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Quick Summary: Skills in SkillsDB keep a full version history of every change to the skill’s name and description. Administrators can view all past versions from the Activity tab on the skill detail page, and see exactly what the skill looked like at any point in its history.

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Overview

Version History creates a persistent record of every change made to a skill in SkillsDB. Each time an administrator edits a skill’s name or description, SkillsDB captures a new version that records what changed, who changed it, and when. No edits are lost — every historical state is preserved. The first time a skill is created, SkillsDB stores a Baseline version. Every subsequent edit creates an Updated version on top of that baseline. Together, these form an ordered timeline visible on the Activity tab of any skill detail page. Version history is an audit and reference tool. Use it to:
  • Review what a skill’s name or description looked like at a previous point in time.
  • Understand why people were trained against the earlier definition of a skill.
  • Investigate changes when someone’s training status or grade unexpectedly shifts.
  • Provide evidence of skill definition changes during audits or compliance reviews.
Version history is administrator-facing and appears on individual skill detail pages. Employees and managers see the current version of a skill throughout the product — they do not see the version timeline.

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Prerequisites

Before you view or use version history, you need:
  • Permission level: Administrator role in SkillsDB
  • Setup requirement: At least one skill in your organization (a skill must exist before it has history)
  • Access: Navigate to Library > Skills, then open any skill

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How Versions Are Created

Versions are created automatically whenever an administrator edits a skill. You do not manually start a version — SkillsDB captures one for every change.
EventVersion typeWhen it happens
BaselineThe first recorded version of a skillCreated automatically when a skill is first created, or when version tracking is enabled for an existing skill
UpdatedA new version recorded after an editCreated every time an administrator saves changes to a skill’s name or description
Each version captures:
  • Name — the skill’s name at the time of the version
  • Description — the skill’s description at the time of the version
  • Version date — the exact timestamp when the change was saved
  • Edited by — the administrator who made the change
  • Change note — an optional free-text explanation an admin can add when editing the skill
Versions are stored per-skill. Each skill has its own independent timeline.

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Viewing Version History

Version history lives on the Activity tab of the skill detail page. The Activity tab combines version history with other skill-level events into a single chronological timeline. To view a skill’s version history:
1

Open the skill

Navigate to Library > Skills from the left sidebar, then select the skill name from the table.
2

Open the Activity tab

In the skill detail view, select the Activity tab. The timeline loads with the most recent event at the top.
3

Expand a version

Each version entry shows a summary — who edited the skill and when. Select Show content on any entry to reveal the full name and description captured in that version. Select Hide to collapse it again.
The Activity tab shows the total number of entries at the top (for example, “12 entries”). Use the timestamp next to each entry to find a specific version — hover over the relative time (“2 days ago”) to see the full date and time.

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What each entry shows

Each version entry in the timeline displays:
  • A colored event type badge — Baseline (gray) for the initial version, or Updated (blue) for subsequent edits.
  • A short event description summarizing the change.
  • The editor’s name (or “System” if the change was automated) and how long ago the change occurred.
  • An affected user count (when relevant), showing how many people’s records were impacted.
  • A Show content button to expand the saved name and description for that version.

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Renewing Training After a Skill Change

When you change a skill’s definition, training that people already completed may no longer reflect the current requirements. SkillsDB offers a Renew Training action that resets training status for the skill across affected users, so they re-complete training against the updated definition. Renew Training is only available to administrators and only appears when the current version of the skill is eligible for renewal. To renew training for a skill:
1

Open the Activity tab

Navigate to Library > Skills, select the skill, then open the Activity tab.
2

Select Renew Training

If Renew Training is available for this skill, a Renew Training button appears in the top right of the Activity panel. Select it to open the renewal dialog.
3

Confirm the action

Review the number of affected users, select the appropriate renewal option, and confirm. The action is logged as a new Renew Training entry in the Activity timeline.
Warning: Renewing training resets the training approval status for every person who has been approved for this skill. People will need to submit training again. Use this action only when a skill change is significant enough to require re-verification of competency.
Renewals are permanently recorded in the Activity timeline alongside version history, so you always have a record of which skill updates triggered a mass renewal.

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Common Questions

Edits to a skill’s name or description create a new version. Changes to other skill attributes — such as which careers the skill is attached to, flag assignments, or training settings — are tracked separately in the Activity tab but do not create a new name/description version entry.
No. Version history is immutable. Past versions cannot be edited or deleted. This is intentional — the audit trail must remain tamper-proof to serve as reliable evidence of what the skill looked like at a given point in time. To change a skill, edit the current version. This creates a new entry in the timeline; the previous version remains on record.
Only administrators can see the Activity tab and view version history. Managers and employees see the current version of a skill throughout SkillsDB but do not have access to the version timeline.
Not directly. If you want to revert a skill to a previous state, open the past version using Show content on the relevant Activity entry, copy the name and description, and apply them as a new edit. This creates a new version with the restored content, rather than rewriting the timeline.
When a skill is deleted from the library, its version history is retained with the skill record. Because SkillsDB uses soft deletes, administrators with sufficient permissions can still trace the skill’s history even after removal. Version history is never purged.
Version history tracks the skill definition itself, not the data attached to it. Proficiency grades, certifications, and training approval records are stored separately. However, version history provides essential context for interpreting that data — if someone was trained against version 2 and the skill is now on version 5, the Activity timeline shows exactly what changed between those versions.

Skills Libraries

Browse, create, and manage the full library of skills in your organization

Training Approvals

How training approval works and how version changes affect approved training

Skill Flags

How skill flags work alongside skill definitions

Proficiency

Understand how proficiency grading relates to skill definitions

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Need Help?

If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization’s SkillsDB administrator or contact SkillsDB Support.