small colored circle representing the label's color. Select the circle to open the color picker and change the color inline.
* **Label name** — Selectable to navigate to the label's detail page.
* **Sub-label count** — A blue badge showing how many direct child labels this label has. Visible only if the label has at least one child.
* **Expand/collapse arrow** — For labels with sub-labels, select the arrow to expand or collapse the nested tree.
* **Drag handle** — Hover over a row to reveal the drag handle on the left. Use it to reorder labels within the tree.
* **Action buttons** — Hover over a row to reveal three action icons: **Edit**, **Delete**, and **Add sub-label**.
#### Searching labels
A search input at the top right of the page filters the label tree by name in real time. Enter any part of a label name to narrow results. The tree updates to show matching labels and their parent labels for context.
If no labels match your search, the page displays: *"No results for '\[search term]'. Try a different search term."*
***
### Creating Labels
Administrators can create new labels at the top level or as sub-labels of an existing label.
#### Creating a top-level label
1. Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar.
2. Select **Add Label** in the top right of the page.
3. In the **Add Label** dialog, complete the following:
| Field | Required | Description |
| -------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Label Name** | Yes | A unique, descriptive name for the label. Maximum 50 characters. |
| **Color** | No | A color selected from the inline color picker. Defaults to blue if not set. |
4. Select **Add**.
When the label is created successfully, a confirmation toast appears: *"Label added successfully."* The label appears in the tree at the bottom of the top-level list.
#### Creating a sub-label
Sub-labels can be created from the labels tree or from within a label's detail page.
**From the labels tree:**
1. Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the parent label where you want to add a child.
3. Select the **Add sub-label** icon that appears on hover.
4. In the **Add Sub Label** dialog, enter a **Sub Label Name** and optionally select a color.
5. Select **Add**.
**From the label detail page:**
1. Navigate to a label's detail page by selecting its name in the tree.
2. Select **Add Sub Label** in the top right of the page.
3. Complete the name and color fields, then select **Add**.
**Tip:** Use sub-labels to create meaningful taxonomies that match how your organization already categorizes skills and roles. For example, a top-level "Technical Skills" label with sub-labels for "Frontend", "Backend", and "Infrastructure" lets you filter and report on entire skill families at once.
***
## Editing and Reordering Labels
#### Editing a label
To change a label's name or color:
1. Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the label you want to edit.
3. Select the **Edit** icon that appears on hover.
4. In the **Edit Label** dialog, update the **Label Name** and/or select a new color.
5. Select **Save**.
Renaming a label updates its name everywhere it is displayed across SkillsDB — in tables, filters, skill profiles, and the label details page — without affecting any of the records it is attached to.
#### Reordering labels with drag-and-drop
Labels can be reordered within the tree by dragging and dropping. Drag-and-drop supports three types of placement:
| Drop position | Result |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Above a label** | Places the dragged label immediately before the target |
| **Below a label** | Places the dragged label immediately after the target |
| **Inside a label** | Makes the dragged label a child (sub-label) of the target |
A glowing blue line indicates where the label will land when you release. If you hover over a collapsed label while dragging "inside" it, the label automatically expands after 400 milliseconds to let you drop into its sub-label list.
**Important:** You cannot drop a label into itself or into any of its own descendants. SkillsDB prevents circular relationships in the label hierarchy.
***
## Deleting Labels
To delete a label:
1. Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar.
2. Hover over the label you want to delete.
3. Select the **Delete** icon that appears on hover.
4. A confirmation dialog appears with the following message:
> *"Deleting a label will remove it permanently from all associated records in SkillsDB. It cannot be undone. Are you sure you want to delete this label?"*
5. Select **Confirm** to delete, or **Cancel** to return without deleting.
**Important:** Deleting a label permanently removes it from every skill, career, training resource, and certification it was attached to. This action cannot be undone. Deleting a parent label also permanently deletes all of its sub-labels.
***
## Applying Labels to Records
Labels are applied to individual records — skills, careers, training resources, and certifications — from the record's own interface, not from the Labels management page. Administrators can apply and remove labels inline wherever the label selector appears.
#### How the label selector works
Wherever labels can be managed (for example, on a skill's detail view, a career row in the library, or a training resource), a label selector appears as a small tag icon or existing label pills. Selecting the icon opens a **label selector popover** with the following features:
* **Search** — Type at least three characters to search for labels by name.
* **Hierarchical navigation** — Browse the label tree with breadcrumb navigation. Select a parent label to expand its children.
* **Multi-select checkboxes** — Check or uncheck labels to add or remove them.
* **Create new label** — Admins see a **+ Create new label** shortcut at the bottom of the popover to add a new label without leaving the current page.
Changes are applied when you close the popover. The entity's label list updates immediately in the UI.
#### Entity-level label behavior
| Entity | Who can apply labels | Label selector location |
| ---------------------- | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Skills** | Admins, Managers | Skill detail view, team skills tables |
| **Careers** | Admins | Career row in Library > Careers table |
| **Training resources** | Admins | Training resource form (Step 2, Labels field) |
| **Certifications** | Admins | Certification library record |
**Note:** Employees can add labels to skills, certifications, and training entries within their own profile using the **Add to Profile** action on the label detail page. Employees cannot apply labels to careers (job roles).
#### Applying labels in bulk
SkillsDB does not have a dedicated bulk label assignment tool. Labels are applied one record at a time via the inline selector. For large-scale labeling projects, it is most efficient to apply labels at the point of record creation (for example, when adding a training resource or creating a skill).
***
## Viewing the Label Details Page
Each label has a dedicated detail page that shows every record tagged with that label, organized by entity type. The detail page gives you a live view of what a label is being used for across your organization.
To access a label's detail page:
1. Navigate to **Labels** in the left sidebar.
2. Select the label name in the tree.
The detail page opens at **Labels / \[Label Name]** and displays:
* **Label name** — Large heading at the top of the page.
* **Sub-labels** — Shown as colored pill chips below the label name. Each chip is selectable to navigate to that sub-label's detail page.
* **Resources table** — An AG-Grid table showing all entities tagged with this label, grouped by type.
#### Resources table structure
The resources table is divided into collapsible sections, one per entity type:
| Section | What it shows |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Skills** | All skills tagged with this label, with description and other applied labels |
| **Certifications** | All certifications tagged with this label |
| **Training** | All training resources tagged with this label |
| **Job Roles** | All careers tagged with this label |
Each section header displays a count badge showing how many records are in that section. Select the header to expand or collapse the section.
#### Resources table columns
| Column | Description |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | The record name, displayed as a link to the record's detail page |
| **Description** | The record's description text |
| **Other Labels** | All other labels attached to this record, displayed as colored pill chips. Shows labels applied beyond the one being viewed. |
| **Actions** | Shows **Assign** (admins and managers) or **Add to Profile** (employees) for skills, certifications, and training. **Already assigned records** show an **Added** checkmark and cannot be re-added. Job Roles do not have an action button. |
#### Filtering the resources table
Two filters appear above the resources table:
* **Resource Type** — Multi-select filter. Choose one or more of: Skills, Certifications, Training, Job Roles. The table shows only rows matching the selected types.
* **Other Labels** — Multi-select filter. Appears when resources in the table carry additional labels. Filter to show only records that also carry a specific second label — useful for finding resources at the intersection of two labels.
***
## Where Labels Appear Across SkillsDB
Once applied, labels surface in tables, filters, and search results throughout the platform:
| Location | How labels appear |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Library > Careers** | Labels column in the careers table; up to two labels shown inline, with a count badge for additional labels |
| **Library > Training** | Labels column in the training library |
| **Skills profile** | Labels shown on individual skill rows |
| **Team skills views** | Labels column in the team skills table (direct reports and org views) |
| **My Team > Training > All Activity** | Labels shown on training activity rows |
| **Certifications** | Labels shown on certification records |
| **Learning plans** | Labels shown on learning plan item rows |
| **Label filters** | Wherever a "Label" filter option is available, selecting a label filters the view to show only records tagged with that label |
| **Label detail page** | Central hub showing all records tagged with a specific label |
**Tip:** Labels are one of the most powerful filtering tools in SkillsDB. Applying consistent labels across skills, training resources, and certifications lets managers filter their team's skills or training views by label — for example, showing only "Compliance" skills or only "Onboarding" training in a single click.
***
# Common Questions
There is no enforced limit on how many labels you can apply to a single skill, career, training resource, or certification. However, for practical readability in tables and grids, most organizations apply between one and five labels per record.
Yes. Renaming a label updates the label's name everywhere it is displayed without removing any attachments. All records that had the old label name continue to have the label — it just shows the new name immediately.
When you delete a parent label, all of its sub-labels are deleted along with it. The deletion is permanent and removes the parent and all sub-labels from every record they were attached to. If you want to keep the sub-labels, reorganize them under a different parent before deleting the original parent.
Labels in SkillsDB apply to entity records (skills, careers, training resources, certifications), not directly to people. However, because these entities are linked to people through assignments, filtering a team view by a label effectively shows you the people whose assigned entities carry that label. For tagging people directly, see People Flags.
No. Only administrators can create, rename, reorder, and delete labels from the Labels management page. Managers can apply existing labels to records within their access (for example, assigning a label to a skill or training resource via the inline selector), but they cannot add new labels to the label library.
Yes. When a label is deleted, it is removed from all records immediately. Any saved views, reports, or filters that referenced that label will no longer match records using it. Review your organization's saved views and filter configurations after deleting a label that was widely applied.
SkillsDB does not enforce a maximum depth limit for label hierarchies. However, very deep trees (more than four or five levels) can become difficult to navigate in the label selector popover. Most organizations use two to three levels of nesting.
Labels do not have a dedicated import or export workflow. They are created and managed only through the Labels management interface. If you need to bulk-create labels, contact SkillsDB support for assistance.
***
# Related Articles
Configure Expert, Mentor, Focus, and Interest designations for skills and people, which complement labels for categorization
Apply tags directly to individuals rather than to entity records
Save filter configurations that include label filters for quick access
Managing the skills library, where labels are most commonly applied
Managing careers, which can also carry labels for filtering
Managing training resources, which support label tagging for categorization
Managing certifications, which can carry labels for compliance grouping
***
# Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).